In the spring of 2019, state legislators overhauled Washington’s non-compete law, which up until then gave employers the power to restrict when and where their former employees could work.
The revamped Non-Compete Act, which went into effect on January 1, 2020, outlaws unfair non-compete agree...
The Seattle City Council approved an ordinance that includes caste as a protected class against workplace discrimination, alongside categories such as race, religion, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status. This effectively prohibits caste discrimina...
Worker's Rights In Washington State
As a Washington employee, you are entitled to worker's rights: several protections and benefits under State and Federal laws. Everyone deserves to be paid fairly, work free of discrimination and harassment, and perform their job in a safe work environment. Unfo...
Recent changes to the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA) now require employers to share the wage scale or salary range in all job postings, as well as a description of benefits offered to job seekers. In addition, employers are prohibited from asking a job candidate for their salary h...
The steady stream of state and federal safety guidelines to halt the spread of coronavirus is leading to the renegotiation of the employee-employer relationship.
Essential Vs. Nonessential Employees
Workers deemed “essential”—such as first responders, delivery drivers, and grocery store ...
It should come as no surprise that harassment and discrimination in the workplace are illegal. But reporting the unwanted treatment, let alone hiring a lawyer to fight back, can be emotionally exhausting and puts your career at risk. In the worst-case scenario, a superior who’s harassing or disc...
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 la...
Employers and business leaders constantly complain about the gap between what students learn in college and what they need to know in order to succeed in the workplace. This is especially concerning when we take into account the large—and always-growing—number of people who earn college de...
Workplace wellness programs that provide tempting incentives to employees who volunteer for optional health screenings, commit to exercise regimens, or improve their cholesterol levels have been contentious for some time now.
But starting in January 2019, they may become even more controversial. ...
The mounting body of research on technology and personal productivity has shown that the average person is distracted or interrupted every 40 seconds when working at their computer. In short, we can’t work for even a single minute before we drift off to look at something else. Of course, it’...