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Nov 05 2014
Drug and AlcoholOregonSafety and Health

Alert: Oregon voters approve recreational marijuana; are employers prepared?

The November 4, 2014, ballot results of Measure 91 are clear: Oregon voters have joined their Washington neighbors in approving recreational marijuana for individuals who are 21 or older. Employers in these states, as well as neighboring states where employees may cross the border to buy pot, should consider what to do next. The Oregon…

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Oct 30 2014
HiringWashington

WASHINGTON: Overbroad, anticompetitive noncompetes are unenforceable

Two of the employees’ noncompete agreements prevented them from contacting any customers they communicated with while employed with the company. The court looked at this prohibition, and found that it was too harsh and overly broad. Essentially, this restriction would have prevented the employees from contacting companies who weren’t even customers, but were merely prospects…

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Oct 21 2014
DisabilityQ&A

Pregnancy Accommodation: Handle with care

A: Probably. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act prohibits discriminate against a woman because she’s pregnant and requires equal treatment as other employees with regard to their ability or inability to work. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) took this up a notch in its July 2014 guidance, stating that employers should offer light duty to pregnant…

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Oct 20 2014
Wage and Hour

Employers Liable for Wage Claims of Contractors and Subcontractors

The cleaning took place during the evening, typically around 11 p.m. when the stores were closed. The employees were not able to leave until their work was signed off in the morning, usually around 8 a.m. Unfortunately, the subcontractors failed to pay their employees minimum wage and overtime, while they also neglected to pay various…

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Oct 13 2014
Washington

WASHINGTON: Employers are responsible for discrimination between independent contractors

A contractor truck driver was called racial epithets, cursed at, and was the target of racially charged jokes made by other contract drivers. In response to this treatment, the independent contractor driver reported the incidents to an official at the client company who forwarded the complaints to dispatch. Two days after receiving the complaint, the…

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Oct 10 2014
CaliforniaEmployee BenefitsWage and Hour

CALIFORNIA: Governor signs more 2014 legislation

California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed more bills into law from the 2013-2014 regular legislative session. Here is a summary of the employment-related bills that have the greatest impact on employers. Unless otherwise indicated, they take effect on January 1, 2015. Remember that as with most laws, there are often exceptions to the rules, which…

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Oct 10 2014
Vigilant NewsWashingtonWorkers’ Comp

WASHINGTON: Vigilant Workers’ Comp program earns even more in premium refunds!

Our Washington Workers’ Comp claims team is very excited to report that on top of the $7.5M in refunds distributed this year, we have recovered an additional $633,227 in premium refunds for participants in our retro program. The additional refunds came as a result of successful protests on claims that were incorrectly charged, or should…

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Oct 07 2014
Wage and HourWashingtonWorkers’ Comp

WASHINGTON: L&I announces 2015 workers’ comp rate increase

Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) has announced an average proposed 1.8 percent rate increase in workers’ compensation rates effective January 1, 2015, pointing out that the proposal is just under the current rate of wage inflation of 2 percent. Yet, Oregon just announced a 5.3 percent decrease in next year’s base premium rate,…

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Oct 07 2014
California

CALIFORNIA: New workplace bullying training required

Starting January 1, 2015, employers in California with 50 or more employees must include training on preventing “abusive conduct” as part of the currently required sexual harassment training for supervisors. Abusive conduct under AB 2053 is defined as “conduct of an employer or employee in the workplace, with malice, that a reasonable person would find…

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Oct 06 2014
CaliforniaWage and Hour

CALIFORNIA: Reimbursement for Business Use of Personal Phones is a Must

Under California Labor Code 2802, employers must reimburse employees for all necessary  expenses incurred in their work duties. When the employees filed a class action lawsuit to enforce this labor code, the employer argued that many employees didn’t incur extra expenses to use their personal phones for work because they have unlimited-use phone plans. Essentially,…

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Sep 29 2014
Leave LawsOregon

Actual Notice of FMLA Necessary to Hold Employees Accountable

The employee claimed that she did not know that her leave was being counted as FMLA and was not aware of the requirement that she must return within 12 weeks in order to protect her job. She alleged that if she had known of the expectations she would have expedited her treatment in order to…

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Sep 24 2014
DisabilityDrug and Alcohol

Drug testing for prescription medication is questionable under ADA

Random drug testing for prescription medication pushes the limits of what is permissible under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but may not necessarily violate the law, according to a recent case from the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The case stems from an employer’s random drug testing procedures, which were specifically designed…

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