Insight, Analysis, and Perspective for Businesses and Individuals

Although Washington employers are generally not required to provide severance pay to a terminated employee (except if promised in an employee handbook or employment contract), many employers still offer severance as a gesture of good will. There are any several factors, however, that should be considered when deciding whether to sign a severance agreement. An […]

The Washington Law Against Discrimination makes it unlawful for an employer to “discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate” against a job applicant or employee on the basis of that person’s protected characteristic such as race, age, or sex. Likewise, the WLAD also makes it unlawful for an employer to do the same because he or she […]

Beginning on January 1, 2018, all employers in the State of Washington are required to provide paid sick leave to certain employees. This new law implements Initiative 1433, passed by Washington voters in 2016. While employers may be compliant in theory, the new law and regulations include a number of requirements and obligations that employers […]

The Huffington Post recently ran the headline “Why We’re All Becoming Independent Contractors.”{http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/why-were-all-becoming-independent-contractors_b_6731760.html}. The article recounts that GM and Uber are valued at $60 billion and $40 billion respectively, but that GM has over 200,000 employees while Uber has a paltry 850 employees. Uber has a simple, but concerning, explanation for this discrepancy – Uber’s […]