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May 17 2024
Labor RelationsSafety and HealthTermination & Resignation

Far-reaching H-2A worker protections coming soon

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has adopted a final rule, Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States (Farmworker Protection Rule) that will significantly impact employers that use the H-2A program for temporary agricultural employment. Here are some of the key aspects of the new rule: Effective date: June 28,…

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May 17 2024
Wage and Hour

FTC bans most noncompete clauses as of September 4, 2024

              On May 7, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a regulation that would prohibit enforcement of most noncompete clauses as of September 4, 2024, but the regulation is already being challenged in court. The regulation says: No new noncompete agreements may be signed on or after September…

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May 03 2024
Wage and Hour

DOL raises overtime-exempt minimum salary requirements

                The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published new regulations for the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that increase the minimum salaries required for white-collar workers who are exempt from overtime. The new regulations raise the exempt salary threshold as of July 1, 2024, and then again on…

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Apr 19 2024
Wage and Hour

WASHINGTON: Burien’s new minimum wage begins January 1, 2025

                The Burien City Council recently passed an ordinance that establishes its own minimum wage. The rate applies to all nonexempt (overtime-eligible) employees physically working in Burien for employers with 21 or more full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in King County. The required minimum wage depends on the size…

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Apr 19 2024
Labor RelationsWage and Hour

Supreme Court clarifies arbitration rules for transportation workers

The U.S. Supreme Court recently clarified that a worker’s job duties, not their employer’s business, determine whether they qualify as a transportation worker who is exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The FAA exemption frees such workers from the general rule under federal law that workers can be compelled to sign agreements to resolve…

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Apr 05 2024
Labor RelationsLeave LawsWage and Hour

WASHINGTON: Governor signs 2024 bills

The Washington legislature’s regular session adjourned on March 7, 2024, and Governor Jay Inslee has signed several employment-related bills into law: SHB 1905 (pay equity): Expands Washington’s existing pay equity law beyond gender to also include membership in a long list of protected classes: age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin,…

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Mar 21 2024
Employee BenefitsHiringLabor Relations

Judge tosses NLRB’s 2023 joint employer rule

A federal district court judge in Texas has invalidated the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)’s 2023 rule defining when two separate companies are actually joint employers for purposes of compliance with the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The judge issued the decision shortly before the rule was scheduled to take effect. The Board is expected…

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Mar 21 2024
Wage and Hour

EEOC releases pay data dashboard from EEO-1 Reports

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently published a data dashboard displaying aggregate compensation data collected in “Component 2” of covered employers’ 2017 and 2018 EEO-1 Reports. As we previously reported here and here, employers with at least 100 employees were required to submit data from those two years for employees’ pay and hours,…

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Jan 29 2024
Employee ClassificationsWage and Hour

DOL publishes FLSA rule on independent contractors vs. employees

  The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published a new regulation describing how to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The regulation uses an “economic realities” test to evaluate whether the worker is economically dependent on the hiring entity (indicating employee status)…

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Jan 29 2024
Labor RelationsTermination & ResignationWage and Hour

Q&A: Employees can discuss wages with each other

Question: Two of our employees accessed confidential payroll files and now are loudly complaining they are the lowest-paid employees in the company. Their manager is upset and wants to fire them for breach of trust, disrupting our business operations, and hurting morale. The whole department is demanding a raise. What can we do here? Answer:…

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Jan 17 2024
Safety and HealthWage and Hour

Post your OSHA 300A by February 1, 2024

It’s nearly time to finish completing the OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and post the OSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) for the 2023 calendar year. Federal OSHA generally requires employers with more than 10 employees to keep a record of work-related injuries and illnesses, except for establishments…

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Jan 05 2024
Featured Worker’s CompHarassment & DiscriminationSafety and Health

Mitigate workers’ comp risks: Production slowdowns with an injured employee

  When an injured worker is laid off or has their hours reduced because of a production slowdown, you may experience unexpected workers’ compensation issues that could have been avoided with advanced planning. Here are some practical considerations to keep in mind if you must take the unfortunate step of reducing hours or headcount: Eligibility…

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