Lorraine Amrine, Author at Vigilant

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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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Jun 15 2023
Safety and HealthWashington

WASHINGTON: More bills signed from 2023 legislative session

More bills from the 2023 legislative regular session have been signed into law by Washington Governor Jay Inslee. We previously reported on a number of newly signed bills from this session. Two additional bills of interest to employers are listed below. SSB 5217: Authorizes L&I to develop workplace ergonomic safety rules. Effective July 23, 2023,…

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May 18 2023
Labor RelationsQ&ASafety and Health

Q&A: Insubordination may be protected under NLRA

Question: One of our employees yelled at our plant manager during a team meeting and called the manager “the devil incarnate,” said that the manager “must enjoy torturing the crew,” and that “working here was a living hell.” He was complaining because the manager was requiring mandatory overtime during the most recent heatwave. We follow…

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May 04 2023
DisabilityWage and Hour

DOL releases guidance on PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued frequently asked questions and a fact sheet detailing employers' obligations under the newly enacted Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act). As we previously reported, enforcement of this Act began on April 28, 2023. The PUMP Act expands the right to…

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Apr 20 2023
Q&AWage and Hour

Q&A: Can I reuse old separation agreements?

Question: Has anything changed recently regarding separation agreements? We’re planning to eliminate a position and we want to offer severance pay. I have a separation agreement that was drafted a couple of years ago; can I just reuse that? Answer: No, please contact your Vigilant Law Group employment attorney for fresh language! There have been…

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Mar 16 2023
Leave LawsOregonWorkers’ Comp

OREGON Q&A: Track OFLA after workers’ comp claim is denied

Question: We have an Oregon employee who has been off work due to an injury for 10 weeks. The employee claimed that the injury was work related, so we didn’t count the time off under OFLA. But our workers compensation carrier recently denied the claim. Now that the claim isn’t covered by workers' compensation do…

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Mar 02 2023
Leave LawsOregon

OREGON: OFLA eligibility returns to normal as health emergency ends

Oregon’s declared public health emergency due to RSV is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. on March 6, 2023, so eligibility for leave under the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) will return to normal on that date. As we previously reported, Governor Kate Brown’s public health emergency declaration temporarily shrank the minimum length of employment…

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Jan 05 2023
OregonWage and Hour

OREGON: No pay due for security screening time

The Oregon Supreme Court recently ruled that Oregon wage and hour law is consistent with federal law in not requiring employees to be paid for time spent in mandatory security screenings at the end of their shifts because the screening activity wasn’t integral and indispensable to their principal work activities. As we previously reported, in…

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Nov 17 2022
Leave LawsQ&A

Q&A: Occasional exceptions to call-in policy may be needed

Question: We have an employee who is using intermittent family leave, but on a number of occasions failed to call in 30 minutes prior to shift, which is required by our call-in policy. We have told the employee that if they fail to comply with the policy again, they will be terminated. Are there any…

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Nov 03 2022
COVID-19DisabilityLeave Laws

WASHINGTON: Public health emergency ends; some duties remain

Governor Jay Inslee ended the COVID-19 public health emergency for the state of Washington on October 31, 2022, but employers still have some obligations under state law. As we previously reported, the continuing requirements for COVID-19 (coronavirus) stem from Washington’s Health Emergency Labor Standards Act (HELSA) and from an ongoing obligation to provide a workplace…

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Oct 06 2022
COVID-19Safety and HealthWashington

WASHINGTON: COVID-19 state of emergency to end October 31, 2022

Governor Jay Inslee has announced that he will end Washington’s declared public health emergency (PHE) due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) on October 31, 2022. As he previously announced, 12 health care related orders will end on October 27. The remaining COVID-19 emergency proclamations, including the state of emergency, will be rescinded at the end of the…

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Aug 18 2022
Employee ClassificationsQ&AWage and Hour

Q&A: Can we convert an employee into an independent contractor?

Question: Our employee is retiring soon, but we’d like her to finish a few projects after she retires. We don’t want to provide benefits, so we’d like to have her sign a contract saying she’s working as an independent contractor. Are we okay doing this? Answer: It’s unlikely that you’d be able to justify classifying…

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