Question: Before Governor Inslee’s order temporarily halting garnishments for consumer debt took effect on April 14, 2020, we withheld wages and set the money aside to send to the creditor once the 60-day garnishment period ended. Should we refund that money to our employee? Or should we hold on to it and…
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Washington employers must temporarily stop withholding worker wages under writs of garnishment, according to a proclamation issued by Governor Jay Inslee to ease financial hardships for workers during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. This includes writs you currently hold and any new writs you receive starting April 14 and continuing through May 14, 2020. The…
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The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that California’s reporting time pay requirements extend to employees scheduled for “call-in” shifts even if they aren’t required to physically report to work. Workers at a retail store were required to call their manager 30 to 60 minutes before a scheduled shift to see if the store…
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The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) filed a temporary rule that permits manufacturers of certain non-perishable goods to allow employees to voluntarily work up to 91 hours in a workweek. This temporary rule is being adopted as an emergency response to the critical demand for certain non-perishable products…
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On March 25, 2020, Governor Inslee signed an amendment to the Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave (WPFML) program (SHB 2614). This bill doesn’t have anything to do with the current pandemic. Instead, it makes technical corrections to the WPFML program, to ensure the intent of the original bill is intact. The…
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Question: Our company is facing financial difficulty, so we’re considering reclassifying some salaried exempt workers as hourly nonexempt workers to cut down on payroll hours. Is that a good idea? Answer: Maybe, but reclassifying workers can have unintended negative consequences. Unfortunately, many companies are scrambling for ways to save money right now. Some…
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Alert: New federal law provides paid leave for COVID-19 absences President Trump has signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, an economic stimulus package that offers employees certain emergency protections for absences related to the coronavirus (COVID-19). This new law will have a major impact on employers throughout 2020, as it…
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Employers can’t use prior salary history to justify paying employees less than their opposite-sex colleagues, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has confirmed. The federal Equal Pay Act (EPA) allows employers to explain pay differences between men and women performing equal work by pointing to seniority, merit, production, or any “factor other than…
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Question: Our policy requires employees to work their last scheduled day before a holiday and first scheduled day after a holiday in order to be eligible for holiday pay. In the past, some employees have called in sick when they were scheduled to work the day before or after a…
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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has updated its guidance on the “regular rate” requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under the FLSA, employers must pay workers overtime of at least one-and-a-half times the “regular rate” for hours worked beyond 40 hours per workweek. The regular rate could just be a worker’s normal…
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