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WK&G's Complimentary Labor & Employment Half-day Seminar - Seattle, WA (March 22, 2006). WK&G's labor and employment attorneys will provide seminar attendees an overview of significant issues in the labor and employment landscape. Space is limited and the session is free, so please reserve your place early.

News You Can Use

WK&G Labor & Employment Alerts - Our attorneys keep an eye out for changes in federal and state regulations that may have an impact on your business. Take a look at the most recent email alerts.

Ask the Legal Professionals - The attorneys in WK&G's labor & employment group publish the answers to common questions about employment law once-a-month in the Puget Sound Business Journal. Take a look at WK&G's latest answers to the questions that you yourself may have been asking.

Featured Articles

Since September 11, 2001, almost 530,000 citizen soldiers have been mobilized, and of these more than 390,000 National Guard and Reserve members have been returned to civilian life. In December 2004, President Bush signed into law the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act, which requires all employers, regardless of size – public and private – to notify all employees annually of their legal rights under USERRA. Since then, the U.S. Department of Labor promulgated new regulations which became effective on January 18, 2006. See 20 CFR §§ 1002 et seq. These regulations explain reemployment rights for service members wanting to return to the jobs they held prior to service and specify the seniority, promotion, health care, pension and other benefits to which they are entitled. Click here for full article.

In December 2005, the Supreme Court of Washington filed its decision on Korslund v. Dyncorp Tri-Cities. In this case, the court considered the following three issues: (1) whether forced medical leave amounts to discharge; (2) under what circumstances a plaintiff may bring a claim of wrongful discharge or retaliation in violation of public policy; and (3) whether a promise of specific treatment is enforceable. Click here for full article.

An employer commits an unfair practice if it refuses to hire, terminates, or otherwise discriminates based on “the presences of any sensory, mental or physical disability.” RCW 49.60.010, .180(1)-(3). Under the Washington Law against Discrimination (“WLAD”), “[a]n employer who discharges, reassigns, or harasses for a discriminatory reason faces a disparate treatment claim; an employer who fails to accommodate the employee’s disability, faces an accommodation claim.” Pulcino v. Fed. Express Corp., 141 Wn.2d 629, 640, 9 P.3d 787 (2000); Jane Doe v. The Boeing Co., 121 Wn.2d 8, 17, 846 P.2d 531 (1993). Even if the plaintiff cannot establish the elements of disparate treatment or failure to accommodate, he or she may still have a claim for retaliation against the employer. Click here for full article.

Seminars

WK&G's Complimentary Labor & Employment Half-day Seminar - Seattle, WA (March 22, 2006). WK&G's labor and employment attorneys will provide seminar attendees an overview of significant issues in the labor and employment landscape. Space is limited and the session is free, so please reserve your place early.

Navigating ADA, FMLA, & Workers' Compensation Issues - Seattle, WA (March 28, 2006). Seattle Members Darren Feider and Peter Hicks will be speaking on the rights of employers and their employees under the ever-changing state and federal rules with respect to FMLA, ADA and Workers' Compensation issues at this full-day program organized by the The Seminar Group. A special reduced rate has been arranged for clients and friends of Williams, Kastner & Gibbs.

2nd Annual WK&G Tribal Employment Law Seminar - Shelton, WA (April 21, 2006). Please join a panel of WK&G employment and indian law attorneys, and an expert on the technical aspects of performing drug tests, for an informational seminar to assist employers, courts, and law enforcement in securing, interpreting and acting upon drug tests in the workplace.

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Williams, Kastner & Gibbs PLLC - 2006
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