MRSC Insight Blog

Posts for Compensation

Smartphone on wooden table shows a whistleblower alert from an anonymous caller

Personnel Issues of Note from the 2023 Legislative Session

August 28, 2023 by Michael Incorvaia
Category: Guest Author , Compensation , Personnel Policies , New Legislation and Regulations

New state personnel laws establish protections for certain whistleblowers, amend the statutory definition of employment, modify procedures for reviewing and approving requests for partial wage replacement for unemployed workers, and update hospital staffing standards.

Shows a person reading a document about employee benefits

Elected Officials and Benefits Programs

January 25, 2023 by MRSC Insight
Category: Governance , Compensation , Leave Policies

Are elected officials considered employees? If so, are they eligible for the various benefits programs provided for in state law? This simple question requires a case-by-case examination of eligible state-based benefits programs.

New Legal Requirements for Job Postings

January 17, 2023 by Linda Gallagher
Category: Compensation , Recruitment and Hiring

Beginning January 1, 2023, public and private employers in Washington State with 15 or more employees are now required to include compensation and benefits information in job postings.

2022 Legislative Updates to Personnel Laws — Salary and Leave

June 27, 2022 by Sarah Doar
Category: Compensation , Leave Policies , New Legislation and Regulations

New legislation requires many employers to include wage and benefit information in all job postings and makes changes to the state's Paid Family and Medical Leave program.

State Puts WA Cares on Hold for Now

February 1, 2022 by Flannary Collins
Category: Compensation , New Legislation and Regulations

With new legislation, the WA Cares long-term care insurance program (and the premiums employers were to collect from employees) has been put on hold. This blog looks at the steps local government employers should take at this time.

An Update on the Long-Term Care Trust Act

September 20, 2021 by Flannary Collins
Category: Compensation , New Legislation and Regulations

As of January 2022, employees will begin paying into the state's long-term care insurance benefit, but local governments still have a lot of questions, such as how to handle premiums and program eligibility.

Employee Bonuses and the COVID-19 Pandemic

June 10, 2021 by Oskar Rey
Category: COVID-19 , Compensation

This blog considers whether local governments may give bonuses to employees for working through the COVID-19 pandemic.

President’s Memorandum on Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations

September 1, 2020 by Toni Nelson
Category: COVID-19 , Compensation

This blog post reviews a recent federal memorandum directing the U.S. Treasury to defer the withholding, deposit, and payment of Social Security taxes on wages and compensation paid during September 1 through December 31, 2020.

More Employees Will Soon Be Eligible for Overtime Pay

December 30, 2019 by Paul Sullivan
Category: Compensation

There have been changes at both the federal and the state level to determine when workers are eligible for overtime pay. As a result, employers may find many more employees eligible for overtime once these changes go into effect.

Long-Term Care Trust Act Brings Services and Support to Washington Residents

September 27, 2019 by Paul Sullivan
Category: Compensation , New Legislation and Regulations

The newly created Long-Term Care Trust Act will offer an employee-financed program to provide payment or partial payment for long-term services and support to qualified Washington residents who have paid into the program and need assistance.

HB 1696: Updating Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act

August 5, 2019 by Summit Law Group
Category: Guest Author , Compensation , New Legislation and Regulations

HB 1696 updates Washington’s existing Equal Pay and Opportunities Act by requiring more transparency on pay ranges and by prohibiting employers from asking for an applicant’s wage history.

Salary Increases Effective July 1 for Many Special Purpose District Officials

June 7, 2018 by Toni Nelson
Category: Compensation

The salaries for many elected officials with Washington's special purpose districts are adjusted for inflation every 5 years by the Office of Financial Management, with 2018 being one such year an adjustment takes place. Finance Consultant Toni Nelson looks at which special purpose districts and officials will be impacted.

Year-End Personnel Topics Pop Quiz

January 9, 2018 by Paul Sullivan
Category: Compensation , Leave Policies , Minimum Wage , Termination and Retirement

Take a short quiz to test your memory of some common, personnel-related legal issues as well as new employment laws that came in to or remained in effect in 2017.

Employee Recognition Programs

October 26, 2017 by Lynn Nordby
Category: Compensation

Acknowledging a job well done can be a powerful motivator for your employees. However, local governments must consider constitutional prohibitions against gifts to create employee recognition programs that won't run afoul of the law.

What if We Accidentally Overpaid an Employee?

January 28, 2015 by Paul Sullivan
Category: Compensation

Consider this hypothetical scenario: when I was just starting out as a city employee, I was joined in my office by the city accountant. She informed me that I had been overpaid. (What?! How can that be? If anything, I must have been underpaid!) Sadly, it was true. Due to a mathematical error, my paycheck for the first three months of the year was for an amount greater than it should have been. My first thought likely was “Finders keepers, losers weepers.” Unfortunately for me, that wasn’t the accountant’s first thought; I was expected to repay the amount I was overpaid. Here's why that's the case and how the overpayment should be repaid.

Meal and Rest Breaks for Public Employees

February 28, 2013 by Sofia D'Almeida Mabee
Category: Guest Author , Compensation

There continues to be much confusion regarding meal and rest period obligations for public sector employees. Public employers in Washington State are required to provide meal and rest breaks for non-exempt employees (i.e., overtime-eligible employees.) However, unlike the situation for private employers, public employers can also have agreements with unions...

How Is Employee Travel Time Treated Under the Fair Labor Standards Act?

February 19, 2013 by Paul Sullivan
Category: Compensation , Fair Labor Standards Act

When an employee travels to work in the morning and then travels home at the end of the work day, that travel time is not “work time.” But what if the employee, at home after work, is then called back to work? Or if the employee must travel to another city for training? Does it matter if the employee drives his or her own car to an out-of-town assignment? Or if he or she travels as a passenger...

Employment Law Alert: Washington High Court Issues Important Decision on Rest Breaks and Overtime Pay

January 31, 2013 by Joe Levan
Category: Compensation

Are employees owed overtime pay if they work through rest periods that the employer is required by law to provide? The Washington Supreme Court’s decision in Wash. State Nurses Ass'n v. Sacred Heart Med. Ctr., 175 Wn.2d 822 (2012) addresses the issue.

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