Employment Law and Labor Services

The Workplace Law Group works with you like an “in house” attorney so you receive advice tailored to your industry, company size, and employee culture.

Compliance is a call away!

The time and effort it takes to comply with ever growing city, state, and federal laws while managing day-to-day operations can be daunting. And, if you are unionized, your challenge is even greater.

The Workplace Law Group attorneys serve hundreds of employer members, providing current and accurate advice and counsel on all types of employment and labor law issues.

How can we help?
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Some of the most common legal matters we address include:

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Leave Administration

Depending on your size and location, your employees may be entitled to over a dozen protected leaves of absence. Managing all these leaves, while running a business is challenging at best and creates significant and costly legal risk at worst. We provide legal advice for the administration of protected leave laws, including Family Medical Leave, State Paid Family Leave, Military Leave, Domestic Violence Leave and State Sick Leave. We can also guide your employee and medical provider communication, required forms, deadlines, and notices.

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Agency Representation

If your employee files an administrative charge with an agency, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Labor, National Labor Relations Board, Washington's Department of Labor & Industries, Employment Security Department, or Oregon's Bureau of Labor & Industries, our attorneys will advise you on the agency's process and help you prepare their response. In addition to advice, we can also appear directly on your behalf.

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Wage & Hour

Wage and hour law is very complex because many employees are now digitally connected to their workplace 24/7. This has created enormous potential for wage and hour violations. Although you may have both processes and policies in place, a manager or supervisor can put the company at risk for unpaid wages if they are not familiar with local, state, and federal wage and hour laws. Our attorneys provide adivce on all wage and hour matters, such as what time is compensable? When does a workday begin and end? Does an employee need to be paid for traveling to work? Is an employee entitled to overtime?

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Harassment & Discrimination

Employees who are members of a protected class because of age, race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, disability, or religion have the legal right not to be harassed under a series of anti-discrimination laws. Other protected statuses include victims of domestic violence and political ideology. Pay Equity laws cover the right to equal pay for equal work regardless of protected status. Our attorneys help you minimize the risk of harassment and discrimination claims by advising on consistent employer practices, pay equity audits, and preventative measures to avoid legal action.

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Collective Bargaining

For 80+ years, we have negotiated thousands of union contracts with all local unions in the private and public sector. Our attorneys are skilled labor negotiators, who serve as your lead negotiator in collective bargaining of initial labor contracts, economic “reopeners,” and successor contracts.

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Labor Law

Managing a union workforce has unique challenges due to private and public sector labor laws. The terms of a union contract are not always clear and similarly interpreted by the union and employer. Our attorneys advise unionized employers with contract interpretation and administration.

Other areas of  Employment Law coverage:

  • Application processes, hiring, and terminating employees
  • Separation, employment, and restrictive covenant agreements
  • Drugs, alcohol, and marijuana in the workplace
  • Employer handbook review
  • Garnishments
  • I9 compliance
  • Unemployment claims
  • Reductions in force and lay-offs
  • Social media at work

Your Legal Team

Our skilled attorneys bring a depth of employment and labor law experience across mulitple states.

  • Ben Eckhart – licensed in WA
  • Catherine Seelig – licensed in WA
  • Colleen Mayer – licensed in WA and CT
  • Erin Jacobson – licensed in WA, OR, and ID
  • Ifeoma Enenmoh – licensed in CA
  • Mark Nelson – licensed in CO

"They treat their members very, very well. They check with one another to research the best answers when a member has a difficult question. You’re not going to get that richness from individual specialists."

-- Archbright Member

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More questions?

Don't hesitate to reach out. info@archbright.com

Contact Us
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