Gainey Law, PLLC Seattle Employment Law Attorney

  ABA presents: We are the Lucky Ones: Reunification Stories by Former Foster Youth We have collected powerful stories of individuals who entered the child welfare system when they were children and were eventually returned to their parents. Diana  is now a psychology major in college and hopes to help children who are going through the same experiences she once did.  Read Diana's story. Terrell  recounts his feelings of hearing other adults speak badly of his mother, who is now his best friend and inspiration.  Read Terrell's story. Indira and Titus  are siblings who were separated from each other when they were removed from their home. As children, they were powerless to decide what happened to them and felt their voices were not heard. Now as adults, they decided to tell us what they experienced and how they felt, so that all of us can learn from their stories. Read  Indira's  and  Titus's  stories. --Jey Rajaraman, Chief Counsel, and...

As we all head back to work, what can you do if your workplace is unsafe? Can unions protect you? How do you protect yourself? Info can be found here: Covid-19 Grievances 

Harassment can be serious and dangerous. Take steps to protect yourself. Here are some resources to help. UPCOMING TRAINING TOMORROW AUGUST 27, 2020  Bystander Intervention to Stop Police Sponsored Violence and Anti-Black Racist Harassment training Step by step flow chart to find out if you can apply for a protection order and which one applies to your circumstances:  Go To King County Courts / Protection Order Info. Hollaback.org offers trainings, information and education on stopping all forms of harassment: Go To iHollaback.org   For inspiration while you educate yourself, perhaps some old school Gwen Stefani?: Gwen Stefani Song

Communities Rise provides Free legal resources for non-profit organizations and small businesses with fewer than 50 employers and 2-million in yearly revenue. To find out more go here .

As schools plan to open and teachers and other workers wonder what their rights are to Not return to work answers are not as clear as we would like. However, do not make any rash decisions. A lot can change in a few short weeks (isn't that the lesson of 2020?). The non-profit legal aid Unemployment Law Project has been recording weekly FAQs. You can watch them all here:  QUESTIONS?  to find out about your rights as an employer or employee with regards to unemployment benefits. 

     Sometimes I meditate. It helps decrease stress and it helps me focus on the tedious task of applying facts to law - the basic work of lawyers. I usually do it alone using the Headspace app. Sometimes I use the Calm App. Sometimes I join group meditations.  Top attorney and psychologist  Lisa Blue  was holding Monday morning sessions for awhile which was great. And locally I have attended in person and (more recently) remote Zoom sessions through SIMS. Tuere Sala is my favorite teacher. She is a former prosecutor - meditation helped her deal with the stressors of law school and litigation. She also teaches Qi Gong, and I was lucky enough to score an instruction and practice DVD from her before the pandemic hit. It has been one of the tools I use to stay sane during this time.      Recently, as a member of  WSAJ's diversity committee, I was searching out anti-racism resources and discovered that  SIMS has a wonderful ...

An excellent article on the issues faced by Washington workers and employers as we seek to re-open businesses during this on-going pandemic can be found here : June 4, 2020 Update from ESD. Employers and employees are facing some tension about going back to work. For employers it may not be reasonable to bring employees back full-time or at full-pay. For employees who may be making more on unemployment then you will make if you return to work. Especially if your employer wants to bring you back at part-time or at a lower rate of pay then you were making before. Actually, Scott Micheal from Washington's unemployment department points out that if an employee is brought back under reduced hours from their normal work hours everyone will get the best of both worlds. It is a win for the employer who can more slowly ramp up and safe money on payroll while doing so. It is a win to the employee who will receive the optimal amount of income while securing their job. For example, a worker wh...

Whether your safety concerns arise out of the Coronavirus / Covid-19 pandemic or other safety violations at work, you need to proceed with caution both to protect your health and safety but also your continued employment. FEDERAL WORKERS: The Department of Occupational Safety and Health advice: If my workplace is unsafe, what can I do? If you believe working conditions are unsafe or unhealthful, we recommend that you bring the conditions to your employer's attention. At any time, a worker may file a complaint with OSHA to report a hazardous working condition and request an inspection. If the condition clearly presents a risk of death or serious physical harm and there is not enough time for OSHA to inspect, the worker may have a legal right to refuse to work. File a complaint  here. More Information  OSHA  File a Complaint . OSHA COVID-19 Guidelines Washington Workers: Contact the Department of Labor and Industry for information about Was...

It seems that as a society we have a lot of notions about work and what an employer can and cannot do under the law. Very few of these commonly held beliefs are true. In my day to day life as an attorney who focuses her work on employment law, I spend quite a bit of time discussing potential legal claims with people who have been mistreated at work. Very rare is the call where a person calling was, in my opinion, not mistreated by the employer. In one such rare case, the gentlemen calling had terrorized a female coworker and was genuinely confused about why he was terminated. Not quite as rare, is the caller who has been mistreated and has a remedy under the law. The most common caller has in their, and my, opinion been mistreated but has no legal remedy under the current law. Most callers are victims to an employment system that has become increasingly callous and indifferent to the plight of the worker. The system I am describing is called At-Will employment. Washington Sta...

As the State of Washington considers opening businesses in a phased opening, many employees are concerned about their safety. Some will undoubtedly refuse to go back in asking for accommodation - greater safety measures or requesting to continue to work from home. What are an employee's rights? What can a employer demand? Well it depends. Employees should understand that if they have a disability they should ask for accomadation, however the legal  ADA PRECEDENT states that an EMPLOYEE IS NOT ENTITLED TO THE ACCOMMODATION OF HIS/HER CHOICE ; ONLY TO A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION Examples of reasonable accommodations may look like: Additional or enhanced protective gowns, masks, gloves, or other gear beyond what the employer may generally provide to employees returning to its workplace. Additional or enhanced protective measures, for example, erecting a barrier that provides separation between an employee with a disability and coworkers/the public or increasing the space betw...

This morning I attended a webinar:  Straight Talk: Health care leaders, researchers provide update on state of care amid COVID-19 Speakers were: Geoffrey Baird, MD, PhD: Pathologist and Interim Chair of Laboratory Medicine, UW Medicine; Director of the Clinical and Toxicology Chemistry Laboratory, Harborview Medical Center Nancy Davidson, MD: President & Executive Director, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance; Senior Vice President, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Head, Medical Oncology, University of Washington George Haddad, MD: Co-founder, COVID Response Partners Jeff Tomlin, MD: CEO, Evergreen Health. What I wanted to know was when antibody testing will be widely available in the Seattle area and if being exposed to, or  acquiring  the virus and surviving, will create immunity to future exposures. Unfortunately , the answers were that testing is coming but supply chain issues remain a problem (not enough swabs). So it is slow. Al...

In some cases workers are realizing that with the federal stimulus money they can do better financially by staying out of work. Especially if they are taking care of kids that would normally be at school or otherwise engaged outside the home during work hours. As an employment attorney I field a few of these "do I have to go back to work" calls a week.  This article from SHRM explains: "If you are recalled to work, your unemployment is stopped. It isn't really your choice."  Lindsey White, an employment lawyer and partner at Shawe Rosenthal in Baltimore, said, "The employees who are saying, 'Thanks for the offer of work, but I would rather stay on unemployment' won't be eligible for unemployment . That is going to be a rude awakening [for many]." Read more here: What happens when unemployment pays too well? The article addresses how Workers and Employers can get creative to solve some problems:  For example, when employers ar...

Washington State's Unemployment department put out a press release this morning showing its progress it getting State and Federal benfits into the hands of Washington (ex) Workers. Of 1.4+ million claims 545,178 individual have received benefits totaling 1.4 billion in benefits.  The Release: Unemployment claim type For week of  April 26-May 2 For week of April 19-25 Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) initial claims 100,762 137,605 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) initial claims 59,234 190,948 Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) initial claims 40,267 168,165 Continued/ongoing weekly claims 885,768 959,190 Total claims 1,086,031 1,455,908 Since the week ending March 7 when COVID-19 job losses began: A total of 1,428,775 initial claims have been filed during the ...

At risk citizens should continue to stay home and take precautions when on necessary trips out of the home until phase 4. Then during phase four they should continue to practice social distancing adn other precautions but are allowed out tot he same degree as everyone else. At risk is defined as those persons 65 or older or with underlying health issues that may put them at greater risk of infection or reduced chance for survival if infected with the Covid-9 virus. The four phases outline the recommend easing of restrictions over a number of weeks. Including increasing essential travel, allowing small gatherings and moving toward larger gatherings (of less than 50) as the summer nears. But this is still a massive restriction on entertainment as we knew it pre-covid. What about weddings? Concerts? Festivals? Fundraising events? It is not clear when things like that will get back to normal. See the Governor's chart   here .

Here are there top questions of the week: My job is considered essential, but I have some health issues that put me at risk. Do I have to keep working? No. Even if your work is considered essential, you should not put yourself at risk. It’s preferable to stay attached to your employer if possible. Let your employer know that you cannot return until it is safe. Under new rules, you can qualify for unemployment benefits if you are at high risk and are staying home based on medical advice about the dangers related to that risk. File for unemployment and notify your employer when you can return.* Gainey Law Note: However, the risk must be to you personally the analysis may be different if the at risk person is a family member.  My employer has reduced my hours. Do I have to quit to get unemployment? You can apply for benefits and keep working if you were hired to work full time and have your hours temporarily reduced by less than 60 percent. Report the income earned ...