Q Our employee has filed an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) request with her psychiatrist to work from home permanently. Do we have to accommodate her? She already has performance issues, and no one else on her...
Employment Law Letter
As COVID-19 vaccines become widely available to employees, employers may be wondering if they should update their rules on masks in the workplace. Many are moving to a rule under which unvaccinated employees are required...
Governor Jay Inslee recently signed the Washington Wage Recovery Act (WRA) allowing employees to place a lien on their employers’ property to secure unpaid wages. You should become familiar with the new statute before it...
The Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) filed a new emergency rule on July 16, 2021, providing increased protection to employees exposed to wildfire smoke. The rule took effect immediately, though...
On July 9, 2021, in the wake of an extreme heat wave that resulted in record-high temperatures, Washington became the second state in the Pacific Northwest to announce emergency rules providing hot weather protection to...
Q Our client is mandating subcontractors coming on-site must be vaccinated for COVID-19. What should we do if our employees don’t want to or cannot get the vaccine? Can we fire an employee if we can’t find any other work...
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued a technical assistance document for “Protections Against Employment Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity.” The document briefly...
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently published a proposed rule to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 per hour beginning January 30, 2022. It also calls for annual, indexed increases beginning...
Following up on new excessive heat regulations, Oregon has issued temporary rules to protect employees from wildfire smoke. The rules have training and notification requirements and, notably, respirator specifications...
While certain customer data can be protected as a trade secret, basic information such as customer identities and e-mail addresses, without more, doesn’t rise to that level, the Oregon Court of Appeals recently ruled...
President Joe Biden recently issued an Executive Order (EO) on “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” The order is wide-ranging, including 72 different initiatives aimed at more than a dozen federal agencies...
Q We have COVID-vaccinated employees asking if they can stop wearing masks at work. Can we modify our mask policy only for vaccinated employees while requiring unvaccinated employees to continue wearing them? A Yes, most...
COVID-19 had an immediate impact on the workplace by shifting employees from the office to the home. Even though active numbers of infections are subsiding, we’re beginning to see the pandemic may have a lasting effect...
Effective July 1, New Mexico has updated the New Mexico Human Rights Act (NMHRA) to prohibit discrimination based on hairstyles and head coverings. In doing so, it joins numerous other states and counties in adopting...
Effective June 29, 2021, New Mexico legalized marijuana under the Cannabis Regulation Act (CRA), with limited personal possession and cultivation officially becoming legal for adults 21 and older. New Mexicans can now...