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News, trends and analysis in employment law, HR, safety & workers' comp

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Mar 14 2024
Featured Worker’s CompSafety and HealthWashington

Workers’ Comp Costs: What you CAN control

As you know, L&I increased rates for Washington employers in January by 4.9% on average. If you’ve attended one of our recent webinars, you know rate changes fall into the category of things outside of your control when it comes to workers’ compensation costs. You might also recall the ridiculously busy but truthful graphic from…

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Mar 11 2024
Labor RelationsUncategorized

Court extends effective date of joint employer rule to 3/11/24

              A federal district court in Texas recently delayed the effective date of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)’s revised joint employer rule until March 11, 2024. The new rule was originally scheduled to take effect on December 26, 2023, but we previously reported that the Board later delayed the…

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Mar 11 2024
Leave LawsOregon

OREGON: Major leave changes will eliminate OFLA and PLO overlap

The Oregon legislature has passed SB 1515, which makes major changes to the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), and minor changes to Paid Leave Oregon (PLO), in an effort to eliminate the overlap between the two leave laws. The governor is expected to sign the bill. Most leaves that are currently covered by both OFLA…

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Mar 08 2024
Featured Worker’s CompSafety and HealthWashington

Ask the Claims Manager: Supervisor’s Report of Accident, necessary?

              QUESTION: Our Vigilant Washington workers’ comp claims manager asked us to provide a Supervisor’s Report of Accident after one of our employees was injured at work. I know our claims manager received all the information about the injury from the Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), so…

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Mar 08 2024
Labor Relations

Don’t unilaterally stop dues checkoff when CBA expires

Employers can no longer unilaterally stop collecting union dues when a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires, ruled the U.S. Ninth Circuit of Appeals. Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), a union-represented employee can agree to allow their employer to deduct and remit union dues. In a case involving hospital employees, the CBA between the…

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Feb 27 2024
Termination & Resignation

Supreme Court clears path for SOX whistleblower to claim retaliation

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that employees alleging retaliation under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) only have to show that their whistleblowing activity was a “contributing factor” in their employer’s adverse employment decision. SOX is a federal law that protects employees at publicly traded companies who report (internally or externally) what they reasonably believe to…

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Feb 23 2024
Affirmative ActionHarassment & DiscriminationHiring

Manufacturer pays $443,000 to resolve hiring discrimination claims

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently announced that federal contractor GE Aerospace will pay $443,000 in back pay and interest to resolve allegations that it discriminated against female applicants for Manufacturing Ops Associate positions at its facility in Rutland, Vermont. The money will be shared among 116 unsuccessful female applicants. The company…

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Feb 23 2024
Harassment & Discrimination

NLRB says employee had right to put BLM initials on apron

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently ruled that Home Depot violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it told an employee not to wear the initials “BLM” on a work apron in reference to Black Lives Matter. Under the NLRA, unless special circumstances exist (such as safety concerns), nonmanagement employees generally have the…

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Feb 09 2024
Safety and Health

Submit OSHA injury & illness data by 3-2-24

              March 2, 2024, is the deadline for covered employers to submit injury and illness data to OSHA—for some employers, this just means their 300A Summaries, while for others, this means also submitting detailed data from their OSHA 300 Logs and OSHA 301 Forms. Covered employers must submit this…

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Feb 09 2024
Featured Worker’s CompUncategorizedWashington

How happy are you with your workers’ comp partner?

            How often do you find the terms “happy” and “workers’ compensation” in the same sentence? It’s a rare occurrence, given the challenges and complexities associated with workers’ comp in Washington. While many perceive it as a necessary burden, there are companies out there with a different perspective—those who genuinely…

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