Category Archives: Employment

Lessons learned from the demise of Paseo

Social media lit up today at news that highly-rated Caribbean sandwich shop Paseo had closed.  This comes a few months after several former employees sued Paseo and its president for wrongful termination and unlawful withholding of wages.  The defendants deny much of the allegations.  While ELM does not represent anyone in the lawsuit and has no […]

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State Supreme Court Delivers Mixed Result in Religious Employer Case

The Washington State Supreme Court just ruled that the religious employer exemption to the state antidiscrimination law is facially constitutional.   Ellis, Li & McKinstry was involved in this case as counsel for several faith-based organizations acting as amici curiae (“friends of the court”). The brief filed by ELM was referred to several times by the […]

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Seattle’s New Criminal Background Check Ordinance

Employers beware! Effective November 1, 2013, a new City of Seattle ordinance (pdf) will severely restrict a private employer’s ability to ask about and use the criminal conviction history of its job applicants and employees. So what’s a Seattle employer to do? Here are some things you should consider: 1. Prepare for these new restrictions. The ordinance […]

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