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Sep 29 2017
WashingtonWorkers’ Comp

Washington L&I Proposes Lower Workers’ Comp Rates in 2018

Safety in the workplace pays. That’s why Washington employers can expect an average 2.5 percent drop in workers’ comp base rates in 2018. According to the state Department of Labor & Industries, the proposed rate decrease is the result of improved workplace safety as well as initiatives to help injured workers recover sooner, including light…

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Sep 19 2017
Q&A

Q&A: Don’t make any employment changes in light of DACA rescission

Answer: No, instead you should follow your normal Form I-9 process of following up when existing work authorizations expire. DACA was created by President Obama through an executive order that directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to grant work permits for qualified people who entered the United States illegally as children. When DHS announced…

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Sep 19 2017
Disability

New Washington pregnancy accommodation law is in effect

Washington has a new “Healthy Starts Act” that requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers without regard to whether they are actually disabled. Upon request by employees who are pregnant or have pregnancy-related health conditions, covered employers are required to provide the following accommodations: More frequent, longer, or…

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Sep 19 2017
Affirmative ActionHarassment & Discrimination

OFCCP audit results in $3.22 million payment by B&H Foto

Following an affirmative action audit by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), federal contractor B&H Foto & Electronics Corp. has agreed to pay $3,220,000 in back pay and interest to affected workers. The OFCCP alleged that the company systematically discriminated against applicants and employees in its warehouse in Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York….

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Sep 14 2017
WashingtonWorkers’ Comp

Wage Replacement is Not a Start-Up Fund: Employee Faces Charges for Operating Insurance Business

Workers’ Comp exists for a good reason: to aid employees when they have been hurt on the job. It’s a type of insurance that protects not only employees, but employers. But like any type of insurance, it’s subject to fraud. In a recent case involving workers' comp, insurance was actually what helped bring charges of…

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Sep 07 2017
Wage and Hour

Overtime rule that would have increased salaries of exempt workers is dead

It appears that the Obama-era overtime rule that would have nearly doubled the minimum salary for white-collar workers exempt from overtime is now completely dead, thanks to a court decision and a Department of Labor (DOL) legal filing. As we previously reported, a federal district court in Texas put a preliminary hold on the overtime…

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Sep 05 2017
Wage and Hour

Alert: OMB revokes pay data portion of EEO-1 Report

To the relief of employers across the country, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has yanked approval for the controversial new pay data portion of the revised EEO-1 Report that would have taken effect in 2018. The OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs informed the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in a…

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Aug 28 2017
Harassment & DiscriminationHiringQ&A

Q&A: Altering usual hiring process could lead to retaliation charge

Answer: It depends. It is illegal to retaliate against an applicant by not hiring the individual because she filed a prior discrimination claim against your company. You should go through your normal hiring process and determine the best candidate based on non-discriminatory factors. Depending on the job, you may want to consider experience, skills, ability,…

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Aug 24 2017
CaliforniaHarassment & Discrimination

Objective layoff criteria fend off age discrimination claim in California

A California employer successfully defended itself against an age discrimination claim when it relied on objective reasons to implement a reduction in force (RIF). A 60-year old employee claimed that his hotel employer selected him for a RIF due to his age and that this violated California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The employee…

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Aug 23 2017
Leave LawsWashington

New paid family and medical leave insurance program coming to Washington

The insurance program is funded by premiums paid by workers and employers and will be administered by the Employment Security Department (ESD), similar to unemployment insurance. Although there are still many issues to be decided, employers should begin familiarizing themselves with the law. For now, here’s what employers need to know: Preemption: The law prohibits…

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Aug 22 2017
HiringImmigration

Form I-9 revised on July 17, 2017

Employers must begin using the updated version to verify new hires’ identity and employment eligibility no later than September 18, 2017. The USCIS also updated the Handbook for Employers (M-274) to make it consistent with the new Form I-9 and accompanying instructions. All of the revised documents are available on the USCIS web page for…

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Aug 17 2017
CaliforniaWage and Hour

California Forces Employers to Grapple With Complex Pay Equity Requirements

Passed in 2015 and amended in 2016, California’s Fair Pay Act (FPA) is one of the toughest laws of its kind in the nation. California employers face much greater obligations under the FPA than ever before. The FPA is a complex law that expanded an older law that had been around since 1949. The older…

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