Tim O'Connell

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Tim O’Connell is a partner of Stoel Rives in the labor & employment and telecommunications law sectors. His practice includes collective bargaining, unfair labor practice and representation proceedings before the NLRB and public sector agencies, labor arbitrations, equal employment and discrimination cases before administrative agencies and courts, wrongful discharge litigation, wage and hour counseling and litigation, and general personnel management. He has also been actively involved in the rulemaking process, both drafting and negotiating new rules and leading litigation challenging agency action.

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Be Aware: SHSH Violations Will Be Treated As WISHA Violations

By Tim O'Connell and Karin Jones on Posted in coronavirus, COVID-19, Washington
In response to recent developments displaying the difficulties in enforcing Governor Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home Stay Healthy” order (“SHSH”), the state Department of Labor & Industries has acted.  Now a violation of SHSH will be treated as a violation of Washington’s health and safety regulations, and subject employers to the full panoply of fines and … Continue Reading

NLRB Postpones All Representation Elections Until At Least April 3

By John Dudrey, Tim O'Connell and Victor Kisch on Posted in COVID-19, NLRB, quickie election, Trump Board
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) announced yesterday that all currently scheduled representation elections – including vote-by-mail elections—have been postponed until at least April 3, 2020 because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.  Here is what the NLRB had to say: Due to the extraordinary circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Labor Relations Board … Continue Reading

No Peace for Piece-Rate Pay in Washington Agriculture

By Adam Belzberg, Tim O'Connell and Ryan R. Jones on Posted in wage and hour, Washington
In yet another blow to agricultural employers, grab your stopwatches. In Carranza v. Dovex Fruit Co., the Washington Supreme Court has just held that agricultural employers are required to compensate piece-rate workers on a separate hourly basis for time spent performing tasks outside the specific scope of the piece-rate work. In a narrow 5-4 majority, … Continue Reading

Washington Legislature Enacts Multiple Anti-Employer Statutes

By Ryan R. Jones and Tim O'Connell on Posted in Statutes, Updates, Washington
No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session. · Judge Gideon J. Tucker In the recently concluded session, Washington legislators enacted numerous laws that will adversely affect employers of all sizes across the State. With so many changes, it is key that employers stay up to date and understand … Continue Reading

Trump NLRB Shakes Up the Labor World in Striking Down Numerous Obama Board Decisions

By John Dudrey, Ryan Kunkel, Tim O'Connell and Jim Shore on Posted in Board settlement, Cases, Labor, News, NLRB, Updates
It might appear that in some years, the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) issues a series of decisions just as the year comes to a close, but it is not because the Board wants to give out holiday presents (or, from the employer’s perspective for the past several years, multiple lumps of coal).  Rather, … Continue Reading

California Court of Appeal Puts a Small Crack in the Glass Door

By Bryan Hawkins, Amy Joseph Pedersen and Tim O'Connell on Posted in Articles, California, Practical Tips, States
An employer who unfairly and inaccurately is slammed by a former employee (or maybe even a current employee!) on a job-posting or employer-rating website will often look to its lawyer for help.  Surely the law protects against outrageous false statements that harm the employer’s ability to recruit new talent?  Maybe not—and if there is, it … Continue Reading

Washington State to Consider Paid Family Leave

By Tim O'Connell on Posted in FMLA, News, Washington
Last week, representatives of the business community and employee groups completed negotiations to create a paid family and medical leave insurance program in Washington. Many details need to be worked out, the actual legislation has not yet been drafted, and the Washington Legislature has a number of other issues demanding its attention. Nonetheless, there are substantial … Continue Reading

New Drug Testing Rules in Oregon Follow OSHA

By Ryan Kunkel, Carolyn Walker, Tim O'Connell and Jim Shore on Posted in Oregon, OSHA, Practical Tips, Updates, Washington, workplace injury
Employers are probably aware that OSHA’s new drug testing and anti-retaliation rule is now in effect. (See our post here discussing the rule.)  However, as we blogged previously, many states have their own reporting requirements, which are not required to track OSHA’s  rules precisely, but which must be “at least as effective” as OSHA’s rules. … Continue Reading

Labor & Employment Law Under President-Elect Trump

By Ryan Kunkel, Renea Saade, Brenda Baumgart, Tim O'Connell, Jim Shore, James Dale and Howard Bye-Torre on Posted in BOLI, EEOC, FLSA, Labor, News, NLRB, Our Services, Title VII, Updates
In the wake of the election results, the question on everyone’s mind now is: What impact will President-Elect Trump have on employers?  Trump has thus far given few details on his thoughts on labor and employment.  But with Republicans maintaining control of Congress, employers could see a lot of changes in the next couple of … Continue Reading

OSHA Delays Enforcement of New Reporting Requirements for Drug & Alcohol Testing

By Tim O'Connell on Posted in Gov't Agencies, OSHA, Updates
As previously reported, OSHA’s latest revisions for covered employers will dramatically impact routine post-accident drug testing programs.  The new rules are available for review here, but here’s what you need to know: OSHA Postponed Enforcement. OSHA just delayed the date on which it will begin enforcing these new requirements. OSHA’s memo postponing enforcement is available … Continue Reading

The Third Shoe Drops: The Department of Labor Issues Revised “Advice” Regulations

By Tim O'Connell and Jim Shore on Posted in Gov't Agencies, Labor, NLRB
As we’ve previously blogged, for several years the Obama Administration has been on a calculated campaign to increase unionization in America. Federal agencies, particularly that National Labor Relations Board, have been systematically changing longstanding rules to make it more likely that unions can prevail in election representation campaigns.  We previously blogged about two earlier key … Continue Reading

Are You Ready to be Ambushed? NLRB’s New “Quickie Election” Rules Become Effective

By Tim O'Connell on Posted in Labor, NLRB, Practical Tips, Updates
As we have previously reported here and here, the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) new rules governing union representation elections go into effect today, April 14, 2015. Congress passed a resolution disapproving the new “quickie” or “ambush” rules, but President Obama vetoed it. While lawsuits have been filed in Texas and the District of Columbia … Continue Reading

NLRB Says “Mere Maintenance” of Employee Handbook Rules May Violate the NLRA

By Terry Briscoe and Tim O'Connell on Posted in Gov't Agencies, Labor, NLRB
In recent years the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has aggressively sought to emphasize that its reach extends beyond solely unionized workforces.  On March 18, 2015, NLRB General Counsel Richard Griffin released a 30-page report that provides labor lawyers and HR professionals guidance on what the General Counsel contends is – and is not – … Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Finds Post-Shift Security Checks Noncompensable in Integrity Staffing v. Busk, But Employers Shouldn’t Get Too Excited

By Tim O'Connell and Ryan Gibson on Posted in Cases, FLSA
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a rare unanimous decision earlier this week in Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk, held that time spent by warehouse employees at Amazon.com warehouses waiting to go through security checks at the end of their shifts was “postliminary” activity not compensable under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and its … Continue Reading

Foiled Again: DR Horton Overturned (But Be Careful How You Phrase Your Arbitration Agreement)

By Tim O'Connell on Posted in Labor
Earlier this week, a three judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its long-awaited decision in DR Horton Inc. v. NLRB. As expected by most labor lawyers, including us, the Fifth Circuit (with one judge dissenting) overruled the National Labor Relations Board’s dramatic extension of the law, that employers could not require employees … Continue Reading

D.C. Circuit Nixes Board Notice Posting Rule In National Association of Manufacturers v. NLRB

By Tim O'Connell on Posted in Labor
Once again, federal courts have halted efforts by the current National Labor Relations Board ("the Board") to expand its regulatory reach. Earlier this week, in National Association of Manufacturers v. NLRB, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down the Board’s controversial attempt to require virtually all employers to post a notice … Continue Reading

Obama NLRB Presents Employers With Several Lumps Of Coal

By Tim O'Connell on Posted in Labor
We continue our recent end-of-year postings (on new California employment laws and things every employer should resolve to do in 2013) with an update on recent cases by the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "Board").  In late December, 2012, the NLRB issued a series of controversial decisions which from an employer’s perspective cannot be … Continue Reading

NLRB’s Court Woes Continue: New Election Rules Struck Down

By Tim O'Connell on Posted in Cases, Labor
The Obama NLRB’s regulatory agenda continues to fare poorly in the federal courts.  On the heels of court decisions staying the NLRB’s new “notice” requirement, see previous posts here, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit has just struck down the NLRB’s new rules designed to speed up union representation elections. … Continue Reading

More Federally Mandated Wallpaper: Federal contractors must post a notice of employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act

By Tim O'Connell on Posted in Labor
  Once again, employers are being given an old line: we are from the federal government and we’re here to help you . . . with your office decorating. Shortly after his inauguration, President Obama issued Executive Order 13496 (the “Order”). The Order directed that all federal contractors post a notice to their employees advising the employees of their … Continue Reading
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