Q&APrivacy & Confidentiality  

Q&A: Knowing who is authorized to receive your legal documents can prevent lawsuits

Question: We just found out that a former employee was awarded a default judgment of $75,000 against our company, but we didn’t even hear about the lawsuit until just now. Is there a way to get the judgment reversed since we didn’t receive the legal documents?
 

FLSA minimum wage compliance is based on workweek, not hour

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that minimum wage compliance under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is based on the workweek, not the hour. Details of the Ruling Customer service employees at a call center earned different rates of pay depending on their tasks. The company used…

Safety and HealthWorkers’ Comp  

Reducing workers’ comp premiums takes a team effort

Reducing Workers' Comp Premiums is a Team Effort

DisabilityTermination & Resignation  

ADA accommodation may require showing rather than telling

ADA accommodation may require showing rather than telling An employee in Illinois will move forward to a jury trial on her disability discrimination claim alleging that her employer failed to provide a reasonable accommodation for her learning disability. Although supervisors told her how to complete her timesheets, the employee claims that…

Employee BenefitsLeave Laws  

Employee on military leave qualified for higher bonus upon return

A pilot who would have qualified for a higher pay grade had he not been on military leave should have received a bonus upon his return at the rate for the higher pay grade, ruled the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The pilot (a union member) was selected by his…

Leave Laws  

Final rules released for Washington paid sick leave

Effective January 1, 2018, Washington employers are now required to provide mandatory paid sick leave to all employees. The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) recently released the final rules addressing Initiative 1433, which mandates 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked, with no cap on accrual or…

Q&AHarassment & Discrimination  

Q&A: Discrimination – yes, it’s still happening, and employers must take it seriously

The Question: One of our employees is saying his coworkers are using very obscene racial slurs in casual conversation. We trust our supervisors and they’ve said they can’t imagine this is actually happening. What should we do?

Safety and HealthWorkers’ Comp  

Congratulations to Vigilant’s 2017 Safety Award Winners!

Vigilant’s 2017 Safety Award Winners
37 Retro Group Members Recognized for Exceptional Safety Efforts

Safety and Health  

No real winners in battle over intoxicated employee’s death after party

A New York appellate court recently ruled that a cancer treatment center wasn’t liable for the death of its 48-year-old employee who became extremely intoxicated at an annual department holiday party. The case serves as a sobering reminder, however, of the human consequences of a holiday event gone wrong. The party was…

Leave Laws  

Q&A: Front-loaded PTO policies create problems with Washington paid sick leave

The Question: We are trying to prepare for the implementation of the Washington paid sick leave going into effect on January 1, 2018. We have locations in Bellevue and Olympia, Washington, as well as in Eugene, Oregon. We front-load our paid time off (PTO) at the beginning of the calendar year and don’t carry over any remaining PTO at the end of the calendar year. We know we are in compliance with Oregon’s paid sick leave. Will our policy also comply with Washington’s new paid sick leave law?