2018 Archives

Alerts

• Minimum Wage Update

  December 20, 2018Washington: Effective January 1, 2019, the minimum wage rate in Washington will increase to $12.00 per hour.  Employers can pay workers under 16 years old 85 percent of the minimum wage ($10.20 per hour in 2019). The Washington State ...
  By Jason W. Douthit
  

• Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries Publishes Final Rules in advance of the Oregon Equal Pay Act’s January 1, 2019 Effective Date

  December 18, 2018We previously have written about Oregon’s Equal Pay Act here.  The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) has issued final rules regarding implementation of the state’s new Equal Pay Act, the majority of which becomes eff...
  By Benjamin P. O'Glasser
  

• Employer Liability for Employee Cell Phone Use Behind The Wheel

  October 4, 2018The individual risks and potential liability associated with behind-the-wheel cell phone use are well known. What may be lesser known is the extent to which an employer can be held liable for a cell phone-related accident involving one of its empl...
  By Naomi D. Johnson
  

• Employers with 50-Plus Full-Time Employees Should be Prepared to Respond to IRS Penalty Notices under ACA

  September 27, 2018Late last year, the IRS began enforcing the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) by sending letters to large employers containing proposed Employer Shared Responsibility Payments (“ESRPs”).  The E...
  By Kara Backus
  

• NLRB Expands Weingarten Rights

  July 17, 2018A recent decision from a three-member panel of the NLRB appears to depart from over 40 years of precedent regarding an employee’s right to union representation during an investigatory interview. Last month, in Circus Circus Casinos, Inc., 36...
  By Trevor R. Caldwell & Daniel L. Rowan
  

• ​Minimum Wage Increase

  July 2, 2018In March 2016, the Oregon Legislature enacted Senate Bill 1532 (codified in ORS 653.025) which provides for a geographically-tiered minimum wage increase over six years. The first increase went into effect July 1, 2016; annual scheduled minimum wa...
  By Liani J. Reeves
  

• Supreme Court Declares Public Sector Fair Share Fees Unconstitutional

  June 27, 2018In one of the most significant labor cases in decades, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning that requiring public sector employees to pay “fair share” or “agency” fees to a union as a condition of employment violates t...
  By Trevor R. Caldwell, J. Chris Duckworth & Daniel L. Rowan
  

• BOLI Issues Final Administrative Rules on Predictive Scheduling

  June 19, 2018Oregon’s predictive scheduling law goes into effect on July 1, 2018.  We previously wrote about Oregon’s predictive scheduling law in August 2017.    In advance of the law’s effective date, BOLI has issued final ...
  By Benjamin P. O'Glasser
  

• NLRB General Counsel Issues Guidance on Handbook Rules

  June 11, 2018A memorandum released this week by National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Peter Robb provides guidance to NLRB Regional Offices on how they should interpret disputed employer workplace rules in light of the Board’s recent deci...
  By Mitchell J. Cogen
  

• Supreme Court Says Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements are Enforceable

  May 23, 2018The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that class action waivers in arbitration agreements do not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).  The Court’s 5-to-4...
  By David J. Riewald
  

• Ninth Circuit: salary history is no longer a valid defense to Equal Pay Act claims

  April 19, 2018By Benjamin P. O'Glasser & Kalia J. Walker  The Ninth Circuit has issued a significant decision regarding the federal Equal Pay Act (“EPA”) that should prompt employers to reassess their compensation policies. In Rizo v...
  

• SB 1566: Reducing Oregon PERS Liabilities with the Employer Incentive Fund

  April 16, 2018The Oregon Legislature and Governor Kate Brown are banking on increased state income tax revenues (due to recent changes in the Internal Revenue Code) to incentivize PERS participating public employers to contribute to PERS. Under SB 1566, signed ...
  By Jason W. Douthit
  

• Proposed Regulations Intended to Reduce Employer Healthcare Costs

  April 12, 2018The Department of Labor (DOL) recently proposed a new regulation that could make Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) an attractive option for reducing employer costs and time spent on providing health insurance for employees. A MEWA is ...
  By Jason W. Douthit
  

• Reminder of Upcoming Deadlines

  February 28, 2018As a reminder, the following deadlines are fast approaching:   Washington State Paid Sick Leave Notices due March 1, 2018. Washington’s paid sick leave law went into effect January 1, 2018. Current employees employed before January...
  By Liani J. Reeves
  

• Tax Cuts & Jobs Act Impacts Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation

  February 16, 2018By now, you have probably heard about the recent changes to tax rates for individuals and businesses, the personal exemption, and the cap on deductions for state, local and property taxes.  The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the Act) changed ...
  By Jason W. Douthit
  

• U.S. Department of Labor Changes Course on Interns

  January 9, 2018In 2011, we alerted employers to the issue of unpaid interns bringing claims and lawsuits for unpaid wages, alleging that they qualified as employees entitled to the minimum wage and overtime protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and ...
  By J. Kent Pearson, Jr.