The Washington State Legislature has passed a sweeping package of labor and employment laws that will significantly impact businesses with employees working in the State of Washington. These new laws, several of which become...more
6/19/2025
/ Background Checks ,
Domestic Violence ,
Earned Sick Time ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Job Ads ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Transparency ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
WARN Act
Following a recent Washington Supreme Court decision, plaintiffs’ attorneys in Washington are targeting a new type of class action claim against employers: alleged violations of Washington’s noncompetition statute based on...more
5/2/2025
/ Class Action ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Employee Mobility ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws ,
WA Supreme Court ,
Washington
It is a new year, which means new employment laws for employers in the Pacific Northwest. The following is a brief overview of significant new laws and changes for employers with Washington and/or Oregon employees....more
1/2/2025
/ Agricultural Workers ,
Compensation ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Labor Code ,
Minimum Wage ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Oregon ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Warehouses ,
Washington
Oregon recently joined several other states that have heightened individual privacy rights when it enacted the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act (“OCPA”). The OCPA applies to all for-profit business immediately and to applicable...more
On November 15, 2024, a federal court in Texas vacated a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rule (the “2024 Rule”) that increased the minimum salary threshold for employees classified as exempt from overtime and minimum wage...more
AI in hiring: About 80% of U.S. and almost all Fortune 500 companies use AI-powered hiring software. AI may be used to target online advertising for job opportunities and to match candidates to jobs on employment platforms...more
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced a final rule, “Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional (EAP), Outside Sales and...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, that will make it easier for employees to pursue discrimination claims against their employers based on job transfers or other...more
4/19/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lateral Transfers ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
On June 6, 2024, new amendments to Washington State’s noncompetition statute (RCW 49.62) will go into effect, which place further limitations on the use of noncompetition agreements in Washington. Substitute Senate Bill 5935...more
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) mandates that employers compensate employees for each hour worked. Nonetheless, the Department of Labor guidance permits rounding of employee time punches so long as, among other things,...more
2/7/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Labor Regulations ,
Oregon ,
Rounding ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Timekeeping ,
Wage and Hour ,
Washington
On January 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a new final rule, “Employee or Independent Contractor Classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” aimed at clarifying the distinction between employees...more
It is a new year, which means new employment laws for employers in the Pacific Northwest. The following is a brief overview of significant new laws and changes for Washington and Oregon employers (all effective January 1,...more
1/3/2024
/ Apprenticeships ,
Cannabis Products ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Regulations ,
Marijuana ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Oregon ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Sick Leave ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Temporary Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
Washington
December 1, 2023 By: Leah Lively California Business and Professional Code sections 16600 to 16607 already invalidate agreements restricting California employees from pursuing any lawful profession, trade, or business, with...more
This month, dozens of class action lawsuits have been filed in Washington, based on alleged violations of Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunity Act. Employers recruiting or planning to recruit for any position in...more
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed SB 525 into law, which amends the California Labor Code to set industry minimum wage requirements for nearly all healthcare workers, whether they are hourly or salaried...more
If you have been doing business with entities in the European Union, chances are that you have struggled to figure out how to transfer data from the EU to the US without running afoul of the General Data Protection Regulation...more
10/11/2023
/ Data Protection ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Framework Agreement ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Noncompliance ,
Popular ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework
As of June 27, 2023, employers must offer additional protections to employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition under a new federal law—the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”).
The PWFA...more
All employers should be aware of the recent decision by the United States Supreme in Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. v. Hewitt dealing with exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The Hewitt court held that...more