The Burien City Council recently passed an ordinance that establishes its own minimum wage. The rate applies to all nonexempt (overtime-eligible) employees physically working in Burien for employers with 21 or more full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in King County. The required minimum wage depends on the size of the employer. Beginning January 1, 2025, the minimum wage rates in Burien are: Level 1 employers (all employers, including franchisees, with more than 500 FTEs in King County or franchisors who employ more than 500 FTEs in th ..read more

The U.S. Supreme Court recently clarified that a worker’s job duties, not their employer’s business, determine whether they qualify as a transportation worker who is exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The FAA exemption frees such workers from the general rule under federal law that workers can be compelled to sign agreements to resolve future employment claims through arbitration rather than the court system. Class Action Filed Against Bakery Employer Over Wage Disputes The employer in this case included a parent company and two subsidiaries, which all produced and marketed package ..read more

Going Beyond the Ordinary: Part 4In our journey of Cultivating a Culture of Care, today we delve into the realm of “Going Beyond the Ordinary.” Cultivating a Culture of Care is a powerful testament to our commitment at Vigilant to authentically serve others, knowing that our attitudes and behaviors are driving contributors to creating a Culture of Care. It is a natural extension of our core value – “Others Before Self.” The pillars are: Embracing a caring mindset, part 1 and part 2; Practicing mindful caring; Going beyond the ordinary; and Sustaining a Culture of Care in the messy real world ..read more

On April 1, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule that “clarifies” (in reality, expands) the rights of employees to authorize a representative to accompany a Compliance Safety and Health Officer during an inspection of their workplace. Federal law gives the employer and employees the right to authorize a representative to accompany OSHA officials during a workplace inspection. Previous regulations were unclear whether the worker representative had to be employed by the employer or have specific safety-related skills (such as an industrial hygieni ..read more

The Washington legislature’s regular session adjourned on March 7, 2024, and Governor Jay Inslee has signed several employment-related bills into law: SHB 1905 (pay equity): Expands Washington’s existing pay equity law beyond gender to also include membership in a long list of protected classes: age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a di ..read more

On March 1, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its COVID-19 isolation guidelines, removing the recommendation to isolate for 5 days, and instead recommending people treat COVID-19 (coronavirus) like any other respiratory illness. Even though many states have rescinded workplace COVID-19 requirements (and have also pared down previous isolation guidance for the general public), some employers still wonder what the guidelines recommend when an employee comes down with COVID-19. The CDC’s dedicated Respiratory Virus Guidance webpage describes how respiratory illnesses, including ..read more

Embracing a Caring Mindset, Part 1 Welcome back to an exploration of the transformational power of a Culture of Care. In this post, we dive into the first pillar that breathes life into this ethos, steering clear of a step-by-step guide and instead aiming to ignite meaningful discussion. At Vigilant, our commitment to cultivating a Culture of Care was born from our core value – “Others Before Self.” Our purpose in cultivating a Culture of Care is to authentically serve others knowing that our attitudes and behaviors are driving contributors to creating such a culture. The pillars are: The pill ..read more

Governor Jay Inslee recently signed two bills impacting Washington workers’ compensation time-loss payments and stay-at-work reimbursements: HB 1927: Allows injured workers who are unable to work for 7 days or more (instead of the current standard of 14 days or more) to receive time loss payments for the first 3 days of work missed due to their injury. The impact of this bill will ultimately increase the cost of time loss payments for employers, since many more injured workers will qualify for time-loss payments for the first 3 workdays missed after an injury. The effective date for this bill ..read more

On March 13, 2024, Governor Jay Inslee signed SSB 5935, a new law that modifies and expands the definition of noncompetition covenants (noncompete agreements). We intend to report on any other bills of interest to employers that are signed from the 2024 Washington legislative session in a future newsletter. Beginning June 6, 2024, the definition of a noncompetition covenant includes an agreement that directly or indirectly prohibits the acceptance or transaction of business with a customer. Existing law voids a noncompetition covenant unless the employer describes the terms in writing no late ..read more

A federal district court judge in Texas has invalidated the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)’s 2023 rule defining when two separate companies are actually joint employers for purposes of compliance with the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The judge issued the decision shortly before the rule was scheduled to take effect. The Board is expected to appeal. The 2023 rule, issued by the Biden-era Board, broadly defined joint-employer status to include situations where one company has “reserved control” (the authority to control any term or condition of employment of another company’s emp ..read more