January 1, 2020, the date your employees will be able to apply for Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave (WPFML) benefits, is right around the corner. Here’s an update on where things stand and a reminder about our resources: Rulemaking: The Washington Employment Security Department (ESD) has completed its rulemaking (click the…
Read More…
Nonexempt employees must be paid for all time worked under California’s Labor Code, even very brief periods of work, according to a recent opinion from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In general, nonexempt employees (often called hourly employees) must be paid for all time spent performing work, but federal law…
Read More…
Due to a technicality, the U.S. Supreme Court recently threw out the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2018 decision that barred employers from using prior salary history to justify paying employees less than their opposite-sex colleagues. The federal Equal Pay Act allows employers to explain pay differences between men and women…
Read More…
Washington’s new “ban the box” law, which takes effect June 7, 2018, prohibits private employers from asking about criminal history before deciding whether an applicant meets the basic criteria for the position. It also prohibits job ads that automatically exclude people with criminal histories from applying (e.g., by saying “no felons” or “no criminal…
Read More…
Join Vigilant members and selected guests as we discuss current issues facing businesses in the area, have questions answered by Vigilant staff, and get to know one another. Sean Brown, Employment Attorney, and Jayson Ballentine, Safety Professional, will be on hand to facilitate the discussion and answer questions. Topics will include: Washington's…
Read More…
Question: We just received an application from a candidate who’s clearly qualified, but we know he sued his last employer for discrimination and we’d rather not hire someone who goes around suing people. Can we get in trouble for rejecting him?
Read More…
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?
Read More…
Q: Is there an exemption from Washington’s paid sick leave law for truck drivers? If not, how do we comply with Washington’s paid leave requirement of providing 1 hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked when we pay our truck drivers in Washington on a cents per mile basis, rather than hourly?
Read More…
Washington Governor Jay Inslee has signed a sweeping Paid Family and Medical Leave Bill (SSB 5975) that will have far-reaching implications for employers. The law creates a paid family and medical leave insurance program, where employees will apply to the state to receive a paid leave benefit for a variety of family and medical leaves.
Read More…
Q: We’re working with new equipment and a few employees have asked us if they can volunteer to stay after their shift to learn how to use the new technology that operates the machines—should we let them?
Read More…