When I was in high school, I worked part-time at a clothing store that had a fantastic employee discount. How great would it be, high-school-me mused, to capitalize on employee discounts at all my favorite stores by getting several jobs at the mall. There was only one problem: when I started my job at the […]
Blog
The Scariest Costume on Halloween is One Worn in the Workplace
Some employers allow employees to wear costumes on Halloween as a treat; unfortunately, it can turn into a trick-y situation. Halloween costumes can often be either gory, racy, or offensive: any of the three should scare employers. Employers can be liable for costumes that make fun of protected characteristics such as disability status, race, or […]
Domain Name Disputes – Protect Your Online Turf
In a recent case, an individual in Guangzhou, China registered the domain names <walgereens.com> and <walgreene.com> with an internet registrar. The websites at the disputed domain names displayed the message “Redirecting” before taking users to various, unrelated websites, including the legitimate website at “www.walgreens.com”. Each time a user typed in the URL a different website […]
Changes to Scheduling for Seattle “On-Call” Workers
Following in the footsteps of San Francisco, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a “secure scheduling” law to regulate how large retailers and food-service employers schedule their workers. As we advised last month, the new law will apply to large retailers and fast-food, coffee and drinking establishments with 500 or more employees worldwide, as well […]
Statewide Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave: What You Should Know
The Presidential election is not the only reason to go to the polls this November. There are many non-Presidential candidates as well as issues on this year’s ballot, including Initiative 1433—a statewide initiative on minimum wage and paid sick leave. I-1433 is a labor-backed initiative aimed at: (1) raising Washington state’s minimum wage to $13.50 […]
Taking Care of Your Loved Ones with a Caretaker Agreement
The person providing personal, in-home senior or adult care for your loved ones is considered a domestic employee, and it is important that you memorialize his or her duties and responsibilities as well as the terms of employment (e.g. duties, compensation, benefits, transportation, etc.) in an employment contract. Domestic employees come with many potential issues […]
Protecting Your Family and Avoiding a Nanny Nightmare
Do you know that your nanny is an employee who has many of the benefits and protections afforded by federal and state employment laws? For example, she may be entitled to overtime pay if she stays those extra few hours so you two can have a date night. Or she may be entitled to worker’s […]
Will Valuation Discounts for Family-Controlled Entities be Eliminated?
Many families establish Family Limited Partnerships (FLPs) or Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) and then gift interests in these entities to their children. In doing so, they take advantage of valuation discounts (discounts for the lack of marketability of a family-controlled entity and for minority interests), and pass significantly more value than could be claimed for […]
City of Seattle Enacts New Open Housing Rules
In an attempt to address concerns of housing affordability, the Seattle City Council approved an ordinance that seeks to ensure access to rental housing for tenants while imposing new rules on landlords. The new ordinance is set to go into effect on September 7, 2016. In general, the ordinance includes the following changes in Seattle’s […]
City of Seattle Proposes Secure Scheduling Ordinance
We alerted attendees of our Spring Employment Breakfast that the City of Seattle was conducting a survey regarding shift scheduling to consider implementing regulations surrounding shift scheduling. On August 9, the City issued its proposed regulations. Many businesses will find them onerous; at this time, the proposed regulations, if adopted, will apply only to quick […]