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(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 2.42.050, 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. |
