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