Governor Jay Inslee has signed in to law a bill that assures state employees (and public school students) two days off per calendar years for religious holiday. Our business clients, particularly those with heavy weekend and holiday need, may wish to anticipate similar requests being made to them as well for unpaid holidays as a “reasonable accommodation” for religious practices.
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Seattle Minimum Wage Update
Lauren Parris Watts reviewed the implementation of the newly passed Seattle $15 Minimum Wage Ordinance at the latest Helsell Fetterman Employment Law Breakfast on June 3. We promised to keep out attendees informed about ongoing developments on this issue. The following is a quick rundown of the known challenges to the Ordinance.
Washington Redskins Lose Federal Registrations: How Can They Protect Their Trademark Rights?
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) announced today its decision to cancel six federal trademark registrations owned by Pro Football, Inc. (The Washington Redskins), ruling that the term “Redskins” was disparaging of Native Americans, when used in relation to professional football services, at the time the various registrations were issued
Should I Register My Trademark?
Business owners often ask me if they should “trademark” the name of their business. The good news for many of them is that they already have a trademark. There is no such thing as “trademarking” your company’s name. When you choose a name under which you will provide a particular good or service, you are adopting a trademark. In the U.S., you obtain rights in that trademark by using the mark in commerce in connection with the sale of goods or services. You do not have to register your trademark to have rights in it.
What the New Generic Top-Level Domains Mean for Your Brand
At the beginning of this year, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the entity that manages the Internet’s global domain name system, began releasing new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) such as .restaurant, .news, .computer, and .coffee. As many as 700 new publicly available gTLDs will roll out through 2015.
Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD) Extends Employer Liability for Religious Discrimination
The Washington State Supreme Court today announced its decision that Washington employers with 8 or more employees can be sued under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (RCW 49.060.120) for failing to offer reasonable accommodations to their employees religious beliefs, Kumar v. Gate Gourmet, Inc.
Supreme Court Approves the Practice of Prayer Leaders Opening Town Meetings
Today the very sharply divided US Supreme Court approved a small town’s practice of inviting ministers and other faith leaders to provide opening prayers prior to beginning a town meeting, even though the prayer leaders were overwhelmingly Christian (four non Christians led prayer over a period of nine years). The 5-4 decision found the prayers […]
Volunteers for Profit?
U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed Chen v. Major League Baseball, a class action asserting wage rights for volunteers at the MLB All Star Fan Fest.
Supreme Court Reaffirms the Definition of Wages
The United States Supreme Court issued a decision today in US v. Quality Stores, confirming that severance payments made to involuntarily terminated employees are “wages” and subject to taxation under FICA.
EEOC Issues Guidelines to Employers on Accommodating Religious Dress in Workplace
One of the most frequent sources of questions we face deal with accommodating religious dress. The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) has just released informal guidelines to assist employers in meeting their legal obligations entitled Religious Garb and Grooming in the Workplace: Rights and Responsibilities.