On the heels of California’s landmark AB 5 law requiring some companies in the on-demand “gig” economy to treat thousands of self-employed contractors like regular employees, the Seattle City Council expanded worker protections for gig workers. Lawmakers in New York and New Jersey are expect... (Read More)

Workers in Washington state are set to benefit from a range of new laws in 2020. From nation-leading minimum wages and overtime benefits to unprecedented restrictions on noncompete agreements, Washington is in many ways a great place to be employed. But as many of those new worker protection laws g... (Read More)

Falls, trips and slips are consistently among the top ways workers get seriously injured or worse on the job. In 2018, Washington state witnessed 7,400 injuries and 17 deaths from work-related tumbles, according to statistics from the Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). Not s... (Read More)

Workers’ compensation is a crucial form of insurance that most people never learn about until they’re injured on the job. That’s when the benefits kick in, covering lost wages and medical costs in exchange for the injured worker agreeing not to sue their employer. Like most forms of insurance... (Read More)

Washington state is on the cusp of witnessing the largest strike by healthcare workers in recent history, as more than 13,000 employees from 13 Swedish Medical Center campuses have demanded better working conditions. Nurses and caregivers at Swedish, which is the largest healthcare provider in th... (Read More)

On-the-job injuries can become a headache for workers for a number of reasons beyond the obvious ones: Coworkers might not be happy that they have to pick up the slack to hit production targets. Bosses might feel the same way. Too many injuries could even reflect poorly on the company as a whole. ... (Read More)

Looking back on 2019, workers in Washington state have a lot of new legal protections at their disposal. Some, like limits on mandatory arbitration agreements and a salary history ban, have already been implemented. Others, including overtime pay hikes and isolated worker protections, will take effe... (Read More)

Employee wage theft can be so subtle that it goes unnoticed for years. A few dollars here and there may seem harmless. But over time, it can add up to enough to make a lower-wage worker’s life a lot harder. It may also be a sign that an employer is stealing from workers in other ways.  Tha... (Read More)

Starting in about six months, for the first time in more than 15 year, salaried workers in Washington state who earn more than $23,700 a year will be eligible for overtime pay. The new overtime protections, finalized last week by Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries, are the first st... (Read More)

Washington state legislators recently passed a bill to protect lower-wage workers from companies trying to limit their job options through unfair non-compete agreements. The bill, known as the "Non-Compete Act," was designed precisely for the type of contract Mercurys Coffee made its employees s... (Read More)