As new laws are enacted, existing laws are expanded, and workplace trends change, so too do the types of cases employment law attorneys see more of.
Through the many legal additions and revisions, however, one employment law trend remains the same: Washington is a relatively employee-friendly state.
“Washington, as a whole, has always been on the forefront of employee protections,” says Steve Bergman, an attorney at Spokane-based Cooney Law Offices PS. “I know that other states may have less protective laws, which could lead to less inclusive workplaces.”
Bergman and colleague Alex Johnston, also an attorney at Cooney Law Offices, handle a lot of disability-related discrimination cases.
“There’s a pretty extensive accommodation requirement in Washington state,” Bergman says. “Sometimes, employers can get tripped up with those.”
Johnston says Washington’s discrimination laws include more protections than federal prohibitions, and that sometimes misleads employers.
“I think sometimes we see some confusion between what’s federally required versus what’s required in Washington state,” she says.
Susan Nelson, a partner at Spokane-based Dunn & Black PS, says she concurs that Washington is more employee friendly, and points to new and updated laws in recent years as evidence of that.
“A hot topic over the last three to four years has really been the enforcement of noncompetes,” Nelson says, referring to noncompete agreements, which are essentially clauses in employment...
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