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The Washington State Pollution Liability Insurance Agency (PLIA) has just announced a new revolving loan and grant program under which low interest loans of up to $2 million are available to install, retrofit, close or clean up underground storage tanks (UST’s) on contaminated commercial properties. The grant or loan can be used on any site […]
Helsell Fetterman wishes to remind all clients that the new regulations scheduled to go into effect today, December 1, WILL NOT go into effect today. A Federal Judge in Texas issued an injunction last week blocking the implementation. This injunction is nationwide. It is unclear whether the regulations will be revived given the current political […]
Publically traded companies that are subject to the Dodd-Frank Act should be aware of recent compliance actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The ‘Securities Whistle Blower Incentives and Protection’ section of Dodd-Frank was adopted in 2011, but just last month the SEC issued a compliance warning after initiating a cease-and-desist action against one company. […]
Surprise! On November 22, 2016, Federal Judge Amos Mazzant issued a nationwide injunction against the new Department of Labor Overtime Rules. Scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2016, the new rules increased the salary basis necessary to classify employees as exempt from being paid overtime. To be exempt, employees must meet BOTH the salary […]
November’s election told us more than who will be our president for the next four years; it also changed Washington State’s minimum wage law and added paid sick leave for employees statewide. Washington state voters approved Initiative 1433 which amends the state’s existing minimum wage law (RCW 49.46) to set minimum wage at $11.00 for […]
On November 3rd, a former employee of Trader Joe’s filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board Regional Office in New York for violating the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Trader Joe’s alleged unfair labor practice? Firing an employee who had been repeatedly warned about his overly negative attitude. This Trader Joe’s store is […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]