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Karin Jones

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Karin Jones provides practical advice to employers regarding a wide variety of workplace and personnel issues and helps employers minimize the risk and impact of workplace problems.  When litigation arises, she represents employers before administrative agencies and the state and federal courts.  Karin has experience representing employers in disputes involving discrimination, harassment, reasonable accommodation, employee family and medical leave, wage and hour claims, workplace safety (WISHA/OSHA), and whistleblower complaints, among other workplace issues.

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A single Ninth Circuit judge, in his capacity as chair of the Circuit’s Standing Committee on Federal Public Defenders (“the Standing Committee”), recently ruled in the unpublished decision of In the Matter of Alison Clark that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) and Oregon’s Measure 36 violate the United States and Oregon Constitutions by unlawfully discriminating against same-sex couples.

Alison Clark, a federal public defender in Oregon, married Anna Campbell in Canada in 2012. Clark’s marriage was not recognized in Oregon, due to Measure 36, a ballot initiative passed in 2004 that defined marriage as between only a man and a woman. In addition, the federal government did not recognize Clark’s marriage, as DOMA similarly defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman.Continue Reading Ninth Circuit’s Standing Committee on Federal Public Defenders Finds DOMA and Oregon’s Measure 36 to be Unconstitutional

In 2014, Washington health care employers will be required to comply with the Department of Labor and Industries’ (“L&I’s”) new Hazardous Drugs Rule.   While today that may seem like the distant future, savvy employers will take time in 2013 to implement measures in compliance with the new rule before the deadline to do so creeps up.

What is the Hazardous Drugs Rule?

The Hazardous Drugs Rule is designed to protect employees of health care facilities in Washington from occupational exposure to hazardous drugs. For purposes of the Rule, the term “health care facilities” includes not only hospitals and clinics, but also pharmacies, nursing homes, home health care agencies, veterinary practices, and some research laboratories. The Rule’s protections extend beyond medical providers, pharmacists, and the like to encompass all employees who may be exposed to hazardous drugs. For example, a janitorial employee’s duties may include disposal of discarded medications or similar exposure to hazardous drugs.

Hazardous drugs include any drug identified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety (“NIOSH”) in its list of antineoplastic and other hazardous drugs in health care settings, which can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2012-150/. In addition, hazardous drugs can include any other drug that can damage DNA or cause cancer, birth defects, fertility problems, or organ toxicity at low doses. Common examples of drugs considered to be hazardous under the Rule are chemotherapy drugs, birth control pills, and certain anti-depressants.Continue Reading Countdown to Washington’s New Hazardous Drugs Rule

Washington employers appealing citations for serious safety violations are about to face a new element to the appeal process.  An amendment to the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act (“WISHA”), signed into law on April 15, 2011, will make it more difficult for employers to avoid immediate abatement of the underlying workplace hazard during the

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