Washington’s legislature has approved two bills poised to significantly reshape employer obligations around layoffs and job postings. Though not yet signed into law, both bills—if enacted—will require prompt action and policy updates from employers operating in the state.
Mini-WARN Act: More Notice, Broader Reach
Senate Bill 5525, modeled on the federal WARN Act, ups the…
Last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) submitted a proposed 2024 EEO-1 instruction booklet to the Office of Management and Budget. If the proposal is approved, the EEO-1 reporting period will begin on May 20, 2025 and run through June 24, 2025. As employers prepare to file their 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 reports, they…
In Bradsbery v. Vicar Operating, Inc., a California Court of Appeal answered a question that many California employers may not have known even needed to be answered—whether California employees can prospectively waive their mandatory meal periods. Given the almost universal use of such waivers by employers (based on the assumption that the waivers are revocable,…
On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued a new executive order aimed at repealing disparate impact liability. The order, titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy” (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/restoring-equality-of-opportunity-and-meritocracy/), frames equal treatment under the law as “equality of opportunity, not equal outcomes.”
Disparate impact is a theory of liability that grew out of equal employment…
On Friday, March 14, 2025, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a preliminary injunction on President Trump’s Executive Orders regarding DEI. In concurring opinions, the judges expressed varying levels of support for employers’ DEI initiatives. However, the appellate panel agreed that the district court’s pre-implementation preliminary injunction was premature, and the Fourth Circuit stayed…
In the most recent indication of what employers can expect from the National Labor Relations Board under President Trump’s second term, the acting General Counsel for the Board, William Cowen, recently rescinded a series of memoranda issued by his predecessor, Jennifer Abruzzo, that employers regarded as overprotective of employee rights under the National Labor Relations…
On his second day in office, January 21, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” This Executive Order reverses roughly 60 years of federal policy and leaves many employers with questions about the future of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and affirmative action programs (AAPs). Federal contractors,…
On January 21, 2025, the White House announced an Executive Order entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The Order instructs federal agencies to take administrative and legal action against diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) programs, which it defines as systems of race- and sex-based preferences. The Order is directed at both public- and…
On January 15, 2025, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera, holding that the “preponderance of the evidence” is the applicable standard courts must use to analyze whether an exemption is proper under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In practical terms, this means employers must demonstrate…
As 2025 approaches, employers in Oregon, Washington, and California must prepare for several updates in employment laws. Here’s a concise overview of the most impactful changes that take effect on January 1, 2025:
Oregon
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