On July 23, 2018, the Seattle City Council voted to approve the Domestic Workers Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), a new labor standards legislation for domestic workers. The Ordinance will guarantee Seattle’s minimum wages, rest breaks and other rights for domestic workers. It will restrict a hiring entity from keeping any domestic worker’s original documents or other […]
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Newman’s Own Scores a Win
Newman’s Own Foundation, which has donated over $500 million to charities over 35 years, has been fighting to change the law that requires private foundations to divest themselves of certain investments. Private foundations are prohibited from owning “excess business holdings” (IRC Section 4943). An “excess business holding” is an ownership interest of more than 20% […]
New Washington Law Limits Discovery of Health Care Information
Effective today, June 7, is a new law passed by the Washington Legislature that limits discovery of health care information in claims for non-economic damages brought under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), RCW 49.60. Under the new section, health care information will not be relevant to a claim unless the claimant puts their health […]
Immigration Audits on the Rise
As expected, the Trump Administration continues to increase the number of immigration audits to verity the employment eligibility of employees. The federal government’s “culture of compliance” focuses on employers, with the goal of discouraging unauthorized immigration by limiting employment access to undocumented workers. This May, the Associated Press (“AP”) published an article confirming this sharp […]
Court Rules Prior Salary Is Not a Defense Against Equal Pay
Following the untimely demise only weeks ago of the judge many considered the “liberal lion” of the court, on April 9, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit filed (what is likely) the last opinion authored by Judge Stephen Reinhardt. The matter of Rizo v. Yovino concerns Aileen Rizo, a female employee […]
What Happened to DACA?
As you may know, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has been subject to many judicial decisions since the Trump Administration’s September 5, 2017, announcement to gradually end the program on March 5, 2018. On January 9, 2018, Judge William H. Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California temporarily […]
Sexual Orientation Discrimination is a Form of Sex Discrimination
On February 26, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a 10-3 decision concluded that the prohibition against sex discrimination established in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, includes sexual orientation. The case, Zarda v. Altitude Express, Inc., No. 15-3775, concerns a skydive instructor who alleged he was terminated after […]
NLRB Vacates Hy-Brand Decision; Browning-Ferris Joint Employer Test Back in Effect
A little over two months ago, we reported that the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) overruled the Browning-Ferris joint employer test in a case called Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors, Ltd. and Brandt Construction Co. Under Browning-Ferris, companies faced greater responsibility for the employment practices of their contractors and franchisees. In turn, Hy-Brand limited the circumstances in […]
Passport Revocation for Seriously Delinquent Tax Debt
In 2015, Congress passed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which requires the State Department to deny an individual’s passport application and revoke or limit an individual’s passport if the IRS has certified to the State Department that the individual has a “seriously delinquent tax debt.” After several years of non-enforcement, the IRS appears […]
That Doesn’t Belong to You
With the relative informality of limited liability companies (“LLCs”), it can be very easy for LLC members to fall into the trap of thinking that the company’s assets are their own. I find this happens often with restaurant clients, with the members starting to look at the restaurant’s food, wine, and spirits as things they […]