Over the last several months, the phrases “#MeToo” and “#Time’sUp” have become synonymous with a call to action to stand up to sexual harassment in the workplace. Although the #MeToo movement does not appear to be slowing […]

The much-promised “Trump overhaul” of the Obama National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) suddenly shifted into high gear, as the newly minted Republican-led Board recently overturned a number of key Obama Board rulings. A major impetus for the flurry of pro-management decisions was the December 16, 2017 […]

For many employers, the company holiday party is as ubiquitous as the holidays themselves.
Many organizations are privy to holiday party legends – some good, some bad. As the holiday
season unfolds, companies throughout the Puget Sound region […]

On September 29, 2017, the Office of Labor Standards (“OLS”) for the City of Seattle published the final proposed revisions to the administrative rules for its Minimum Wage Ordinance, which, if approved, will take effect on January 1, 2018. These are rule revisions to Ordinance […]

Employers that have employees located in Washington should be aware of the new mandatory safe
and sick leave law, which takes effect on January 1, 2018. Several Washington cities – Seattle,
SeaTac, Tacoma and Spokane – already have mandatory […]

On July 5, 2017, Washington became the fifth state in the nation to approve a paid Family and Medical
Leave law. The new law, which takes effect on January 1, 2020, is one of the most generous in the
country and will apply to any person or business that employs at […]

Washington law is clear that employees working more than five hours must be allowed a 30-minute meal period, unless the employee chooses to waive the meal period. However, an employer’s responsibility for ensuring that employees actually take meal breaks has been less clear. Recently, the Washington Supreme Court […]

The new administration made it clear that it is making immigration a priority and employers should expect stepped up enforcement of workplace immigration laws. Based on the administration’s indications, ICE audits will increase, new investigation officers will be hired, and enforcement in this area will get a lot of […]

Equal pay has been in the news of late, with marches and other efforts by advocates to raise public awareness of pay inequity between men and women in the workplace. These efforts have focused on strengthening the 1963 Equal Pay Act, which requires employers to pay men and women the same for equal work. Recent developments […]

Washington is known for having among the country’s strongest protections ensuring the payment of wages. When a company becomes insolvent, former employees will seek payment of their earned wages from the former company managers and […]

On April 21, 2017, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s broad interpretation of “concerted protect activity” worthy of protection under federal labor law, when it determined that an employee’s vulgar Facebook post about a supervisor […]

Waymo is the self-driving car subsidiary of Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. On February 23, 2017, Waymo
filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco, accusing Uber and two other companies of stealing its
trade secrets. The allegations in the […]