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Washington Administrative Code (Last Updated: November 23, 2016) |
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Title 308. Licensing, Department of (See also Titles 36, 98 and 196) |
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Chapter 308-103. Rules of procedure for hearings conducted under RCW 46.20.308. |
Section 308-103-130. Interpreters.
Latest version.
- (1) When an impaired person as defined in chapter 2.42 RCW or a non-English-speaking person as defined in chapter 2.43 RCW is a party or witness in an adjudicative proceeding, the department shall appoint an interpreter to assist the party or witness during the hearing. Appointment, qualifications, waiver, compensation, visual recording, and ethical standards of interpreters in hearings are governed by the provisions of chapters 2.42 and 2.43 RCW.(a) If a hearing impaired person is a party or witness to an adjudicative proceeding, a qualified interpreter shall be appointed to interpret the proceedings. Under RCW 2.42.110, a "qualified interpreter" means a visual language interpreter who is certified by the state or is certified by the registry of interpreters for the deaf.(b) Whenever an interpreter is appointed to assist a non-English-speaking person, a qualified or certified interpreter shall be appointed to assist the person during the hearing. Under RCW 2.43.020, a "qualified interpreter" means a person who is able readily to interpret or translate spoken and written English for a non-English-speaking person. A "certified interpreter" means an interpreter who is certified by the office of the administrator for the courts.(2) Relatives of any participant in a proceeding and employees of the department involved in a proceeding shall not be appointed as interpreters in the proceeding unless authorized by the petitioner.(3) Mode of interpretation:(a) The consecutive mode of foreign language interpretation shall be used unless the hearing officer and interpreter agree that simultaneous interpretation will advance fairness and efficiency;(b) Interpreters for hearing impaired persons shall use the simultaneous mode of interpretation unless an intermediary interpreter is needed. If an intermediary interpreter is needed, interpreters shall use the mode that the interpreter considers to provide the most accurate and effective communication with the hearing impaired person;(c) When an impaired or non-English-speaking person is a party to a proceeding, the interpreter shall translate all statements made by other hearing participants, unless waived by the petitioner. The hearing officer shall ensure that sufficient extra time is provided to permit translation and the hearing officer shall ensure that the interpreter translates the entire proceeding to the party to the extent that the party has the same opportunity to understand all statements made during the proceeding as a nonimpaired or English-speaking party listening to uninterpreted statements would have.(4) The department shall pay interpreter fees and expenses.(5) Every interpreter shall, before beginning to interpret, take an oath that a true interpretation will be made to the person being examined of all the proceedings in a language or in a manner which the person understands, and that the interpreter will repeat the statements of the person being examined to the hearing officer conducting the proceedings, in the English language, to the best of the interpreter's skill and judgment.