SGB Receives Volunteer Group of the Year Award

SGB along with the Latina/0 Bar Association of Washington (LBAW) was selected as El Centro de La Raza’s Volunteer Group of the Year!  Each year El Centro selects an organization that has contributed significantly to their mission.  SGB is recognized for substantial work in defending the rights of people through its continued legal advocacy and providing access to legal services through the legal clinics that LBAW and SGB do together.

SGB Recognized for Pro Bono work

Columbia Legal Services will recognize Schroeter Goldmark & Bender at a celebration on October 23rd as one of their pro bono partners, “whose collaborative advocacy on behalf of thousands of low income individuals and families brings us closer to achieving our vision of justice, and a more inclusive and equitable society.” Thank you CLS

SGB Attorneys honor Hyatt boycott rather than receive award

Washington State Labor Council’s Internet Newspaper, The Stand, commends Schroeter Goldmark & Bender attorneys Adam Berger, Kristin Houser, Rebecca Roe and William Rutzick for not attending the WSBA awards dinner to honor the Hyatt boycott.

Read the entire article
http://www.thestand.org/2013/10/attorneys-honor-hyatt-boycott-rather-than-accept-bar-awards/

WSBA Award of Merit – SGB attorneys Adam Berger, Kristin Houser, Rebecca Roe and William Rutzick

Schroeter Goldmark & Bender attorneys Adam Berger, Kristin Houser, Rebecca Roe and William Rutzick received the WSBA Award of Merit for their pro bono work representing Governor Gregoire in support of the Affordable Care Act.  Their briefing on the Healthcare Case was recognized by the Supreme Court justices in their final decision.

View the WSBA video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_4fAMsofi0&feature=youtu.be  

Amazon Sued For Failing To Pay Warehouse Workers For Time Spent On Security Checks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Seattle) Amazon.com and its warehouse staffing agency have been sued today in federal court in Seattle. The case, Allison v. Amazon.com and Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc., alleges Amazon failed to pay workers for time they were required to spend in security lines waiting to undergo searches during their lunch breaks and at the end of their shifts. Workers leaving the warehouses are required to clock out before standing in line at security check points, resulting in an average approximate 25-minute wait because of the large number of employees in the huge facilities. The workers are not allowed to have personal items such as phones, personal electronic devices, or books in the facility, and have no way to use the time waiting in line for their own purposes.

Amazon warehouses, known as “fulfillment centers,” are located in fourteen states, including three in Washington, which is home to Amazon. The lawsuit is filed as a “collective” action under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act that applies to employees nationwide. The suit will also include class actions for workers in some states, such as Washington and California, where state labor laws offer greater protection to the workers than afforded under federal law.

Many warehouse employees are technically hired by the staffing agency, Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc., which is also a defendant. In April 2013, the 9th Circuit held that a case for unpaid time brought by workers in the state of Nevada could proceed.

The nationwide lawsuit in Seattle was filed by the firms Johnson Becker of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sommers Schwartz, P.C. of Southfield, Michigan, The Maher Law Firm of Orlando, Florida, and Schroeter, Goldmark & Bender of Seattle, Washington.

Amazon workers who may be part of the class are urged to contact one of the law firms bringing the case:

 


Contact
Adam J. Berger
(206) 622-8000

Washington State Supreme Court Unanimously Adopts Amendment to RPC 4.4 Prohibiting Improper Inquiry Into Immigration Status

Washington’s Supreme Court unanimously adopts an amendment to RPC 4.4 expressly prohibiting lawyers from asserting or inquiring about a person’s immigration status when the purpose is to intimidate, coerce, or obstruct that person from participating in a civil matter.  SGB attorney M. Lorena Gonzalez and Dan Ford of Columbia Legal Services, led advocacy efforts to secure the amendment, which becomes effective on September 1, 2013.

RPC 4.4 Order