When you are feeling ill you can use sick leave to stay home and recuperate. If your child is sick and needs your care, you can use sick leave from work as well. But what if your accrued sick leave is not enough to care for yourself or a sick family member? You may be… Read More
Employment Blog
Here you can find the most recent employment law news and commentary on cases around the country. If you need assistance with employment law, don't hesitate to call us.
Working Kids – What Are The Limits?
So your teenager is bugging you to get a job at the local grocery or ice cream shop to make extra money. Video games don’t buy themselves. It is not as if children working is a foreign concept–children worked on family farms for centuries. Of course, more recently, the U.S. federal government decided that there… Read More
Washington Superintendent Files Discrimination Lawsuit
A Washington school superintendent is suing the school board in Richland for more than $1 million for an alleged act of discrimination. The Richland School Superintendent was fired because of an affair with another district employee, but has now turned the lawsuit into an issue of discrimination and declared that the board set him apart… Read More
HR Employees Get More Protection Under Washington state Law than Under Federal Law… but not quite
Human resources employees are often responsible for advising the company’s executives of discriminatory practices in the workplace. Under Washington state law, those HR employees who are fired for just doing their jobs may have more protection than under federal law. Steven Lodis, the highest ranking HR officer at Corbis Holdings, Inc., became aware of complaints… Read More
King County To Pay $1 Million For Sexual Harassment
Three King County female detectives have agreed to a $1 million settlement in their sexual harassment lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Office. According to a recent Seattle Times article, the three detectives work in the Special Assault Unit, a unit where one would expect a certain level of sensitivity. However, among the complaints in the lawsuit… Read More
Rights of Breastfeeding Mothers in the Oregon Workplace
New mothers in Oregon are eligible for up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave after the birth of a child, under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and, depending on the circumstances, an additional 12 weeks of leave under the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA). The Oregon Health Authority reports that approximately 58… Read More
Portland Businesses Adjust for New Law
The state of Oregon, and the city of Portland in particular, have been seen as one of the most pro-employee states in the country, with the second highest minimum wage and many liberal employee friendly laws. In 2013, Portland became one of only a handful of jurisdictions to approve an employment ordinance requiring employers to… Read More
Victory for Oregon Employee in Domestic Partnership
Margaret Fonberg worked as a law clerk for the federal court system in Oregon. Fonberg and her same-sex partner could not legally marry in Oregon, but instead registered as domestic partners under the Oregon Family Fairness Act. The Act entitles registered domestic partners to all the same rights and responsibilities as married couples in the… Read More
An Overview of Minimum Wage for 2014
As discussed previously on this blog, minimum wage was a hot topic in 2013 and is expected to continue to be so in this New Year. In fact, the issue of raising the minimum wage at the federal level is expected to be a key issue in the 2014 midterm Congressional elections. Furthermore, Democrats in… Read More
Man Wins Over $300,000 due to Workplace Harassment
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from discrimination and harassment based on their race, color, religion, sex and national origin. What many people may not realize, however, is that the law further protects employees from discrimination and harassment based on their relationship with someone who is in a protected class…. Read More