Employment Litigation

Wrongful termination and retaliation

Washington employment is generally at-will, but at-will is not without limits, and the exceptions are where the litigation lives. We litigate wrongful-discharge claims, including termination in violation of a clear public policy, the doctrine Washington recognized in Gardner v. Loomis Armored, and retaliation against an employee who reported discrimination, filed a wage claim, took protected leave, or refused to break the law. Constructive discharge, where conditions are made so intolerable the employee quits, is treated as a firing. We defend employers against these claims by documenting the legitimate reasons for the decision, and we pursue them for employees when the real reason was retaliatory.

Discrimination and harassment

Washington's Law Against Discrimination (RCW 49.60) is broader than federal law: it covers more protected classes, applies to smaller employers, and imposes no statutory cap on damages, which makes a WLAD claim a serious matter. We handle claims of discrimination and harassment based on protected status, hostile-work-environment claims, and failure-to-accommodate disability or religion claims, under both WLAD and the federal statutes (Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA). For employers, the defense usually turns on consistent documentation, a real anti-harassment policy, and a prompt response to complaints; for employees, on the pattern the employer would rather not see assembled. We work both sides of that proof.

Wage-and-hour claims

Wage claims are deceptively dangerous for employers because Washington doubles the stakes: an employer who willfully withholds wages can be liable for twice the amount owed, plus attorney fees (RCW 49.52.050 and RCW 49.52.070). We litigate unpaid wages and overtime under the Minimum Wage Act (RCW 49.46), final-paycheck and wage-deduction disputes (RCW 49.48), misclassification of employees as exempt or as independent contractors, and missed meal and rest breaks. These claims often arrive as class or collective actions, where the exposure multiplies across a workforce. We defend employers on classification and calculation, and we pursue clear underpayment for workers.

Non-competes, non-solicitation, and restrictive covenants

When a key employee leaves, the fight is often about where they can go and what they can take. Washington sharply limits non-competes: under RCW 49.62 a noncompetition covenant is unenforceable against an employee earning below an annually indexed threshold, must be disclosed up front, and is void if it overreaches. We litigate the enforceability of non-competes and the validity of non-solicitation and confidentiality covenants, which are treated differently, and we pursue or defend trade-secret misappropriation under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (RCW 19.108) when a departing employee takes more than their own knowledge. These cases move fast, often starting with a request for an injunction, so we are built to respond in days.

Equal pay, leave, and preventive counsel

The cheapest employment case is the one that never gets filed. We advise employers on the compliance obligations that generate the most litigation: Washington's Equal Pay and Opportunities Act and its pay-transparency rules (RCW 49.58), the leave entitlements under the state's Paid Family and Medical Leave program and the federal FMLA, and the reasonable-accommodation and leave-interaction questions that trip up good employers. We conduct and guide workplace investigations into harassment and misconduct complaints, which are often the difference between a defensible decision and a lawsuit. When a dispute is unavoidable, the early, well-documented response we help build is what contains it.