March 15, 2013 by

Washington State Supreme Court Rules, Once Again, That “Final and Binding” Decisions Are in Fact “Final and Binding”

By Jim Cline

Just last month, we wrote about a recent Ninth Circuit decision involving the Oregon Marion County Sheriff’s Office, in which the Ninth Circuit ruled that the enforcement of an arbitration award might be an enforceable “property interest” within the meaning of the due process clause.  In that same article, we noted that this might provide labor organization an additional tool for enforcing arbitration awards.  We also noted the 2009 Kitsap County Deputy Sheriffs’ Guild Supreme Court decision holding that “final and binding” decisions were, well, “final and binding”:

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Filed Under: Public Sector Collective Bargaining Rights
March 8, 2013 by

Local Government Employee Does Not Have Retaliation Claim in Superior Court for Whistleblower Action Resulting in Demotion, but May Seek Administrative Relief

By David E. Worley

In Woodbury v. City of Seattle (2012 Wash. App LEXIS 47), the Washington Appeals Court upheld the dismissal of a Superior Court complaint by a police officer regarding retaliation for a whistleblower action.  The Appellate Court held that under the relevant statute, a local government employee may only seek administrative relief initially, and Civil Courts will only be involved when appealing that administrative relief.

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Filed Under: Constitutional Rights, Political Rights
February 19, 2013 by

Ninth Circuit Decision May Provide an Additional Tool for Enforcement of Arbitration Decisions

By Jim Cline

A recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision made to provide labor organizations an additional tool in their efforts to enforce final and binding arbitration awards.  As explained in our recent article, in addition to enforcing such awards under State contract law, labor organizations in concert with the affected employee, may be able to argue that refusal to abide by “final and binding” arbitration awards also constitute a violation of constitutional due process rights.

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February 19, 2013 by

Mountlake Terrace Officer’s Termination Overturned: Arbitrator Awards Reinstatement and Back Pay

By Cynthia McNabb

On January 6, 2013, Officer Tam Guthrie of the Mountlake Terrace Police Department was ordered reinstated to his position as an Officer for the City of Mountlake Terrace.  Arbitrator Mark Brennan also awarded that the City of Mountlake Terrace pay full back pay and benefits to Tam Guthrie from the date of termination based on his findings that the City of Mountlake Terrace did not have just cause to terminate the longtime employee. [Read more…]

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January 29, 2013 by

You Asked for It, You Got It: No Wage Rebate Act Violations Where Employee Agrees to Payment Method

By Kate Acheson

In LaCoursiere v. CamWest Development, Inc., the Washington Appeals Court dismissed an employee’s claims under the Wage Rebate Act (“WRA”), RCW 49.52.  The employee, Shaun LaCoursiere, claimed his employer, CamWest Development, violated the WRA by depositing a portion of his bonuses in an investment account and by reimbursing only 60 percent – the vested portion – of the investment account upon his termination. 

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Wage and Hour Cases
January 11, 2013 by

Employer Must Compensate Ten Minutes of Fifteen-Minute Missed Break at Overtime Rate, State Supreme Court Finds

By Kate Acheson

The Washington State Supreme Court found in Wash. State Nurses Ass’n v. Sacred Heart Med. Ctr., that employees were inadequately compensated for missing 15-minute breaks mandated by their Collective Bargaining Agreement when they worked over 40 hours in a week, because they were entitled to overtime pay for 10 of those minutes (the state-required break time). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Wage and Hour Cases
January 3, 2013 by

Heterosexual Called “Big Gay Al” At Work Not Protected by Washington Law against Sexual Orientation Discrimination

By Kate Acheson

When a heterosexual delivery truck driver sued for being called “Big Gay Al” at work, the Washington State Court of Appeals found, in Davis v. Fred’s Appliance Inc.,that the perception of homosexuality is not protected by Washington’s law against discrimination (“WLAD”), RCW 49.60.

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Filed Under: Employment Discrimination, Sexual Orientation Discrimination
December 14, 2012 by

PERC Hearing Examiner Holds that Employer Permitted to Discipline and Terminate Employees for “Legitimate” Reasons, Even If Employees Also Engaged in “Protected” Conduct

By Kate Acheson

In Kiona Benton School District, Decision 11563 (EDUC, 2012), the union alleged that the employer committed an unfair labor practice, in retaliating against three, school district employees who exercised their statutory right to participate in an earlier PERC ULP proceeding.  PERC hearing examiner Steve Irvin concluded that even though the employees had engaged in protected activities and the employer’s layoffs arguably violated the collective bargaining agreement, the union did not carry its burden of proof that the employer actions were pretextual.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Discrimination and Retaliation, Employment Discrimination
December 11, 2012 by

Terms of Federal Bailout Disallowing “Golden Parachute” Doesn’t Prohibit Payment of Damages to CEO in Discrimination Claim, WA District Court Finds

By Kate Acheson

In Sterling Savings Bank v. Stanley, a Washington District Court rejected Sterling Bank’s argument that receipt of federal Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds, restricts them from making any payment to its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mrs. Heidi Stanley, after her termination.  The Court found that TARP was not intended to prevent monetary recovery in discrimination suits like Mrs. Stanley’s.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Employment Discrimination
December 11, 2012 by

Employer Must Compensate Ten Minutes of Fifteen-Minute Missed Break at Overtime Rate, State Supreme Court Finds

By Kate Acheson

The Washington State Supreme Court found, in Wash. State Nurses Ass’n v. Sacred Heart Med. Ctr., that employees were inadequately compensated for missing 15-minute breaks mandated by their Collective Bargaining Agreement because they were entitled to overtime pay for 10 of those minutes (the state-required break time), when they worked over 40 hours in a week.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Wage and Hour Cases
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