Employment Law in Motion
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Washington Bans Noncompetes Beginning July 1, 2027
Deciding it had seen enough data suggesting that noncompete restrictions (also known as “noncompetes”) are bad for innovation, entrepreneurship and the economy, and that it was not willing to wait for the FTC’s attempted noncompetes ban to work its w...
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Ninth Circuit Again Affirms Employer’s Religious Freedom Rights
Last month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals furthered a trend of ruling favorably for religious organization employers in Union Gospel Mission of Yakima v. Brown. In a case specific to Washington, the Ninth Circuit interpreted how the Washington L...
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Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Weighs in on Washington School District Employee’s First Amendment Free Speech Protections
A middle school assistant principal was demoted to a teaching position after his Facebook post containing slurs and violent language relating to the Democratic National Convention. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the speech was protected...
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Washington Employment Security Department Publishes Template 2026 PFML Notices
As we previously shared, effective January 1, 2026, Washington House Bill 1213 expanded worker protections under Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (PFML) and allows employers to limit employees’ ability to “stack” their job restoration benefits under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and PFML. Among the many changes to PFML, HB 1213 added two new employer notice requirements. Just recently, Washington’s Employment Security Department (ESD) published template notices that employers may tailor to particular circumstances. The PFML notice requirements—and the associated template notice—are summarized below.
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Washington State Minimum Wage 2026 Update, Including Jurisdictions Exceeding the State’s Minimum Wage
Washington State has announced its new minimum wage, exempt salary level, and other compensation levels for 2026. All of the following will be in effect as of January 1, 2026:
Washington State minimum wage: $17.13 per hourTo be exempt from overtime a...
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Washington Enacts Mini-WARN Act Law
Effective July 27, 2025, Washington joins many other states that have their own “mini-WARN Act.” Consequently, employers considering layoffs in Washington state need to review both the federal WARN Act and Washington’s new mini-WARN Act to see if the layoff is covered, and if so, to ensure compliance with all requirements under either (or both) statutes.
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