A recent Washington State Supreme Court decision addressed a simmering conflict between the statutory right of employees earning less than double minimum wage to work a second job, on the one hand, and employees’ duty of...more
The Washington Supreme Court recently entertained oral arguments in Branson v. Washington Fine Wines on the following certified question from the W.D. Washington regarding the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (“EPOA”)...more
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
Recently, the Washington Supreme Court held that noncompete agreements for employees earning less than twice the minimum wage must be reasonable and narrowly construed. The court found that prohibiting employees from...more
On January 23, 2025, the Washington Supreme Court held that two Washington workers can argue that their former employer imposed unreasonable restrictions in violation of a state statute regulating non-compete agreements that...more
In a case of first impression, the Washington Supreme Court interpreted Washington law regarding noncompete agreements to broadly protect employees who earn less than twice the state minimum wage from unreasonable...more
Washington State’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA) requires employers with 15 or more employees to include salary ranges and benefit information in job postings. Violations have resulted in over 100 EPOA class action...more
On August 20, 2024, Western District of Washington Judge John H. Chun asked the Washington Supreme Court to answer the question of what a party must prove to be considered a “job applicant” for the purposes of a pay...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
The Washington Supreme Court recently upheld amendments to the state’s prevailing wage statute that pins the wage rate to the highest collective bargaining statute in each separate county, a decision that is sure to have...more
In response to last year’s groundbreaking decision by the Washington State Supreme Court in Martinez-Cuevas v. DeRuyter Bros. Dairy, Inc., the state legislature recently passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5172 (SB5172),...more
Washington’s Supreme Court disrupted the state’s agricultural industry on November 5, 2020, when it held that the agricultural overtime exemption at RCW 49.46.130(2)(g) violated the state’s constitution as applied to dairy...more
In a 5-4 decision, a divided Washington Supreme Court ruled that dairy workers are entitled to overtime pay under Washington law if they work more than 40 hours a week, nullifying an exemption to the Washington Minimum Wage...more
In a sweeping 5-4 opinion last week, the Washington Supreme Court held that dairy workers are entitled to overtime pay, concluding that a state statutory exemption violated the Washington State Constitution. For the previous...more
On November 5, 2020, the Washington Supreme Court altered a 60-year provision of Washington’s Minimum Wage Statute when it issued its decision in Martinez-Cuevas v. DeRuyter Brothers Dairy. The court held that the...more
Dairies in Washington must pay workers overtime wages, based on a Washington Supreme Court decision issued November 5, 2020. Under Washington state law, employers must pay at least the applicable minimum wage for all hours...more
Last year, the Washington Supreme Court considered the following certified question: “Does the Washington Minimum Wage Act require non-agricultural employers to pay their piece-rate employees per hour for time spent...more
On September 5, 2019, the Washington Supreme Court held that non-agricultural employees do not have to be paid a separate hourly rate for time spent on non-piece-rate activities. Further, workweek averaging, as described in...more
On September 5, 2019, the Washington Supreme Court issued a huge win for all non-agricultural employers who pay commission or piece-rate pay to their employees in Washington state. In a 6-3 decision, the Washington Supreme...more
In yet another blow to agricultural employers, grab your stopwatches. In Carranza v. Dovex Fruit Co., the Washington Supreme Court has just held that agricultural employers are required to compensate piece-rate workers on a...more
The Washington Supreme Court case Brady v. Autozone recently addressed the standards that apply when a non-exempt employee alleges that an employer did not provide meal breaks. In short: it is now clear that if a lawsuit is...more
In a narrow 5-4 decision on August 20, 2015, the Washington Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling and applied the City of SeaTac’s $15 minimum wage law to all workers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport....more
In a 5-4 decision, the Washington State Supreme Court has held that Proposition 1 – an ordinance which increased the minimum wage within the city of SeaTac for employees in the hospitality and transportation industries to $15...more
The legal challenge to the SeaTac Minimum Employment Standard for Hospitality and Transportation Industry Employers (“SeaTac Ordinance”) was dealt a possibly lethal blow as the Washington Supreme Court reversed the King...more