Vanguard Law | Labor and Employment Law

Nurse Wubbels Should Sue — Lawsuits Are Good Because They Internalize Cost
Sep05

Written by sthal
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Attorney, civil rights, constitutional rights, Litigation, nurse, patient rights, Police, Uncategorized

Nurse Wubbels Should Sue — Lawsuits Are Good Because They Internalize Cost

For many, Alex Wubbels is heroic, because she did the right thing. She courageously protected a patient’s constitutional rights, even as she was confronted and challenged by police, and wrongfully placed under arrest. The story of her ordeal spread like wildfire across the internet last week.
Now, she should do the right thing again, and sue the officer and/or the department for violation of her civil rights. So far, she has deferred on whether she will bring such a claim, saying only that
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Sticks, Stones and Words–Two Police Officers Sue Sawant For Defamation

The law does not follow the children’s rhyme. Instead, words can hurt just like sticks and stones, and when they do they can lead to lawsuits. Courts have recognized a person’s reputation does have value and that sometimes words can cause damage to that reputation.
Last week, two Seattle police officers involved in a fatal shooting filed a lawsuit against Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant for alleged statements she made before the officers were cleared of wrongdoing by an inquest j…

Concrete Strike A Lesson In Conflict Resolution And The Value Of Collective Bargaining

The outcome of any conflict in labor relations, litigation and in life depends on four factors, and the successful Teamsters strike at sand and gravel companies this week is a powerful lesson about the importance of relative bargaining power and resolve. With the construction industry in the Seattle area booming at full tilt and driving the demand for concrete, and with the labor market for drivers unified behind the Teamsters banner, the sand and gravel companies were pinned. Strikes are always har…

The Sarbanand blueberry workers can sue

Farmworkers often face inhumane working conditions – poverty wages, backbreaking physical labor, exposure to pesticides, and other workplace abuses. They are excluded from most national labor protections afforded other workers, such as minimum wage and hour guarantees and overtime pay.
Ironically, the workers at Sarbanand Farms may be more protected than other workers in Washington state in this sense: They have the right to sue.
Firing workers for protesting working conditions is always immoral, but…

Mandatory Overtime and Family/Medical Leave are like oil and water….they don’t mix!

An employer cannot discipline employees for refusing to work mandatory overtime when they need to take intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) for a serious health condition.
A year ago, a federal court ruled last year that if the employer reduces the employee’s FMLA bank in such situations, it must also increase…