Washington employers, get ready. Starting January 1, 2019, the state’s Employment Security Department (ESD) will begin collecting premium payments from employers so the historic Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program...more
12/14/2018
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Medical Leave ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Washington’s lawmakers and regulators have not taken a summer holiday this year, remaining active by passing new regulations based on legislation from the last legislative cycle or reacting to new case law by creating new...more
6/28/2018
/ Amended Legislation ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Contractors ,
Governor Inslee ,
Medical Leave ,
New Regulations ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws
In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement, Washington employers will soon need to comply with two new laws aimed at preventing sexual harassment and assault in the workplace while encouraging open...more
3/23/2018
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Best Practices ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Inslee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment
Washington employers are already under the gun to develop policies and practices to meet the requirements of the state’s new paid sick law that takes effect on January 1, 2018. Those with multiple Washington locations have...more
12/20/2017
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
New Amendments ,
Paid Leave ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The gig economy just got a strong ally in its fight to remain union-free: the federal government. The latest development in the ongoing saga involving an attempt to put into place the nation’s first unionization law that...more
11/17/2017
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Appeals ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Local Ordinance ,
Oral Argument ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Price-Fixing ,
Ridesharing ,
State Action Doctrine ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
The past year has brought multiple new workplace laws that will require employers in Washington to change several key policies and procedures. Below is an update that provides a general overview to help you prepare for these...more
9/21/2017
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Medical Leave ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave Act ,
Pregnancy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Undue Hardship ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
A recent federal court decision may bring about a new wave of overtime claims by offshore workers, particularly those working within the territorial waters of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas (Halle v. Galliano Marine...more
5/5/2017
/ Appeals ,
Collective Actions ,
Dismissals ,
Exemptions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Jones Act ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Reversal ,
Seamen ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Vessels ,
Wage and Hour
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While it always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, the last few months have seen an unprecedented number of changes. April 2017 was another month...more
5/5/2017
/ Computer Programmers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Drivers ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Facebook ,
Gig Economy ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Reform ,
Independent Contractors ,
LGBTQ ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
Obscenity ,
On-Demand Services ,
OSHA ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Salary/Wage History ,
SCOTUS ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
State Labor Laws ,
Subpoenas ,
Title VII ,
Tribal Employees ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
Young Lawyers
Not two weeks ago, we discussed several active court cases seeking to challenge the City of Seattle’s first-of-its-kind ordinance aimed at unionizing ride-sharing drivers, pointing out that the battle was about to reach a...more
4/5/2017
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Independent Contractors ,
Local Ordinance ,
Lyft ,
NLRA ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Price-Fixing ,
Ridesharing ,
Uber ,
Unions
In keeping with its goal of pioneering workers’ rights, Seattle’s City Council passed its controversial Secure Scheduling Ordinance on September 19, 2016, which will require certain retail and food establishments to provide...more
9/22/2016
/ Business Justification ,
Covered Employees ,
Covered Employer ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fines ,
Interactive Process ,
Local Ordinance ,
Retaliation ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
In keeping with its goal of pioneering workers’ rights, Seattle’s City Council is expected to pass its Secure Scheduling Ordinance this fall, requiring certain retail and food establishments to provide both a “livable wage”...more
Effective January 1, 2017, Spokane will join Seattle, Sea-Tac, and Tacoma as cities in Washington requiring employers to provide mandatory employee paid sick and safe leave. On Monday, January 11, 2016, Spokane’s City Council...more
Amidst the uber-media commotion over the Seattle City Council’s December 14 adoption of a law allowing independent contractor rideshare drivers to unionize, many missed that Seattle also passed a significant bill amending...more
With some limited exceptions, Washington State wage and hour rules require that workers receive a paid 10 minute rest break for every four hours worked. The Washington Supreme Court has now expanded employer obligations in...more