Employment Law in Motion
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Washington Legislature Expands Worker Protections and Clarifies “Stacking” Limits for Paid Family and Medical Leave
On May 17, 2025, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed House Bill 1213, which both expands worker protections relating to Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (PFML) and allows an employer to limit an employee’s ability to “stack” their protected leave entitlements. Below is a summary of the key changes that start to take effect on January 1, 2026.
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Washington Legislature Expands Qualifying Reasons for Paid Sick Leave to Include Leave for Immigration Proceedings
Effective July 27, 2025, Washington House Bill 1875 will expand the qualifying reasons for which an employee may use their accrued and available state-mandated paid sick leave to include time off for an employee to prepare for or participate in any judicial or administrative immigration proceeding involving either the employee or their family member.
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New Hiring and Employment Records Laws Take Effect in Washington
During the 2025 legislative session, Washington State enacted several new measures that will significantly impact employer obligations related to hiring practices and personnel recordkeeping.
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Oregon Cannabis Employers No Longer Need to Comply with Measure 119 and Obtain Labor Peace Agreements
On May 20, 2025, the U.S. District Court for Oregon permanently prohibited Oregon state officials from enforcing Measure 119.
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Significant Changes for Alaska Employers, including Minimum Wage Increases and Mandatory Paid Sick Leave Programs, Begin July 1, 2025
In November 2024, Alaskan voters passed Ballot Measure 1. The law takes effect July 1, 2025, and has three main provisions: (1) increasing the minimum wage now and into the future (which also impacts exempt salary levels), (2) mandating paid sick leave for most employees, and (3) prohibiting mandatory employer-sponsored meetings on political or religious matters.
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Trials by Social Media and How Employers Can Respond
Social media has been extensively used, and abused, since its inception. For all the beneficial and valid uses of social media, there is a seemingly equal number of improper, illegal, and even criminal uses. Employers have been navigating social media’s use, or invasion, of the workplace since the dawn of social media, from employees using work time to scroll on Facebook to sexual harassment via Instagram. Add to these social media challenges a relatively new development: trial by social media.
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