The FIFA World Cup has arrived in Seattle. Experts and journalists predict that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) may ramp up enforcement actions against Seattle …
On March 23, 2026, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed into law Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1155 (ESHB 1155), which bans nearly all noncompete agreements between companies and …
The Washington State Legislature has been busy this year, imposing several new requirements for Washington employers. Here’s a snapshot of amendments that took effect in 2025. Amendments …
Washington employers should take note: courts in King County are seeing a sharp rise in employment-related lawsuits, particularly class actions and wage-and-hour claims. In just the past …
Yesterday a federal court in Texas issued a nationwide injunction blocking the Department of Labor’s “overtime rule” that was scheduled to go into effect on December 1.
Ninth Circuit Validates USDOL Tip Pool Rules
February 2016 | Blog
In a surprising decision, on Tuesday, February 23, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit validated the 2011 Rule by the United States Department of Labor (DOL) prohibiting tip pooling programs that include “back of the house” employees and other workers who are not customarily and regularly tipped (e.g., cooks, dishwashers).
Noncompete Agreements Becoming Obsolete?
February 2016 | Blog
The state House of Representatives may soon send noncompete agreements down the way of the dodo bird . . . toward extinction.
The federal Department of Labor (“DOL”), the agency charged with enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), recently published an Administrative Interpretation clarifying the test businesses must apply to determine whether workers are properly classified as independent contractors or if they are, in fact, employees.