SBJ Shareholders Darren Feider, Jeff James, and Associate Nate Bailey recently obtained summary judgment on behalf of two former shareholders of Cobalt Mortgage, Inc. (“Cobalt”). The court
SBJ shareholder Jeff James has been named to Who’s Who Legal: Labour, Employment & Benefits 2016. WWL is an international publication featuring “the world’s leading practitioners in
SBJ Shareholders Jillian Barron, Jeff James, and Ed Taylor, as well as Bob Sebris (Of Counsel) have been named to the 23rd Edition of The Best Lawyers
Sebris Busto James shareholders Darren Feider and Judd Lees will be speaking at an upcoming Sterling Education Services seminar on August 10 in Tacoma, Washington, entitled “The
Ed Taylor and Nate Bailey recently prevailed in a discharge arbitration brought by a union against one of the firm’s clients. The arbitrator upheld the discharge in
On June 29, 2016, the Washington State Supreme Court denied the plaintiffs’ petition for discretionary review in Lodis v. Corbis Holdings, Inc. In so ruling, the Court shut
Update: On June 27, 2016 a federal district court in Texas issued a nationwide injunction against the Department of Labor’s new “Persuader” rules. The injunction prevents the
While we think that all of our lawyers and staff at SBJ are super, Thompson Reuters, publishers of “Super Lawyers Magazine,” have specifically recognized shareholders Jillian Barron,
Each year, Chambers ranks leading law firms and lawyers in an extensive range of practice areas throughout the world. The results are compiled by full-time researchers that
Ed Taylor was given the first annual Volunteer of the Year Award by Cares of Washington. Cares provides vocational training and employment assistance services to persons with
SEBRIS BUSTO JAMES, one of the Pacific Northwest’s leading management-side labor and employment law firms, is pleased to announce that new shareholders Judd Lees and Darren Feider
“Trials Matter.” With those two powerful words, the Court of Appeals began its decision in which it affirmed the jury verdict in the matter of Lodis v. Corbis
The National Labor Relations Board ended 2019 with a bang by reversing
2019 was an eventful year for the Washington legislature with respect to employment law matters. The Legislature enacted (and the Governor signed) important new laws on a range of subjects: pre-offer inquiries into wage or salary history, non-competition agreements, accommodating employees’ need to express breast milk, “panic buttons” for certain workers, and important amendments to the nascent Paid Family and Medical Leave law […]
To be exempt from overtime pay, an employee must (1) perform certain defined job duties (“the duties test”) and (2) be paid a fixed salary that meets or exceeds the state or federal salary threshold (“the salary basis” test). Most Washington workers are covered […]
On January 1, 2020, Washington will become the fifth state to implement a mandatory paid family and medical leave
program, joining California, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. (Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Oregon have enacted similar laws, but they do not take effect until 2021 or later.) In Washington, the […]
Each year the United States Supreme Court accepts 100-150 of the more than 7,000 lower court decisions it is asked to review. The Court’s term runs October through June, and to date, it has accepted just over 50 cases, including a few that may significantly impact employers. Issues to be decided by the Court include whether gay and […]
In Washington, wage and hour laws often impose technical and unforeseen obligations on employers. Long-term practices can become unlawful overnight with no warning. Happily, however, the Washington Supreme Court recently resolved a contested issue in employers’ favor. In Sampson v. Knight Transportation Inc. (September 5, 2019), the Court […]
Sometimes things just don’t add up. And sometimes, there’s a reasonable explanation. Every employer is required to determine employee eligibility to work in the U.S. by using the I-9 form. The current form is set to expire on August 31, 2019, but the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services […]
Recently, the Washington State Supreme Court expanded the Washington Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”) to include “obesity” as a disability. Specifically, the Court held that “obesity always qualifies as an impairment under the plain language of [the WLAD] because it is recognized by the medical community as a […]
In 2018, Washington State joined the ranks of states enacting expanded legislation designed to achieve gender-based pay equity when it enacted the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (the “EPOA”). The EPOA significantly expanded Washington’s then-existing […]
The hoped-for “Trump effect” appears to be in play and is pushing the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) pendulum back toward the management side of the equation after the Obama years. Among the changes on the horizon are a thawing of the definitions of […]
On April 17, 2019, the Washington Legislature passed a bill that would drastically alter the legal landscape for noncompetition agreements. Presently the bill is on the Governor’s desk, awaiting his signature. The new law, once enacted, will invalidate many (and perhaps most) existing noncompetition agreements in Washington, as of January 1, 2020 […]
The Federal Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides for 12 weeks of unpaid, but jobprotected, leave for employees’ family and medical reasons. Employers often provide employees with other forms of paid leave that they can also use to care for themselves or their family members. Prior to 2014, employers would often require […]