The President signed the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” (“FFCRA”) on March 18th, 2020, which will take effect on April 2nd, 2020, and ends on December 31st, 2020. Now, businesses are stuck wondering how to implement the requirements and in such a short period of time. The Department of Labor and the IRS are working... View Article
The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is having a sudden and severe impact on our region, state, and the U.S. As a result of COVID-19, many small businesses are suffering. Social distancing and state-mandated bans are causing the cancellation of events and travel plans, workplaces to shut down or limit operations, workers are sent home, and ultimately,... View Article
Avoiding employee disputes and lawsuits is the goal of employers, but even effective best practices won’t reduce all risks. So how do employers avoid the inevitable cost of employee disputes and lawsuits? Enter mandatory arbitration agreements, which prevent employee disputes from going to court. These agreements are typically part of employment agreements or as separate... View Article
Washington employers are likely to need support in reviewing employee handbooks and other existing policies and implementing new or revised policies by or before January 1, 2020. We are here to help! Call or email us to find to get your questions answered and see about getting your documents reviewed and updated.
We previously posted an article about the new non-compete legislation in Washington that was expected to be signed into law. Since that original article was posted, the bill was in fact signed and Washington employers should begin preparing for the new rules to take effect on January 1, 2020. But what do employers really need... View Article
Effective on July 28, 2019, employers in Washington State are prohibited from collecting or seeking the wage or salary history of an applicant for employment. Salary History Bans Salary history bans are becoming increasingly common and are now in place in some form across 17 states, including Washington, Oregon, and California, as well as 14... View Article
Some of you may have come across the recent LinkedIn posts calling out a Virginia based recruiting firm called Cynet Systems for job postings that included “Caucasians preferred” and “female candidate only”. And your first reaction was probably something like “This isn’t legal, right?” Right. While I’m not going to get into the details of... View Article
Update: Governor Inslee signed this legislation on May 9, 2019, making it law. Changes will go into effect on January 1, 2020. Washington’s State’s Governor Jay Inslee is very likely to sign a new bill regulating non-competition agreements. The new law places restrictions on which workers can be subject to non-competition agreements and specific terms.... View Article
Over the past few years, the emphasis on employee engagement and happiness has been forefront in the business news and best practices. And though more companies are realizing Ping-Pong tables aren’t essential for workplace happiness, there’s certainly value in creating a ‘fun’ work environment to boost employee engagement. Whether your company’s incentives are fun or financial... View Article