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>I do have a question. Is Washington an "at-will" state?
It depends.
<soapbox> Washington's labor laws were very heavily unionized at one point,
but the tech industry has eroded our rights in many areas.
If you work for a company with a union, there are a lot of laws that must be
followed in employment. If you work at a non-union company (most high tech
companies), your rights are iffy. As a contractor, you have no rights at
all. I always thought it was strange signing a contract that said (in
legalese), "We will employ you for this period of time, unless we run out of
money, change our goals, or just don't like you any more."
If you are working for a high-tech company and earning over $25 an hour, you
are not eligible for overtime. Bill Gates made sure that law was passed a
few years ago.
I once tried to sue for sex discrimination (of four people with the same
job, the man made $40K while the three women made $20), and was told that it
was impossible to prove because of the way the contracts were written.
(Yes, we all did the same job, but the women were paid by the state of
Washington, and the man was paid by the federal Department of Education.)
Diane Evans
Information Developer
Lockstream, Inc.
425-709-6840 x 230
Ask for the moon, and settle for its reflection in the pond in your back
yard.
-----Original Message-----
From: Gwyneth Runnings [mailto:gwyneth -at- look -dot- ca]
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2001 9:40 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: Layoff logistics and etiquette/At-will legislation
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