Recent News

Representing several union pension trust funds against a defaulting employer, Beresford Booth lawyer William O. Kessler successfully obtained a lump-sum payment of over $530,000. Pension payments by the employer corporation to the union trust funds had been personally guaranteed by the corporation’s principals. One of those principals was the single member of an LLC owning… Read More

David C. Tingstad has been a speaker at numerous seminars for lawyers and accountants with LLC's as the subject matter.  He has written extensively and authored and co-authored many published articles on LLC issues from business divorce to start up issues including securities and closely held businesses.  Division 2 Court of Washington’s Court of Appeals… Read More

In Boston, David C. Tingstad speaks at the ABA Business Law Section CLE course re Limited Liability Companies and Closely Held Businesses Read More

The answer is not as obvious as previously believed. On Feb. 7, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc. (AMR) settled a charge related to this very issue. The fact of settlement is a signal to employers that their social media policies need to be clearly communicated and… Read More

Re-posting an interesting online article: Businesses Refuse to Hire Unemployed, EEOC says by Stephanie Rabiner When speaking to the unemployed, discrimination is usually the last thing on their mind. After all, they’re not employed, right? But once they settle in and start browsing the web for that next job, things change. Inevitably, they come across… Read More

In a decision last week, Johnson v. Chevron, the Washington State Court of Appeals held that an employee was not required to prove that his disability accommodation was “medically necessary” to enable him to perform his job. Johnson had sued the employer, asserting state law claims for race discrimination (disparate treatment) and disability discrimination (disparate… Read More

The Washington State Court of Appeals has tackled a case of first impression in their decision on a 2004 case, Anfinson v. FedEx. The issue involves the definition of an “independent contractor” under the State’s Minimum Wage Act (MWA). In 2004, a class action lawsuit was filed against FedEx in King County Superior Court alleging… Read More

Recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) initiatives are focused on eradicating what the EEOC views as more covert forms of discrimination, such as policies that exclude applicants with bad credit reports or criminal convictions. In light of this new scrutiny, employers who conduct credit or criminal background checks should make sure that their practices do… Read More

Employers in Washington who fail to timely pay wages to an employee are liable for statutory penalties equal to twice the unpaid wages plus attorney’s fees. Even when an employer seeks bankruptcy protection, officers and senior managers remain personally liable for the unpaid wages, statutory penalties and attorney’s fees. This rule was recently reaffirmed by… Read More