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FAIR-WORKPLACE.COMNo Fancy Slogans, Just Good Employment LawyersDiscrimination It is illegal to discriminate against employees or job applicants or a business’s customers based on being a member of a “protected class,” such as age (being over 40), race, sex, religion, national origin, disability (if the disability can be reasonably accommodated), veteran’s status, marital status, and (depending on where you work) political beliefs and sexual orientation. If you would like us to review your possible discrimination claim, click here. If you would like more information, click here. For the federal government’s position on discrimination, check out www.eeoc.gov. Unpaid Wages If your employer refuses to pay you what you are owed, you may be entitled to double damages under Washington state law. Also, employers usually cannot make deductions from your paycheck for items such as accidental equipment damage, failing to turn in your timesheets on time, or breaking some other workplace rule. If you would like us to review your possible unpaid wage claim, click here If you would like more information, click here. Wrongful Termination Employment in Washington is generally at-will, meaning that in most situations, employees can be fired without a reason. However, there are some exceptions, such as if the employee is fired for having exercised a legal right (such as for making an unemployment or workers compensation claim, testifying against the employer, making a sexual harassment or discrimination claim, asking to get paid for overtime, etc.), where the employer has a contract with the employee that only allows for termination for “cause,” or where the employer has promised the employee fair treatment or progressive discipline prior to termination. If you would like us to review your possible wrongful termination claim, click here If you would like more information, click here. Harassment It is illegal to harass employees or job applicants or customers of a business based on being a member of a “protected class,” such as age (being over 40), race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, marital status, and (depending on where you work) political beliefs and sexual orientation. Most of the harassment cases we see are sexual harassment, though after 9/11 we have seen more religion or national origin-type harassment. Sexual harassment occurs where someone has been forced to put up with sexual comments or demands to get or keep a job or where the workplace is so sexually charged that it interferes with the employee’s ability to do his or her job. Sexual harassment is not just about men harassing women. It also covers women harassing men and people of the same sex harassing each other, so long as the harassment is because of the victim’s sex. If you would like us to review your possible harassment claim, click here. If you would like more information, click here. For the federal government’s position on harassment, check out www.eeoc.gov. Overtime Unless you are an “exempt” employee or independent contractor, the overtime laws likely apply to you, which entitles you, under most circumstances, to time and a half for hours worked over 40 per work week. Having an employment contract that says you won't get paid overtime or for more than 40 hours is not enforceable unless you are exempt. The test instead is whether the employer "suffers or permits" the employee to work, meaning the employer either knew or should have known that the employee was working more than 40 hours per week and did not stop the employee from doing it. The overtime laws do not apply to independent contractors or “exempt” employees. Generally, you will be considered “exempt” if you are an executive, professional or administrative employee, or an outside salesperson. If you are exempt, then the rules for paying overtime do not apply to you unless your employer treats you as an hourly employee, such as by paying you on an hourly basis (as opposed to a fixed salary) or by docking you for not being on time or leaving early. If you do not fit one of these exemptions, then you are probably what is called "nonexempt," meaning that the overtime laws apply to you. What matters for exemption from overtime is not the job title, but what the job duties actually are. If you would like us to review your possible overtime click here. If you would like more information, click here. For the federal government’s position on overtime, check out the FLSA portion of the federal government’s web page "at www.dol.gov. Reasonable Accommodation of Disabilities Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Washington state law, employers are required to reasonably accommodate disabled employees and job applicants who make a request for reasonable accommodation, unless doing so would be an undue hardship on the employer. Disabilities under the ADA can be physical or mental. For example, back problems and depression are two of the most common disabilities. Conditions like alcoholism and ADD may also be disabilities, depending on the circumstances, as are many diseases and physical abnormalities. Employers may have to change how the workplace is set up or change some of the job duties or change starting and ending times or allow time off to accommodate a disability. If a disability cannot be reasonably accommodated, then the employee may lose his or her job. It is illegal to discriminate against an employee or job applicant on the basis of his or her disability. If you would like us to review your possible failure to accommodate claim, click here. If you would like more information, click here. For the federal government’s position on reasonable accommodation, check out the ADA portion of www.eeoc.gov and www.doj.gov. Employee Benefits If your employer provides benefits such as medical insurance, life insurance, and disability insurance, and something goes wrong, such as the insurance company or your employer denies your claim, or it turns out that the employer did not sign you up for coverage when they were supposed to, or you did not get COBRA benefits when you were entitled to them, then you may have a legal claim against your employer or the insurance company. If you would like us to review your possible employee benefits claim, click here. If you would like more information, click here. Family & Medical Leave (FMLA) The FMLA is a federal law that allows for certain employees to have up to 120 days of leave for their own serious health condition or the serious health condition of certain family members. There are also state laws governing medical leave, such as a law that allows you to use your own sick leave to care for certain family members, and laws that allow maternity leave to be applied to fathers and adoptive parents. If you would like us to review your possible FMLA claim, click here. If you would like more information, click here. For the federal government’s position on FMLA leave, check out the FMLA section of www.dol.gov. Noncompetes and Nondisclosures Many employees are unaware that noncompete agreements are enforceable in Washington State if they are reasonable in duration (such as no more than 3-5 years) and in scope (for example, it is OK for an employer to keep you from competing in the geographic area where the employer does business and to keep you from selling the same types of products or services). Whether an agreement is reasonable depends on the type of business and how long you were employed, among other things. Also, employers may require employees to sign agreements not to disclose or use trade secrets and to not take other employees with them when they leave. If you would like us to review a noncompete or nondisclosure agreement, click here. If you would like more information, click here. Severance Packages Have you been offered a severance package by your employer? Would you like an attorney to review it for you? We can either draft severance packages for you if you are thinking of quitting,or we can review severance packages that have been offered to you in conjunction with a termination or layoff. Attorney review can help you understand what you are giving up in exchange for the severance payment, such as any limitations on your right to work in the future. Click Here if you would like us to review or draft a severance package. Click Here for more information.
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