Blog

Average workers' comp rates could increase by 2 percent

The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) proposes that workers’ compensation rates increase by 2 percent next year (on average). There will be a comment period, and L&I will announce the final rates in December. (Last year, for example, it proposed a 1.8 percent increase and the final increase was 0.8 percent.) L&I Director Joel […]

InFocus podcast: Rent control, WA wine industry, state revenue & employment reports, and charter schools

Policy Today podcast, Common Ground edition: Rep. Drew Hansen

InFocus podcast: NLRB ruling, stock market turmoil, state business tax rankings

Independent contractor or employee?

I wrote yesterday about the NLRB’s changing definition of who is an employer. Related to that: Who is an employee? In many cases, the changing nature of work has led to situations where the traditional employer-employee relationship no longer applies. One such case is Uber. Uber considers the drivers who provide rides through its app […]

The NLRB ruling and the changing nature of employment

In response to last week’s National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) 3-2 decision to change the joint-employer standard (which I briefly noted here), the Wall Street Journal editorial board writes that it “radically rewrites U.S. labor law and upends thousands of business relationships.” The majority’s goal in so doing is “to best serve the Federal policy […]

Employment policy links: NLRB decision, occupational disease, minimum wage

Today the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) “refined its standard for determining joint-employer status.” It ruled, 3-2, that Browning-Ferris Industries was a joint employer with its contractor Leadpoint. The NLRB said, With more than 2.87 million of the nation’s workers employed through temporary agencies in August 2014, the Board held that its previous joint employer […]

InFocus: SeaTac minimum wage ruling, State employment report

Will Sea-Tac wage increase be retroactive?

As I wrote yesterday, the state Supreme Court has ruled that SeaTac’s Proposition 1, which increased the minimum wage for certain workers (among other things), is applicable to workers at Sea-Tac airport. The measure went into effect Jan. 1, 2014. Does the ruling apply retroactively? The Seattle Times reports that the answer to that is […]

WA Supreme Court: Prop. 1's $15 minimum wage and other labor provisions apply at Sea-Tac airport

This morning the state Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that SeaTac’s Proposition 1 applies to Sea-Tac airport. Prop. 1 was approved by voters in SeaTac in 2013. It established a $15 minimum wage and paid sick leave benefits for certain hospitality, transportation, and airport workers. It also imposed restrictions on employers’ labor practices. (Here is our […]