Employment Law

Minnesota Minimum Wage Law

02/01/2008

Minnesota has a two-tiered minimum wage. Large employers (with annual receipts of $625,000 or more) must pay workers $6.15 per hour. Small employers (with receipts of less than $625,000) must pay $5.25 per hour. But many of those small employers must also comply with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires paying a minimum wage of $5.85 per hour …

Local Ordinances in Minnesota

02/01/2008

Local governments in Minnesota sometimes legislate their own rules for employers within their jurisdictions. For example, Minneapolis and St. Paul have living-wage laws stipulating higher pay than the state minimum wage ($6.15 per hour for large employers), while a Duluth ordinance prohibits discrimination based on familial status …

FMLA leave for military families: What you need to know about new rules and poster

01/29/2008

For the first time, the FMLA has been amended—a brand new law grants family members of military men and women special FMLA leave rights.

‘Possibility’ of serious illness triggers FMLA protection

01/22/2008

Once an employer knows an employee will need FMLA leave, it cannot use that knowledge to the employee’s disadvantage. That’s true even if it’s only possible that the employee may need leave. It raises serious suspicions about your motives if you fire an employee shortly after he delivers notice he may need FMLA leave—and practically guarantees a lawsuit …

Record $2.5M Race-Discrimination Settlement Highlights New EEOC Crackdown

01/15/2008

On-the-job racism in America is a growing problem more than 40 years after the Civil Rights Act made employment discrimination illegal. That’s why the EEOC has launched a new education and enforcement initiative called E-RACE (Eradicating Racism and Colorism from Employment.).

Washington Update: News from the NLRB, EEOC and USCIS

01/15/2008

The New Year often brings a flurry of activity from the many federal government agencies that address employment issues, and 2008 is no exception. We’ve got good news on employers’ control over workplace e-mail, bad news for employers who discriminate and mixed news for those who want to hire foreign workers.

Even ‘Secondhand’ porn can create an illegally hostile environment

01/08/2008

Any presence of pornography in the workplace can spark expensive, reputation-draining lawsuits. You need a policy of zero tolerance: No adult material anywhere, anytime — not on office computers, in e-mails, on videotapes or DVDs.

EEOC rule allows coordination of retiree health benefits with Medicare

01/03/2008

The EEOC has issued a final rule allowing the long-standing employer practice of coordinating retiree health benefits with Medicare without violating the age discrimination law. The new reg ends a seven-year battle to ensure "bridge" coverage for younger retirees.

Veto blocks expansion of FMLA to military families—But not for long

01/03/2008

After passing the first-ever amendments to the FMLA, Congress left Washington in late December confident that President Bush would sign off on the provision. But he didn’t. Now Congress vows to address the issue again later this month.

Sample Policy: Computer Usage

01/01/2008

The following sample policy was excerpted from The Book of Company Policies, published by HR Specialist, © 2010. Edit for your organization’s purposes. _____________________________ “Employees have access to one or more forms of electronic media and services (computers, e-mail, telephones, voice-mail, fax machines, external electronic bulletin boards, wire services, on-line services, the Internet and the […]