by Gregory Williams, Esq. | Under Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC) regulations, what are the term-usage guidelines for the Practice-and-Procedure Chapter? Here’s my point of view. (NOTE: please read our DISCLAIMER before proceeding).
WSHRC TERM-USAGE GUIDELINES: SHALL, MAY, WILL, MUST
Under the Practice-and-Procedure Chapter, the terms “Shall,” “May,” “Will,” and “Must” have special meaning as follows:
“Shall” expresses a command.
“May” expresses permission.
“Will” expresses the future occurrence of an event.
“Must” expresses a requirement that has to be met only if a person chooses to do something which the person is free to do or not to do. Example: “A respondent who wishes to raise any matter constituting an avoidance or affirmative defense … must plead the matter as an affirmative defense…”
WAC 162-08-017 (emphasis added). Within this Chapter, the terms are used in the senses expressed, unless the context indicates otherwise. Id.
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–gw
