Gainey Law, PLLC Seattle Employment Law Attorney

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 ...

Statement by EEOC Chair Janet Dhillon on Older Americans Month May 2020 Message from Chair Janet Dhillon The EEOC enforces the ADEA with enthusiasm, as we do with all other statutes.  After all, one basic principle and spirit informs all the laws we enforce.  It should be a no-brainer that no one should be denied a job -- or treated unfairly at one – because of their age.  But I’m afraid we have to keep educating and enforcing in every way we can – including litigation as a last resort. Read more here .

A word from the Unemployment Department of Washington State ALERT:  Our system update is complete and eServices is online. However, both the site and our phone lines are experiencing extremely high volumes. Pages are loading slowly and call wait times are long. Please keep trying or come back and try later. If you are calling to submit your weekly claim, please try back after 5 p.m. Thank you for your patience. We apologize for the inconvenience. For more information visit www.ESD.gov   

While many of us are itching to get back to some semblance of "normal life," the indicators are not there to suggest that will be possible or safe immediately. The curve may be flattening, but without adequate testing for antibodies what does that mean for re-opening businesses? Its hard to say. Here are the statistics we do know to date. Read more about Washington's confirmed cases here. Seattle-King County Public Health’s Jeff Duchin  spoke out this week  about how prepared Washington is to reopen, noting that even with the outbreak waning, it’s not yet time to relax social distancing measures. Read more. Dr. Gordan Cohen joined Seattle's morning news to explain: Reopening the Economy before a vaccine will call for strict sanitation protocols. So, hang in there Washington and we will get through this together. To that end, I found this list of the 80, yes 80, things to do while stuck at home. Read More about things to do while stuck at home bored here.

EEOC addresses back to work issues in recent COVID-19 update. Law360 outlines a few of the issues: One question covered what employers should do about potential harassment and discrimination once their workplaces reopen. The EEOC said that employers can remind its workers that bias won't be tolerated and advise management of its role in stopping and reporting harassment and discrimination. In the new section on returning to work, the EEOC fielded inquiries about screening workers and providing accommodations for personal protective equipment. The agency said the ADA lets employers make inquiries and conduct medical exams if they're necessary for keeping out workers who have a medical condition that poses "a direct threat to health or safety." But the agency also advised that employers should be careful not to "engage in unlawful disparate treatment based on protected characteristics in decisions related to screening and exclusion." Additionally, whil...