The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently affirmed a National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) decision requiring an employer to reinstate an employee whom it terminated after he wrote...more
Today, the Supreme Court blocked the Biden Administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers, known as the Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), which we wrote about here. The Court held that the federal agency...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
For the past year, Washington employers have been required to accommodate those employees characterized by the CDC as being at high risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19. Required accommodations can include allowing...more
5/4/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
The 2020 presidential election, coupled with nationwide civil unrest and a global pandemic, is creating a lot of conversation in employees’ personal and professional lives. In a February 2020 survey, employees reported...more
On June 23, Governor Jay Inslee announced that facial coverings will be mandatory statewide. Starting Friday, June 26, anyone in a public space must wear face coverings. The mandate includes indoor public spaces and outdoor...more
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) requires private companies with fewer than 500 employees, along with most public employers regardless of size, to post a notice summarizing the benefits available under...more
On March 23, 2020, Governor Jay Inslee issued an Executive Order directing all Washington residents to stay at home, with certain exceptions for “essential businesses” and limited nongroup activities. The restrictions on...more
With the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak impacting communities throughout the Northwest, the US, and the world, employers are preparing for a possible widespread impact to their workforce and, at the same time, trying...more
With all of the buzz about potential impending raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), many employers are understandably concerned about the rights of their employees, as well as their own rights and...more
The National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) recently issued a decision in UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside that reverses longstanding Board precedent and holds that employers no longer have to allow nonemployee union...more
6/19/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Bright-Line Rule ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Employee Rights ,
New Rules ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Private Property ,
Property Owners ,
Public Property ,
Solicitation ,
Surveillance ,
Union Organizers ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions
The Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD) prohibits “places of public accommodation” from discriminating against their customers on the basis of several protected characteristics, including, without limitation, sex,...more
In yet another significant victory for employers, the United States Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment prohibits public sector unions from collecting mandatory “agency fees” from non-union members who do not...more
7/2/2018
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Fair Share Contribution ,
First Amendment ,
Janus v AFSCME ,
Non-Union ,
Payroll Deductions ,
Public Sector Unions ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Union Dues
As we blogged about recently, the U.S. Supreme Court recently held in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, No. 16-285 (U.S. May 21, 2018) (consolidated cases), that employment agreements that require employees to individually...more
In a significant win for employers, the United States Supreme Court has issued a landmark decision upholding the use of class action waivers in employment arbitration agreements. This ruling permits employers across the...more
5/22/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
It might appear that on some years, the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) issues a series of decisions just as the year comes to a close, but it is not because the Board wants to give out holiday presents (or, from...more
Employers can breathe a sigh of relief. The Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) announced this week that it was removing a requirement that EEO-1 reports contain employee pay data. The now-defunct Obama-era requirement...more
Although federal contractors were able to breathe a sigh of relief after the current administration put a stop to President Obama’s “Blacklisting” executive order, employers in the state of Washington must now comply with...more
Employers are probably aware that OSHA’s new drug testing and anti-retaliation rule is now in effect. (See our post here discussing the rule.) However, as we blogged previously, many states have their own reporting...more
In the wake of the election results, the question on everyone’s mind now is: What impact will President-Elect Trump have on employers? Trump has thus far given few details on his thoughts on labor and employment. But with...more
11/21/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Barack Obama ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Contractors ,
Individual Mandate ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Pay Transparency ,
Preexisting Conditions ,
Presidential Elections ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Quickie Election Rules ,
Repeal ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Sick Leave ,
Summary of Benefits and Coverage ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Waiting Periods ,
White-Collar Exemptions ,
Workplace Communication
On October 24, 2016, one day before the "blacklisting" rules for federal On October 24, 2016, one day before the "blacklisting" rules for federal contractors that stem from the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order...more
10/27/2016
/ Blacklist ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Pay Transparency ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Trade Associations ,
Wage and Hour
On July 31, 2014, President Obama signed the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, Executive Order 13673 (the “Order”), which includes the so-called “blacklisting” procedures for federal contractors. The Order’s...more
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled today in a 6-0 decision that Colorado’s “lawful activities statute,” which provides protections to employees who engage in lawful off-duty conduct, only applies to conduct that is lawful under...more
On October 28, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued its decision in Murphy Oil USA Inc., once again attempting to prohibit employers from requiring employees to enter into agreements to arbitrate...more
In a 5-4 decision, the Washington Supreme Court has ruled in an employer’s favor and clarified what are, and are not, statutory “wages” and unlawful wage “rebates” under Washington State’s Wage Rebate Act (“WRA”), RCW 49.52...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has invalidated President Obama's 2012 "recess" appointments of several members of the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "Board"), which occurred while the Senate was in a three day recess. As a...more