Washington state employers are now banned from holding “captive audience” meetings. So-called captive audience meetings are mandatory meetings held by employers during work hours to address activities protected by Section 7...more
6/28/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
State and Local Government ,
State Bans ,
Unions ,
Washington
The city of Renton, Washington, finalized rules to implement Initiative 23-02 on May 31, 2024. The initiative was approved by Renton voters in February 2024 and codified within Chapter 5-28 and Section 5-5-4 of the Renton...more
6/21/2024
/ Business Licenses ,
Certifications ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Regulations ,
Penalties ,
Recertification ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Wage and Hour ,
Washington
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on October 31, 2023, that will help facilitate interagency coordination and...more
As expected, Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation that will significantly restrict the use of noncompetition agreements for Washington-based employees and independent contractors. The new law will also make legal actions to...more
Last week, the Washington State Legislature passed a proposal that, once signed into law, will significantly restrict the use of noncompetition agreements in Washington. We fully expect Governor Jay Inslee to sign this law,...more
4/24/2019
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Governor Inslee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Startups ,
State Labor Laws ,
Trade Secrets
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) applies to employers who obtain “consumer reports” from a “consumer reporting agency” for employment purposes. A “consumer report” is one that has information bearing on the...more
The U.S. Supreme Court this week overruled longstanding precedent to hold that public-sector unions may no longer extract agency fees from nonconsenting employees who have opted not to join a union. Janus v. AFSCME, ___ U.S....more
7/2/2018
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Fair Share Contribution ,
First Amendment ,
Janus v AFSCME ,
Non-Union ,
Payroll Deductions ,
Public Sector Unions ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Stare Decisis ,
Union Dues
Washington’s Amended Equal Pay Act -
The Washington Equal Pay Opportunity Act will go into effect on June 7, 2018. House Bill 1506, signed by Governor Jay Inslee on March 21, 2018, amends the Washington Equal Pay Act, RCW...more
5/9/2018
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Transparency ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wage and Hour
The state of Washington’s new paid sick and safe time (PSST) requirements became effective January 1, 2018. They apply to all employees covered by Washington’s Minimum Wage Act. Employees who meet the “white collar”...more
2/15/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Regulations ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Sick Pay ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision relating to the test for joint employment under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The decision upheld the Administrative Law Judge’s ruling that two entities...more
In addition to championing greater employee and workplace protections via ballot measures and city ordinances in Santa Clara County, California, several unions have set their eyes on the employees of the private companies...more
The Seattle City Council unanimously passed the Secure Scheduling Ordinance (Ordinance) on September 19, 2016. The Ordinance imposes new requirements on certain employers in the retail and food services industries for their...more
9/21/2016
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Local Ordinance ,
OCR ,
On-Call Employees ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
A federal judge in Texas has issued a nationwide injunction against the new labor “persuader” reporting requirements that were due to take effect on July 1, 2016. The ruling does not impact earlier employer reporting...more
Although some states have long imposed personal liability on officers and directors for unpaid wages, the laws in both California and New York have recently been amended to address personal liability. This update addresses...more
In a game-changing event, on February 23, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the court that covers nine western states, including Washington, Oregon and California) in a 2-1 decision ruled that it is a...more
The decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last week in BFI Newby Island Recyclery expands the circumstances in which two otherwise separate and independent employers may be found to be joint employers of a...more
9/1/2015
/ Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
General Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Subcontractors ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Earlier this week, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the news release, “Crowd Management Measures Are Critical During Major Sales Events,” and sent a reminder to major retailers and retail...more
Last year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration revised the hazard communication requirements to adopt international standards concerning the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals and the format of...more
The National Labor Relations Board, the agency that enforces federal labor law, continues to challenge employer policies that seek to impose confidentiality constraints on employees....more
On April 16, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded, in a 5-4 decision, that when the individual plaintiff in a "collective action" under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) resolves her own claims before certification, the...more
On April 3, 2013, the New York Times published an article about commercial databases that contain reports from retail employers about employees who were accused of stealing from their workplaces. Other retailers, for a fee,...more
Last Friday, March 8th, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, adopted a new I-9 Form that must be used by all employers (and some other entities), starting no later than May 8,...more
In the waning days of 2012, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued several game-changing decisions that are important to all private sector employers—both union and nonunion....more
On January 1, 2013, all employers with employees in California who are paid by commission will be required to have written contracts with those employees. This law is a significant departure from the previous law, which only...more