Gainey Law, PLLC Seattle Employment Law Attorney

As the Covid-19 corona virus virus continues to effect the Seattle area, King County and our entire region in dramatic ways , my law firm is beginning to get the first calls from people who have been fired or otherwise separated from their jobs because of the virus. It is often unclear if you have any legal protections or remedies in these situations without discussing what happened in detail with an attorney. So, the information here is not provided as legal advice, if you wish to find out more about your potential legal claims go here to share what has happened to you. We will get back to you as soon as we can. In the meantime,   I've put together a list to help employees connect with resources they may need right away. If you live in Seattle or Washington, or work for a Washington Company, and you or a family member is sick requiring you to stay home to care for yourself or that family member you may qualify for paid sick leave. See: Full Pamphlet PFSL.   If y...

Office of Labor Standards Reaches its Largest Settlement under Secure Scheduling Law: Jack in the Box Franchises to Pay Over $172,000 to 569 Seattle Workers Seattle, WA - (September 16, 2019)  - The Office of Labor Standards (OLS) announces its largest settlement under the Secure Scheduling Ordinance since the law took effect on July 1, 2017. The settlement agreement calls for a total financial remedy of $172,619.00 to be paid out to 569 affected employees of Pars Group, LLC and Northwest Food Management Group Inc, which operate nine “Jack in the Box” stores in Seattle. OLS alleged the employer failed to properly post employee work schedules fourteen days in advance of work shifts; in addition, it allegedly did not pay premium pay for late work schedule changes and for back-to-back closing/opening shifts, known as “clopening” shifts. “Scheduling is very important to me. It’s difficult to juggle changing shifts. You have to separate your personal time from your work sche...

Bill Radke talks about #metoo with local attorney Rebecca Roe and MaryEllen Sto ne from Seattle Sexual Assault Resource Center. "If you are going into sexual assault investigation doubting victims, you are in the wrong line of work." Rebecca Roe.

Friday Forum: Power and Silence: How #MeToo Is Changing the American Workplace ace

If you can't see the video above, Click here for the Oregon Bar's #metoo video The Oregon State Bar sent an anonymous survey to its members. This video reflects the responses they received. It has not been widely viewed - please watch it, share it, repost it. If you are a Washington State Attorney I invite you to share it with leadership at WSBA, WSAJ, KCBA, TPCBA, etc., so that we can finally address our own #metoo issues.

Crosscut sits down with a group of Seattle change makers to discuss the movement

CBS sexual harassment news. IMHO, we are likely to hear more from this s till employed actor who seems to have no idea what is right and what is wrong. Weatherly told the Associated Press.   "Not to get into any of the ifs, ands or buts about what is right or wrong and where it comes from."  " Professionally I owe a great part of my career to the decision-making of the higher-ups at the company. It's a complicated place to be." What? Read more .

 In case you missed a few, here is the sexual harassment / sexual assault list of shame recap published by the  Seattle Times  (read article). Many high-profile men in Hollywood, politics, media and business have recently faced allegations ranging from sexual misconduct to rape. A look at some of the men accused: Tom Ashbrook , longtime NPR host   — Accused by 11 mostly young women and men of unwanted hugs, necks and back rubs and “creepy” sex talks. He was put on leave from his show “On Point. Celebrity chef  Mario Batali   — Accused by four women of groping and grabbing employees and others. He apologized, gave up oversight of his restaurant empire and took leave from his ABC cooking show, “The Chew.” Eddie Berganza , group editor of DC Comics   — Accused of forcibly kissing and groping three women. He was fired. Celebrity chef  John Besh   — Accused by 25 women of sexual harassment. He has stepped down from the company he founded.

Companies must implement policies that encourage healthy workplaces for everyone.  Bro-culture leads to harassment and lawsuit(s) at Google