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… Read More
Posts Categorized In: Employment Benefits
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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More
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… Read More