Q&APrivacy & Confidentiality  

Are employers required to have gender neutral bathrooms?

Question: Does the law require employers to have unisex bathrooms even if we don’t have transgender employees?

Q&ALeave Laws  

What is the FMLA’s rule about 50 employees within 75 miles?

Q: We have employees at two small facilities in towns that are 60 miles away from each other. One facility has 10 employees and the other has 43. An employee at the 10-employee site has requested leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). We don’t believe he qualifies for FMLA because each facility has less than 50 employees. Is that correct?

Q&AHiring  

What should we do if an employee has missing I-94 information?

Q: While doing an I-9 audit, I discovered missing information for an employee’s Form I-94, which is the arrival/departure record that a foreign visitor receives when entering the United States. When I asked the employee, he says he does not have a Form I-94. What should I do?

Leave Laws  

WASHINGTON: Tacoma adopts paid sick leave ordinance

On January 27, 2015, the Tacoma City Council voted 8-1 to adopt mandatory paid sick, safe, and bereavement leave for businesses within city limits. In adopting paid leave requirements, Tacoma joins a trend that includes Seattle, Portland, Eugene, San Francisco, San Diego, and the State of California.  Below are key provisions of the ordinance:

Q&AWage and Hour  

Do employees occasionally working in Seattle get a minimum wage bump?

Q: Our business isn’t in Seattle but we have some employees who occasionally work there. Do we have to pay the new minimum wage to these employees starting April 1st?

Q&ADisability  

Pregnancy Accommodation: Handle with care

Q: A pregnant employee doesn’t want to work one of the jobs in a rotating shift, saying she can’t lift over 10 lbs. It happens to be the job no one wants to work. Do I have to allow her to skip it because she’s pregnant?

Vigilant News  

Vigilant Executive Briefing in Everett, Washington 10/21/14 - Register today!

Will the next year serve up rough seas or calm waters? In this Executive Briefing, you will receive key economic data to chart your course, a heads-up about the legal eddies to avoid, and an essential tool that will inspire your crew to pull in the same direction. The result?…

Supervisor’s lax oversight of harasser results in jury trial

Two female employees have sufficient evidence of extreme and ongoing workplace harassment to argue their claims before a jury, according to a federal district court in Washington.

Q&ALeave Laws  

FMLA Certifications from Foreign Doctors

Q: I have a worker that returned to her country during the holiday season and sent a cryptic note from her foreign doctor, stating she needed to stay and care for her mother. Do I have to provide FMLA leave?

Q&ADisabilityHiring  

Can I ask job applicants if they smoke?

Q: With the government confirming that smokers cost $4,000 more a year in health care costs, can I ask an applicant “Do you smoke?”