On January 23, 2025, the Washington Supreme Court held employers who pay their employees less than twice the minimum wage cannot prohibit them from working second jobs, subject to a few, limited exceptions. Employers who...more
2/6/2025
/ Damages ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Minimum Wage ,
Moonlighting ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws ,
WA Supreme Court ,
Wage and Hour
Agricultural employers are often at the mercy of nature which causes constant fluctuations in labor needs. Given the unique nature of the agricultural industry, their workers have historically been exempt from minimum wage...more
Figuring out when you have to pay employees for travel time can be tricky in any state. A Washington Court of Appeals just held that the rules for determining when travel time is compensable are significantly more employee...more
In a long-awaited decision, the California Supreme Court rejected the federal de minimis doctrine, making clear that in any instance in which employees perform “minutes of work,” before or after their shifts, that time must...more
7/31/2018
/ CA Supreme Court ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Starbucks ,
State Labor Laws ,
Timekeeping ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
The California Supreme Court issued a ruling yesterday that will affect workers and businesses in the Golden State’s “Gig Economy.” The decision changes the standard to determine whether workers are classified as independent...more
5/2/2018
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The Washington Supreme Court held that an employer is not strictly liable under Washington law for an employee who voluntarily waives his or her meal break. The court also held that, once an employee has asserted a prima face...more
On September 19, 2016, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to approve a new legislation that would regulate how large retail and food-service businesses schedule their employees. Known as the “secure scheduling” law,...more
On July 15, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued an important Administrator’s Interpretation discussing the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Many companies engage independent...more
Question:
My company relies on independent contractors, over whom we don’t exert control. They often joke around with each other. I’m not liable for employment discrimination if I terminate one of them after they...more
Companies using independent contractors should be aware of increased enforcement efforts from federal and state labor and tax authorities over misclassification of workers under wage and hour and tax laws. In Washington, this...more
I’m the owner of a small record store. I have 13 sales clerks and 4 back room employees. Things aren’t great these days – but we get by. Fortunately, while people listen to music on their phones and the internet way more than...more