Lane Powell PC - Labor & Employment Law

Will Rogers once said, “Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.” Employee wage and hour class actions and government audits are never funny. Just ask the president of a sheetrock company sentenced in…more

One option is wellness programs, which provide employees with incentives to engage in healthy behaviors. These programs have spread in both size and importance. According to one survey, 68 percent of employers provided employees…more

On March 13, Portland became the fourth city to pass a mandatory sick leave ordinance, joining Seattle, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and the state of Connecticut. The new law takes effect January 1, 2014, but will likely…more

Although many of the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) were already in effect, the pace of change has quickened since the Supreme Court upheld the law in June of 2012. The law is composed of a…more

To mark the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released the results of a study showing “employers generally find it easy to comply with the law, and…more

Originally published in BANKING MATTERS - WINTER 2013. After circulating a draft to the nation in September 2012, three of the four members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted to adopt the EEOC’s…more

Originally published in the Puget Sound Business Journal - December 14-20, 2012. “Your employment jury trial scheduled next week has been bumped because of an ongoing criminal trial,” the attorney told his client, an…more

Prompted by many inquiries from employers about recent significant developments in workplace laws, Lane Powell provides the following overview on the Marriage Equality Act and the recreational marijuana initiative passed by…more

Regulations promulgated by the Department of Labor and Industries (“L&I”) under the Washington Minimum Wage Act require employers to provide most non-exempt employees with a paid rest period of at least ten minutes for every…more

Originally published in the Portland Business Journal on November 2, 2012. What could be the "new" Equal Employment Opportunity Commission debuted on Sept. 7, when it published a draft of its plan for taking enforcement…more

Originally published in the September 2012 issue of the King County Bar Association Bar Bulletin. The wait for the Seattle Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance, which went into effect September 1, is over. The City of…more

In This Issue: The Seattle Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance is Here: Are You In Compliance?; If the Shoe Fits Avoiding Tax Liability From Employee Misclassifications; Trends in Labor and Employment Law: Four Steps Employers…more

If you are the typical employer, you perform a criminal background check on job applicants, right? Ninety percent of employers do, and it is understandable why criminal background checks are performed: More than 65 million…more

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), the agency charged with enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws, has recently taken two steps to broaden the scope of enforcement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of…more

As the adage goes: Learn from your mistakes. This rule also applies to the work environment. Employers should constantly examine why accidents occur and try to find ways to keep them from happening in the future. The scope…more