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Employment Law

Ensure training programs are equal opportunity

08/13/2017
Make training available to everyone who may benefit. Be sure there’s no hidden bias behind choosing who gets to take part. If members of a protected class routinely miss out, expect a lawsuit.

Federal, state & local: Keep your mandatory posters up to date

08/09/2017
Minnesota employers are required to provide their employees with a dizzying array of information about their workplace rights. If you haven’t recently reviewed the posters hanging in your break room or above the time clock, now is a good time to make sure you’re in compliance with all posting requirements.

Northwest Title ordered to pay $107k in back wages

08/09/2017
An administrative law judge has ordered Northwest Title, located in White Bear Lake, Minn., to pay two employees $107,893 in back wages and fringe benefits.

Surly tip pool violated state wage-and-hour law

08/09/2017
A Hennepin County District Judge has sided with a former bartender at the Surly Brewing Co. in Minneapolis in a dispute over the company’s tip pooling practices.

Court: State and federal law are not mutually exclusive

08/09/2017
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Minnesota employers, has revived a lawsuit against a union for allegedly violating a state disability discrimination law.

Give contractors plenty of leeway, so it’s clear they are truly independent

08/09/2017
If you plan on using independent contractors to get work done, be sure to grant those workers a great deal of autonomy and freedom to do their work as they see fit. The less effort you make to control how and when they do their jobs, the better off you are.

Was that really a layoff, or just an excuse to get rid of a squeaky wheel?

08/09/2017
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals had reinstated a lawsuit against a grain operator based on the suspicious timing of a discharge and the use of what the court thought sounded like a manufactured excuse for not rehiring the worker.

Religion accommodation not protected … yet

08/09/2017
In a case likely to be appealed, the EEOC has lost a bid to have federal courts within the 8th Circuit consider request for religious accommodation to be protected activity.

EEOC sues M&T Bank, alleging disability bias

08/03/2017
When Buffalo-based M&T Bank purchased Hudson City Savings Bank, it got a little more than it bargained for. It inherited the fallout from HCSB’s “100%-healed” policy, which requires employees to take sick leave unless they could work with no medical restrictions whatsoever.

Want arbitration? Consider opt-out provision

08/03/2017
One of the most difficult aspects of creating a binding arbitration agreement is the almost inevitable litigation over whether the agreement you presented to workers is a legally binding contract. This case shows one way to make a contract binding: Allow employees to opt out up front.