U.S. Supreme Court rejects challenge to Seattle minimum wage law
On May 2, 2016, The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the legal challenge to the Seattle Minimum Wage Ordinance’s impact on Seattle franchisees (IFA v. Seattle–denial of cert). We have blogged about...
View Article2016 Oregon Legislative Update: What You Might Have Missed
Oregon’s new minimum wage law, signed by Governor Brown on March 2, 2016, received a lot of press during the 2016 legislative session. This new law establishes a tiered system for determination of the...
View ArticlePortland, Oregon’s More Restrictive “Ban the Box” Ordinance
Portland, Oregon’s new “ban the box” ordinance went into effect on July 1, 2016. We blogged about Oregon’s statewide “ban the box” law here. Portland’s new ordinance is more restrictive and prohibits...
View ArticleCity of Seattle Proposes New Ordinance Regulating Employee Scheduling
Seattle restaurants and retail employers may soon face significant restrictions on employee scheduling. The Seattle City Council is currently considering a proposed ordinance with the potential to...
View ArticleClass Action Waivers in Employment Agreements Are No Longer Enforceable in...
If your company uses a class action waiver in your employment agreements and you are located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon,...
View ArticleNinth Circuit Refuses to Entertain En Banc Review of its Decision Rejecting...
Earlier this year, we wrote about the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Oregon Rest. & Lodging Ass’n v. Perez, which prohibited tip-pools that include “back-of-the house” employees. Last...
View ArticleBOLI Releases New Draft Oregon Sick Time Rules
The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (“BOLI”) recently issued new draft rules interpreting and explaining Oregon’s sick time law. The draft rules, which are currently open for public comment, are...
View ArticleAttention Seattle Food Service and Retail Employers: City Council Passes...
On September 19, 2016, Seattle became the second city in the nation (after San Francisco) to pass a “Secure Scheduling Ordinance” with broad implications for the food service and retail industries...
View ArticleExpanding Overtime to Farmworkers: Will California Start a Trend?
On September 12, 2016, California Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 1066. The bill, which is the first of its kind in the nation, will entitle California farmworkers to the same overtime pay as most...
View ArticleThe City of Portland Issues Rules for “Ban the Box”
We previously blogged about Portland, Oregon’s restrictive “ban the box” ordinance. The City of Portland recently issued administrative rules for its ordinance. The administrative rules are available...
View ArticleWashington Employers Face Minimum Wage Increase and Mandatory Paid Sick Leave
On November 8, 2016, Washington voters approved Initiative 1433, amending certain sections of Washington’s wage and hour laws to impose two significant requirements on employers within the state: an...
View ArticleBreaking News: DOL Salary Rule Blocked By Federal Judge
The Department of Labor’s controversial rule that required “white collar” employees to be paid at least $47,476 per year in order to be exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act will NOT go into effect...
View ArticleIdaho Supreme Court Refuses to Modify the Workers Compensation Exclusive...
In order to provide near certain relief for employees injured in the course of employment, the Idaho Worker’s Compensation Act withdrew the common law remedies workers traditionally held against their...
View ArticleCalifornia Supreme Court Prohibits Employers from Implementing “On-Call” Rest...
In Jennifer Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc., the California Supreme Court determined that employers are prohibited from implementing “on-call” rest breaks. This holding led the Supreme Court...
View ArticleNew Drug Testing Rules in Oregon Follow OSHA
Employers are probably aware that OSHA’s new drug testing and anti-retaliation rule is now in effect. (See our post here discussing the rule.) However, as we blogged previously, many states have their...
View ArticleOregon Legislature’s Attempt to Protect Pot Users Poses Challenges to Employers
Some Oregonians are no doubt breathing clouds of relief with the introduction of Senate Bill 301, the Oregon Legislature’s proposal to protect employees from being fired for personal marijuana use....
View ArticleBreaking: Court Rules Against Double Overtime for Oregon Manufacturing Employers
Oregon manufacturing employers have been following the ongoing turmoil surrounding the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries’ (“BOLI”) recent interpretation of Oregon’s requirement that manufacturing...
View ArticleWhistleblower Retaliation Protection Expands in Oregon
We are confident that employers already take employee reports of potentially unlawful activity seriously. Such internal reports can help employers investigate and eliminate unlawful conduct in the...
View ArticleCalifornia Supreme Court Clarifies California’s Day of Rest Statutes
In Mendoza v. Nordstrom, the California Supreme Court answered three questions from the Ninth Circuit concerning California’s “day of rest” statutes. The Court’s decision clarifies a significant...
View ArticleWashington State Enacts Its Own “Blacklisting” Statute
Although federal contractors were able to breathe a sigh of relief after the current administration put a stop to President Obama’s “Blacklisting” executive order, employers in the state of Washington...
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