| Description | Volume_Issue | Year | Month | PDF |
| This issue is about a court case in which paramedics and EMTs were found not to be entitled to overtime compensation for on-call hours; a US Supreme Court ruling that involved consideration of the “salary basis” test; and a Washington law forbidding discrimination on the basis of political activism. | 01-01 | 1997 | 4 | v01n01apr1997.pdf |
| Today we address free speech considerations in the context of discipline; amendments to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the test to discern whether nepotism in hiring is legal; legislative amendments to the death benefits laws; LEOFF II employees being able to sue employers; employees not having a cause of action for “wrongful transfer in violation of public policy”; and to sum it up, we discuss physical fitness standards for firefighters. | 01-02 | 1997 | 5 | v01n02may1997.pdf |
| The First Amendment comes into play with fire commissioners in various circumstances, and we consider that here, along with other considerations involving fluctuating workweeks being found NOT to violate FLSA; a case in which a workplace search was found reasonable; the legal distinctions between layoffs and termination for cause; an overtime exemption for computer professionals under FLSA; and finally, we consider pay deductions for safety violations under FLSA. | 02-02 | 1998 | 2 | v02n02feb1998.pdf |
| Sexual harassment in the workplace may subject the employer to immense liabilities, and today we consider implications of some very important cases decided by the United States Supreme Court, particularly with respect to “quid pro quo” harassment and hostile work environment claims; also, we analyze a federal court decision that dealt a blow to the compulsory arbitration process, by finding that employers may not compel individuals to waive their right to file their Title VII claims in court; the applicability of FLSA to municipal governments; the statute of limitations on claims for wrongful discharge based on employee handbooks; the validity of last chance agreements in the discharge and discipline process; the legality of psychological exams in the case of extreme misconduct; and we sum it all up by answering a question about rural fire districts and their concerns about mutual aid agreements. | 02-08 | 1998 | 8 | v02n08aug1998.pdf |
| This issue discusses a Washington Supreme Court case which extends the common law tort for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy to all employees, including union employees with protections within collective bargaining agreements; we also discuss amendments to the 207 (k) exemption under FLSA, which provides a partial overtime exemption for emergency workers such as police and firefighters. | 04-01 | 2000 | 1 | v04n01jan2000.pdf |
| We now discuss the HIPAA Security Rule, which pertains to administrative, physical, and technical safeguard measures, to ensure that your data is secure; a criminal case involving compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule; a court case involving whether volunteers are “participants” such that they should receive health and pension benefits under RCW 41.24; veterans’ scoring criteria; and important developments in the case law surrounding the Weingarten Doctrine. | 05-02 | 2005 | 2 | v05n02feb2005.pdf |
| The Public Employment Relations Commission, of which the Firehouse Lawyer has been a commissioner, often addresses ULP’s brought in the context of whether union members should be paid for certain union activities; we extensively discuss these issues here. | 05-07 | 2005 | 7 | v05n07jul2005.pdf |
| Today we address a federal court case that determined that money paid for sick leave buy-back counts in the calculation of regular rate; we also discuss a sex-discrimination case related to two female firefighters (battalion chiefs) being denied adequate protective clothing and adequate bathroom and shower facilities; we then consider adverse employment actions against
an employee who exercises First Amendment rights, and much more.
| 06-05 | 2006 | 5 | v06n05may2006.pdf |
| The Firehouse Lawyer knows the importance of avoiding liability: We now address the tort of wrongful discharge in violation of public policy, along with defamation claims arising out of workplace investigations; and then we talk about the payment of compensatory time in lieu of overtime compensation. | 08-11 | 2008 | 11 | v08n11nov2008.pdf |
| This article addresses various issues with the Public Records Act, including requests for information, charges for copying records (and medical records specifically), and penalties for withholding records in bad faith; we also outline some age-old doctrines of labor law. | 09-07 | 2009 | 7 | v09n07jul2009.pdf |
| Employment law can be cumbersome, and today the Firehouse Lawyer addresses three important Washington Supreme Court decisions that fundamentally altered the doctrine of wrongful discharge in violation of public policy; we also discuss the destruction of non-archival records, and an important PERC decision pertaining to light duty and unilateral changes to working conditions. | 13-10 | 2015 | 10 | October2015_FINAL .pdf |
| Today we consider when probationary employees may be entitled to a Loudermill conference prior to being terminated, when the health care information of employees may be withheld by an employer, and the propriety of forming an LID for purposes of funding a CARES Program; we also give a plug for our upcoming Municipal Roundtable! | 14-03 | 2016 | 3 | March2016.pdf |
| The laws applicable to fire districts and regional fire authorities are certainly not the same, and we consider those differences and similarities in this issue; we also discuss new litigation pertaining to worker's compensation and the "subjective findings" of treating physicians; we also outline a public records act case involving statutes of limitation. | 14-09 | 2016 | 9 | 2016SeptemberFINAL.pdf |
| Today we discuss why fire departments should seek payments in lieu of taxes via contractual negotiation; a very important case involving gender discrimination and the wrongful discharge of an allegedly "at will" employee; a case involving privacy protections for homeless people; and finally, we consider the proper fitting of self-contained breathing apparatus under the Washington Administrative Code. | 15-10 | 2017 | 10 | October2017FINAL5.pdf |
| The Firehouse Lawyer is introducing a new monthly column: "Labor Concepts," where today we will discuss "double jeopardy" in discipline cases; we also include our Safety Bill and discussion of indefinite disability leave and impact fees, SEPA mitigation and contracts for services. | 16-11 | 2018 | 11 | November2018FINAL.pdf |
| Today we consider a pair of bills that relate to "no man's lands" and exemptions from double taxation; we also discuss the use of consumer reports in the employment context, whether elected officials are "employees" under the Washington State Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, and the duties of incident commanders. | 17-02 | 2019 | 2 | February2019.pdf |
| Because the wildfire season is essentially here, we thought it would be appropriate to discuss "abatement" costs and whether certain fire departments may recoup those costs; furthermore, we consider HIPAA, legislative changes pertaining to piggybacking, the "buddy system" under the safety regulations, a case involving the public disclosure rules, off-duty misconduct, and affirmative action. | 17-05 | 2019 | 5 | May2019FINAL.pdf |
| This issue considers new guidance from the Office of Civil Rights on the disclosure of vaccine information, and the applicability of the Loudermill case to terminations based upon the failure of an employee to vaccinate. | 19-10 | 2021 | 10 | October2021FINAL.pdf |
| This issue considers a recent court case filed by a Native American Tribe against a Washington State Regional Fire Authority and the issues it presents; we also discuss issues surrounding the formation of commissioner associations, and a change in the standard for "undue hardship" in religious discrimination cases. | 21-07 | 2023 | 7 | July2023.pdf |