Employment Blog

The current happenings in the city of Seattle are a good example of joint employment circumstances. At the moment, there are 10 skyscrapers that are under construction, reflecting the surge of construction in the Seattle area over the past several years. This surge of construction brings legal questions regarding joint employment and employee rights in those situations. Large Construction Project Suppose a large construction project is underway. The city awards

Washington State, like most states, is an at-will state with respect to labor and employment issues. This means that an employer can terminate the contract of an employee “at-will” without recourse. An employer can terminate an employee for no good cause, provided that the termination was not based on discrimination. To circumvent at-will employee status, there is a strategy that an employee can take, which is contracting as a “for

Last month saw the end of an unusual labor strike in the apple orchards of Central Washington. 17 workers from Mexico decided to strike against their employer in the apple industry, leading to face-to-face negotiations and an eventual agreement, which brought the striking workers back to work. With negotiating help from the Northwest Farmworker Union, or Familias Unidas por la Justia, the workers bargained for what they termed as primarily

Fans of professional sports teams have no doubt heard the phrase “collective bargaining” with respect to union contracts negotiated on behalf of the players. The purpose of collective bargaining is to come to a collective bargaining agreement, also known as a CBA. CBAs typically contain certain clauses, which have long been recognized by courts as the proper and effective way to negotiate a contract between a union and an employer.

Many employers structure employment contracts with employees by first having a probationary period, which is often 90 days. The employer tells the prospective employee that the purpose is to determine whether the employee is a right fit for the company. That is to say, the employer explains that the probationary period provides both the parties with the knowledge as to whether the employee, who may have done well in the

Let’s imagine that an employee makes a mistake. A few days later, the employee makes the same mistake again. The supervisor calls the employee into her office and warns her that making the same mistake constantly can cause serious problems for the company. The supervisor tells the employee to double check her work before submitting it. A few weeks later, the employee makes the same mistake again. This compels the

A recent Puget Sound Business Journal article details Amazon.com employees’ recent lawsuit over off-the-clock security checks. The employees have filed a federal lawsuit against Amazon for back pay for time spent each work day in security screening lines before breaks and at the end of their shifts. Because Amazon requires the daily searches, employees believe they should be paid for the additional time they are required to be at the

The Seattle P-I recently reported that a Bellevue teacher is demanding his job back after what he calls an illegal firing. Erik Schock, an 11-year employee at Chinook Middle School, was terminated earlier this year after he arrived to work drunk. Schock, a P.E. teacher is believed to have had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit when he arrived at the school and began teaching students. An assistant

The Seattle City Council was set to vote on a bill that would strengthen the city’s whistleblower protections. Although the city encourages everyone to report incidents of misconduct, the protections are specifically for city employees reporting workplace misconduct. The bill was expected to pass and make significant changes. Whistleblower Protection Code: Before Seattle’s whistleblower code was last updated in 1994, even though Washington state and King County have updated their

A recent Seattle PI article may make you think twice before you eat out. Or, it may make you happy to know employers take health and safety standards seriously. One of Pizza Hut’s West Virginia restaurants has temporarily closed after a district manager was caught urinating into a sink. The district manager was fired after Pizza Hut became aware of the surveillance video showing the manager relieving himself. Fortunately the

Recently the Seattle Times reported on a settlement between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Roy Farms. Roy Farms, one of the largest hop producers in the world, is located in Eastern Washington. The EEOC sued Roy Farms on behalf of four of Roy Farm’s male employees. In the lawsuit the four male workers claim they suffered nearly two years of constant sexual harassment from a male supervisor. The

The Seattle PI reported recently on an industrious, if misguided, Iowa man who really wanted his candy bar. Robert McKevitt was working at a warehouse when he decided to take a break. He put a dollar in a vending machine for a candy bar. The vending machine was known to have problems, but when the vending machine did not release McKevitt’s candy bar, he got into a forklift and used