In March 2026, Italy formally recognized that caring for a seriously ill companion animal is sufficient grounds for paid leave, the first country in the world to do so. Employees can now claim up to three days of paid leave per year, provided the animal is microchipped and the employee supplies a digital veterinary certificate confirming the urgency of the care. The policy traces its origins to a 2017 ruling known as the Cucciola case, in which a librarian at Rome's La Sapien

Washington State has enacted new protections for people who work inside private homes. Governor Bob Ferguson signed legislation today commonly known as the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, extending labor protections to workers such as nannies, housekeepers, cooks, and gardeners across the state. The law is intended to address long-standing gaps in employment protections for domestic workers—many of whom historically fell outside key labor laws that protect workers in more t

We’re proud to introduce the new logo for Stockwell Law Firm. Work is more than a paycheck. It is how people support their families, build stability, and define their sense of purpose. The dignity of work is something we believe in deeply, and our new logo reflects that conviction. The design draws on the visual language of historic labor union art. Labor graphics have always carried weight. They were created to signal unity and resolve, and to remind workers that they were

If you work — or recently worked — in Washington State, you have a powerful and often overlooked right: access to your own employee file. Knowing how to request it, what you’re entitled to receive, and what additional documents you can demand after termination can help give you clarity and leverage. Here’s a step-by-step guide to request your employee file. Step 1: Make a written request To get your personnel file, you simply need to make a written request to your employer. E

Washington is an at-will employment state. That means employers can legally terminate an employee at any time, for almost any reason — or no reason at all. But even in an at-will state like Washington, employers cannot terminate or discipline an employee for an unlawful reason. When an employer takes adverse action, it must be able to point to a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason, often shortened to LNDR. Understanding what LNDR means — and how it is used — is central to

Disparate treatment is a form of workplace discrimination that occurs when an employer treats an employee worse than others because of a protected characteristic—such as race, sex, age, disability, pregnancy, religion, or sexual orientation—or because the employee engaged in protected activity, like reporting discrimination or requesting an accommodation. In plain terms, it means this: The same rules exist, but they are applied differently to you, because you belong to a prot

Most employees don’t start researching leave laws until they’re already under stress. You may be dealing with a serious health issue, welcoming a new child, or caring for a family member—while HR starts using acronyms like FMLA and PFML and expects you to keep up. In Washington, two laws usually come into play in these moments: the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML). They sound similar, but they serve different purp

Employees sometimes come to us wanting to pursue a lawsuit, but it’s not always that simple. Many workers have signed an arbitration agreement as part of their hiring paperwork, especially at larger companies. Because of this, not everyone is allowed to file a lawsuit in court. It’s still important to understand the difference between a lawsuit and arbitration, because the two processes work very differently — and your rights can look different in each one. What is a lawsuit?

When people come to us, they often say what they want most is justice. They want their employer to take responsibility, to acknowledge what happened, and to make things right. We want that too. But in the world we live in, accountability often takes the form of money. When a company has to pay for breaking the law, whether through discrimination, retaliation, or wrongful termination, it’s a sign that their actions have real consequences. That may not be the kind of justice yo

If your case is going to mediation, it’s completely normal to feel uncertain about what to expect. Mediation can sound formal or...