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On August 17, 2026, the NAM filed an amicus brief urging the Washington State Supreme Court to reject novel claims against an employer for alleged injuries to employees’ future children—a significant expansion of potential liability. In Bauer v. Boeing, a group of former Boeing employees (predominantly male) who worked for the company across several decades claim they were exposed to various, unnamed “harmful chemicals” during their employment. They each later had children who experienced some type of birth defect. Because the parents’ claims are subject to the workers’ comp bar, the children sued the employer alleging that the chemical exposure their parents experienced at work prior to conception caused their injures. The general rule nationwide is that employers do not owe a duty of care to a person who has not yet been conceived. Unfortunately, Washington trial and appellate courts disagreed. The case is now before the state supreme court to decide the question of pre-conception liability for employers in the state of Washington. Our brief explains that recognizing a pre-conception duty of care would be a radical expansion of tort law that would expose companies to claims by an unknown and ever-growing pool of potential plaintiffs. Saddling employers with such unpredictable and expansive liability will drive manufacturers out of Washington state, harming consumers and businesses alike.