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| Olympia PO Box 40145 Olympia, WA 98504-0145 |
Spokane 1116 W Riverside Avenue, Suite 100 Spokane, WA 99201-1106 |
The Labor and Personnel Division is comprised of 19 attorneys and 11 professional staff located in Olympia, Tacoma, and Spokane. The division provides specialized employment and personnel-related legal services and expertise to Washington state agencies, boards, commissions, and institutions of higher education.
Division attorneys represent state agencies and institutions of higher education in civil service employee appeals, including disciplinary actions, disability separations, rule violation claims, and layoff appeals before the Personnel Resources Board. The attorneys also represent state agencies in grievance and interest arbitrations before independent arbitrators. Division attorneys also provide representation in labor disputes litigated before the Public Employment Relations Commission and the Marine Employees’ Commission. Wage and hour lawsuits brought against state agencies in superior and federal court are also handled by this division.
The division’s appellate work includes briefing and arguing appeals of administrative rulings and wage and hour cases in Superior Court, the State Court of Appeals, State Supreme Court, and Federal Court.
In addition to litigation advocacy, division attorneys regularly provide client advice and risk management assistance on a broad range of employment issues, including questions regarding disability and discrimination law, wages and hours of work, family and medical leave, labor relations, and civil service rules. The division continues to sponsor monthly personnel manager meetings for state agency human resources staff to discuss case law updates, as well as special employment-related issues. The Division also sponsors bi-monthly personnel manager meetings in Eastern Washington.