Employment Blog

Is Health Insurance a Right for Oregon Workers?

Oregon, like most states in the USA, applies two different rules for small businesses and large enterprises. The indicator that is used for deciding whether a company is a small or large employer is the number of employees it has on its books. According to Oregon health insurance rules, only companies that have at least 50 employees are required to provide health insurance to their workers and the dependents of

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Sick Leave Laws in Oregon

In Oregon, employers have to offer a sick leave rate of one hour for each 30 hours worked. Employees are capable of earning up to 40 hours of time in a year. An employer with between six and 10 employees is considered a small business employer, and their employees may be subject to different sick leave rules. Overtime hours worked are also considered as worked time. Employees working on exempted

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The OregonSaves Program

Most state governments plan to launch state-sponsored retirement saving programs. They are doing this in response to the retirement crisis. Currently, Oregon and Illinois are the leading states. They launched a retirement savings plan in July 2017 and June 2017, respectively. Therefore, employees in Oregon have a new and easy way to save for their retirement at work. According to the Oregon Treasury, one million employees are likely to benefit

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Unions

A recent poll by PwC Consultants provides interesting data about those who shop on Black Friday. In 2015, the poll found that 59% of those responding stated that they would be going out to shop on Black Friday. In contrast, a poll this year finds that only 35% will be out shopping. These numbers represent an explosive increase in Black Friday online shopping. With the ever-growing global marketplace fueled by

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Initiative 1433

The Evergreen State has long been aggressive in pursuing a robust minimum wage. Whether the reason is fairness to workers, a living wage, or the idea of stimulating economic activity from the bottom, the legislature has continually pushed to provide a minimum wage that exceeds national standards. In November of 2016, the voters displayed their eagerness for increasing the minimum wage when they passed Initiative 1433, or I-1433. In addition

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Employees Should be Informed on Possible Wage Revisions

Northern Nevada Business Weekly recently reported that local employers must remain on alert for the extent to which wage-based regulations may be subject to federal revision and impact their management practices as a result. In particular, there may be a revision of current policy involving tip-pooling and businesses that would distribute said pool to employees that otherwise do not receive tips (e.g. a cook). With laws subject to change, employers

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Knowing the Rights of Your Nevada Employees

While your company is itself subject to legal protections, there is still no doubt that it must conscientiously navigate the rights of its employees and of those prospective hires that may soon be. So long as your business acknowledges those rights appropriately, it will have remained on the right side of important laws and be less likely to face potentially costly disputes down the road. Consultation with an attorney may

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Oregon Predictive Scheduling Laws for Service Industry Workers

Oregon joins Seattle, San Francisco, California, Emeryville, and New York City in developing a predictive scheduling law as an addition to its minimum wage rules. The provisions of instrument number S.B. 828 will start to take full effect on the 1st of July, 2018. The provisions are meant to regulate the way in which employers schedule time and pay for workers within the hospitality, food, and retail industries. The rules

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Origins of Unions and Employment Law

Unions are something that most Americans have heard about. In the past, the media covered unions like the Major League Baseball Players Union. During the Great Recession and the auto bankruptcies, there was much coverage of the Auto Workers Union. The airlines consistently negotiate with unions representing pilots and mechanics. Unions are nothing new on the American landscape. Origin of Unions Organized unionizing dates back to 18th century Europe during

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The Keys to Unlocking Workplace Happiness

Happiness at work: everyone wants it. But can everyone get it? Believe it or not, the answer is “yes.” Even if you’re not working your dream job, there are some things you can do to be happy wherever you are. Just remember the two R’s:relationships and results.   Relationships   People are happier at work when they feel connected to their coworkers.   According toBarbara Fredrickson, author of Love 2.0,

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Washington Employers & Wellness Programs

Recently the Seattle Times published a story focusing on the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, on employer provided health insurance benefits. The article addresses many employee concerns, such as reduced hours to avoid required employee coverage, increased premiums, and changes in benefits. It also discusses a feature and change that has not received a lot of coverage: employer sponsored wellness programs. Wellness Programs A growing number

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Flu Season and Seattle Paid Sick Leave

Flu season is in full swing and a recent Seattle Times story urges people to get flu shots and, if they have the flu, to stay home. Staying home allows for faster healing by making it easier to get rest, hydration, and medications, and helps prevent the spread of the flu, or any illness for the matter. However, many people still go to work sick. There are a number of

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Will SeaTac Set the Stage for Raising Minimum Wage?

Minimum wage has been a hot button issue in 2013, with several states across the country raising their minimum wage amounts and Washington, D.C. lawmakers trying to do so on the federal level. Fast food workers in particular have been walking off the job, demanding a wage increase to $15.00 per hour. Corporate giants such as Wal-Mart and McDonald’s have drawn attention to the discrepancy between minimum wage and a

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Amazon Teams Up With USPS For Sunday Deliveries

Amazon has been in the headlines a lot lately. First, it announced its intent to hire nearly 70,000 holiday employees, many of whom could become full-time after the holiday season. Now Amazon has made a deal with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to provide its customers with Sunday deliveries. Initially the Sunday delivery service will only be in New York and Los Angeles, but it is expected to expand

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Rights Under Oregon Wage and Hour Laws

All Oregon employees have specific rights under both state and federal wage and hour laws. On the federal level, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that employer pay employees a minimum hourly wage of $7.25 per hour, as well as time and a half that hourly wage for overtime hours. Oregon employment laws enforce a higher minimum wage than FLSA, as Oregon employers must pay employees at least $8.95

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Mayor Vetoes Living Wage Bill

As previously discussed on this blog, Washington, D.C. lawmakers had approved a bill that would require large retailers to pay their employees a living wage of at least $12.50 per hour, as opposed to the usual D.C. minimum wage of $8.25 per hour. The bill, called the Large Retailer Accountability Act of 2013 (LRAA), defined large retailers as companies that gross over $1 billion in annual revenue and operate in

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Washington Employees Are Allowed Time Off for Jury Duty But Not Elections

On November 5, SeaTac residents will decide whether they will raise the nation’s highest minimum wage from $9.19 to $15 an hour. Proposition 1, if passed, would require business in the SeaTac area to pay employees more than double the national minimum wage. The dramatic increase in minimum wage is intended to help struggling SeaTac workers, but employers fear that the increase would require them to cut hours, employees, raise

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New Trends in Vacation Policies

One of the many perks of many jobs is the ability to take paid time off or paid vacation time. However, vacation time can also be a touchy subject in many workplaces. For instance, employees often complain that favoritism can play a huge role in manager approval of certain employees’ requested vacatio6n time, especially on popular days off around the holidays or long weekends. Furthermore, a survey conducted by Careerbuilder

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The New Retirement

There was a time when people could expect to retire at 65 and feel that their employer’s pension or retirement package would be enough to make retirement comfortable. There was a time when retirees would move to warm climates and golf daily. That was then, now retirement has become something new. Today retirees are suing their employers over pension cutbacks. And many individuals who are approaching retirement are deciding to

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Pre-shift and Post-shift Work Deserves Compensation

Many employers believe they can expect employees to prepare for a shift and/or wind down from a shift on unpaid time. For example it is common for employers to require set up or meetings before employees clock in, or break down of equipment or clean up after clocking out. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), however, an employee deserves to be compensated for time spent on job-related tasks, especially

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The Importance of a Living Wage

The issue of the living wage has become the center of many debates and conversations across the United States as of late. Separate from minimum wage, living wage refers to the minimum amount of income a person requires to meet basic needs based on their circumstances, such as family, dependents, other household contributors, and geographic location. A living wage should be enough for a person working forty hours a week

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"Pay-At-Risk" Compensation Plans Lead to Inconsistent Paychecks for Employees

Many large companies have their employees participate in a “pay-at-risk” compensation plan, which links a portion of employees’ incomes to the company’s performance. While this program means large paychecks for employees when the company is prospering, it also means that employees pay the price when the company is doing poorly. For example, CNBC reports that Caterpillar, which manufactures construction and mining equipment, expects as much as a forty percent reduction

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Trader Joe's Part-Time Employees to Join Public Insurance Marketplace

A Seattle Times article describes a change in Trader Joe’s health insurance benefit policies. Trader Joe’s has decided to stop offering health insurance benefits to its part-time employees, those working less than 30 hours a week. Instead, Trader Joe’s will provide its part-time employees with $500 to help cover the employee’s costs for an insurance plan found in the new insurance marketplace. Trader Joe’s argues that by not offering part-time

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Fast Food Workers Seek to Raise Minimum Wage in Washington and Across United States

Fast food work can often be a thankless job. It seems like everyone goes to fast food restaurants, but hardly anyone appreciates the hard work, long hours, and relatively low wages that fast food workers must put up with every day. In addition, fast food restaurants have often been under the microscope for employment law issues, from sexual harassment, to overtime violations, and other problems. This month, fast food workers

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Bereavement Leave Soon Available for Some Oregon Employees

Losing a family member is one of the most difficult events a person may experience in their lives. The resulting grief can cause many mental or emotional issues, and may hinder a person’s ability to carry on as usual in his or her everyday life. Unfortunately, most employers, especially large companies and corporations, tend to not be very understanding of the effects of death on an employee’s well-being and ability

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Are Seattle Employers Ignoring the City's Sick Leave Law?

A recent University of Washington study shows that many Seattle employers do not comply with the city’s sick leave ordinance. According to the study, which surveyed over 1400 employers, 27.1% of employers do not offer their employees paid sick leave or any kind of paid time off. The study also showed that almost 40% of employers stated that they were not aware of Seattle’s ordinance. Employers who are not aware

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Portland's New Ordinance Will Require Paid Sick Leave for Employees

In March of this year, Portland City Council unanimously voted to pass an ordinance that would require employees to be able to accrue paid sick leave. Taking effect on January 1, 2014, the guaranteed right to paid sick leave will apply to employees working at companies with six or more employees. Employers with five or fewer employees will not be required to provide paid leave, but will not be allowed

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Washington Employees Right to Workplace Breaks

For many Washington employees, there are lots of places he or she would rather be than at work. Isn’t it funny how an 8-hour work day can feel more like 12-hour work day? Work is hard for everyone and other than downing copious amounts of caffeine in between shifts (which many of you reading this likely do already), workplace breaks are an important time for employees to take a seat,

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Seattle's Sick Law Extends Past Seattle

Washington employers, do you know aboutSeattle’s sick and Seattle’s sick and safe time law yet? time law yet? To surmise, the Sick and Safe Leave ordinance (Seattle Municipal Code 14.16) requires businesses located within the city of Seattle to provide paid sick and safe leave to their employees (notice that we did not say independent contractors), the amount of which depends on how many full-time employees a company has. Different

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Company Health Tracking Programs Raise Privacy Concerns for Employees

In the quest for ever-increasing output, many companies have begun implementing health and wellness initiatives to ensure that their employees remain healthy, happy, and (most importantly) productive. However, a Portland company at the forefront of the quantified self movement – which uses statistical data about a person’s characteristics and activities in order to better understand the person’s performance and general well-being – has begun a program that, if implemented widely

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Railroad Back On Track To Offer Health Benefits To Same-Sex Employees

In early December, the country’s largest rail carriers announced they would begin providing health benefits to their employees and their same-sex spouses starting January 1. This announcement was released even though the lawsuit, which was filed just one day earlier in Seattle’s District Court, is still ongoing. In the lawsuit, two employees of BNSF Railway Co. claim that despite Washington’s legalization of same-sex marriage over a year ago their spouses

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New Website Lifts the Veil on Employee Salaries and Evaluations

The creator of Zillow.com has launched a new website where propective employees can research salaries and employee evaluations at various companies.  No doubt the data on this site will grow and become a good resource as more users contribute over time.  For the launch, the site has data on salaries  and review information for Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Cisco Systems.  The new site is Glassdoor.com. On a related note, Will Schendel of

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Supreme Court Considers Another Case On ERISA Remedies

As noted below, on February 20, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified a remedy issue under ERISA.  Employees can sue under ERISA Section 502(a)(2) for fiduciary breaches that impair the value of assets in a 401(k) account.  Last week, the Supreme Court signaled that it may now address the issue of what constitutes “equitable relief” under ERISA Section 502(a)(3).  The case under consideration is Amschwand v. Spherion Corp., 505 F.3d 342

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Court: Disability Benefit Plan Can Require Objective Evidence of Disability

ERISA disability benefit plans commonly require objective medical evidence of disability.  This can be a difficult hurdle for claimants who believe they are disabled by conditions that cannot be evaluated by objective evidence.  In one recent case, for example, the employee argued that she was disabled because of severe debilitating migraines, but that it was impossible to substantiate the severity of the migraines with objective evidence.  The employee benefit plan

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ERISA Case Addresses Health Coverage for Eating Disorders

An interesting ERISA class action addresses whether treatment for an eating disorder should be covered by an employer health plan.  The case addresses an Aetna health plan that limited coverage for “nonbiologically based mental illnesses.”  An article about the case can be found here. 

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More Workers Collecting Disability Benefits

Human Resource Executive Online has an interesting article here on recent increases in the number of disability benefits claims filed each year.  The duration of disability claims is increasing too.  A 35-year-old, white-collar male today who suffers a disability lasting 90 days or longer will be out of work an average of about six years. 

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$4 Million Award to Former Executive in Non-Compete Dispute

I wrote a few words below about non-compete agreements and their proliferation.  Now comes a story about a company that must pay $4 Million for denying compensation to an executive who refused to sign a non-compete agreement.  Articles about the case can be found here and here.  In this particular situation, the employer (H&R Block) attempted to force its Chief Operating Office to sign a non-compete.  When the executive refused,

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Wage Claims Can Go Forward Where Employer Failed to Pay Under Settlement Agreement

A new published case from the Washington Court of Appeals addresses the proper remedy when an employer fails to pay under a settlement agreement.  The case is Rosen v. Ascentry Technologies, Inc. and can be found here. In this case, Rosen sued Ascentry for breach of contract and unpaid wages.  Ascentry agreed to settle the case for $50,000.  For some reason, Ascentry did not pay Rosen.  One year later, Rosen

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Supreme Court Agrees to Hear 3 More Employment Cases

The Supreme Court agreed to review three more employment cases addressing:  (1) whether an arbitration clause in a collective bargaining agreement can apply to statutory issues as well as contract issues; (2) whether a union may charge non-union members for litigation costs expended on behalf of the union members; and (3) how a divorcing spouse may waive rights to the other spouse’s ERISA pension benefits.  Richard Bales has a good

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Split Decision in Litigation Over CIGNA Cash Balance Pension Plan

Those following employee benefits litigation know that there have been hundreds of cases filed over the trend by companies to convert their traditional, defined benefit pension plans to cash balance plans.  Another ruling was issued late last week in a class action case involving a plan conversion by CIGNA.  The judge summarized the background the case as follows: Since the mid-1980s, hundreds of U.S.employers have converted their traditional defined benefit

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DOL Advisory Opinion: State Wage Deduction Statute Preempted by ERISA

The Department of Labor has issued an interesting advisory opinion holding that a Kentucky wage deduction withholding statute is preempted by ERISA to the extent it limits placement of employees into default health care plans.  In this situation, employees who fail to choose a plan are placed into one by default and the employee’s share of coverage is collected through payroll deductions.  Like many states, a Kentucky statute allows a

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U.S. Supreme Court Petition in San Francisco Health Care Benefits Case

Back in 2006, the City of San Francisco passed an ordinance requiring all businesses with 20 or more employees to pay a fee to help cover health care costs.  A restaurant group successfully argued that the law was preempted by ERISA.  The case is now on fast-track status in the 9th Circuit, with briefs due in April and a possible ruling next summer.  Meanwhile, in a highly controversial ruling, a

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