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MRSC Insight Blog


Posts for Archives

Why the Government lawyer may not be the lawyer of the Council or Commission

March 1, 2012  by  P. Stephen DiJulio
Category:  Council-Commission Advisor

This column focuses on the need for communication among government clients and their lawyers and summarizes the foundations for what is generally understood as the "entity" approach to legal representation of municipal  corporations.

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Taking the Mystery out of Loudermill Meetings

March 1, 2012  by  Janice Corbin and Janet May
Category:  HR Advisor

Loudermill meetings are often a source of frustration or concern, but in reality they are generally fairly simple to conduct. This post discusses some of the do's and don'ts for conducting a Loudermill meeting.

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Is it Safe to Provide a Job Reference?

March 1, 2012  by  Elizabeth Kennar
Category:  HR Advisor

Under state law, employers cannot be held liable for providing job references unless they provide information that is deliberately misleading or made with reckless disregard to the truth.

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Are Your Workers Misclassified?

March 1, 2012  by  Elizabeth Kennar
Category:  HR Advisor

Important consequences flow from the determination that an individual is a "regular employee" as opposed to a temporary employee, seasonal employee, or independent contractor, and state law prohibits public employers from misclassifying employees.

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Electronic Communications and Social Media: Managing Employer Risks with Clear Policies

March 1, 2012  by  Mark Busto
Category:  HR Advisor

When employees engage in social media, the line between workplace and personal conduct can be easily blurred. This post reminds public employers to revisit their electronic communication policies and establish guidelines and expectations concerning employee use of social media.

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Budget-Related Furloughs: Employers Must Bargain Both Decision and Effects

March 1, 2012  by  Kristin Anger
Category:  HR Advisor

Unpaid furloughs are an attractive alternative to layoffs for some public employers. In 2010, the PERC's King County decision affirmed that employers are obligated to bargain both the decision to implement furloughs and the effects.

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Employers Need to Promptly and Effectively Address Complaints of Workplace Harassment

March 1, 2012  by  Mark Busto
Category:  HR Advisor

If an employer fails to take prompt and effective action to correct or end a workplace harassment issue, it can incur significant liability as shown in the 2010 court decision EEOC v. Prospect Airport Services.

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PERC's New Decision on Weingarten Rights

March 1, 2012  by  Sofia D'Almeida Mabee
Category:  HR Advisor

The 2010 Public Employment Relations Commission Omak School District decision reviews what Weingarten rights employees have in Washington and redefined the contours of those rights.

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Fair Labor Standards Act Classifications: Are Your Employees Correctly Classified?

March 1, 2012  by  Jennifer A. Parda
Category:  HR Advisor ,  Fair Labor Standards Act

Stepped-up enforcement from the U.S. Department of Labor highlights the importance for employers to ensure that employees are properly classified under FLSA, as well as the high monetary costs that can ensue if they aren't.

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Elected Officials Can be Subject to Recall for Violating Employment Laws

March 1, 2012  by  Sofia D'Almeida Mabee
Category:  HR Advisor

Elected officials can be subject to recall by the voters in certain situations. The court case In re Recall of Washam (2011) applied these principles to an elected official accused of violating county ordinances prohibiting certain employment practices, including retaliation against whistleblowers.

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But What About Multiple Family Housing: Does it Pay for Itself?

March 1, 2012  by  Pat Dugan
Category:  Planning Advisor

There is a perception that multi-family housing is a drain on local government finances and is more costly to support than single-family residences. This, in turn, can affect local land use policies and cause officials to discourage multi-family development. But is this perception true?

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Providing for Usable Open Space for Multifamily Developments

March 1, 2012  by  Bob Bengford
Category:  Planning Advisor

This blog post describes concepts for providing usable open space in new multifamily residences, as part of regulatory strategies to address challenges in creating compatible and livable infill development.

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Shaping Growth: Using Capital Facilities to Implement Comprehensive Plans

March 1, 2012  by  Pat Dugan
Category:  Planning Advisor

This post explores the ways that capital facilities can be actively used to implement a comprehensive plan and the role that capital facility financing policies can play in that process by influencing when, where, and how much capital facilities will be developed.

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A Hybrid Approach to Form-Based Codes in the Northwest

March 1, 2012  by  Bob Bengford
Category:  Planning Advisor

Can form-based codes be applied to Northwest communities? Of course. Are they appropriate for your community? It depends. This post has some things to think about if you are considering updating your land use/design codes using a form-based approach.

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