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Employment Law

Stuffed monkey on noose rankles firefighters

01/13/2009

St. Paul Fire Chief Tim Butler said he will discipline two employees responsible for hanging a stuffed monkey by a noose in a fire station service garage in August. Butler said he learned about the monkey in September, when he ordered an investigation and had the items taken down.

Wal-Mart settles Minnesota W&H lawsuit for $54 million

01/13/2009

Wal-Mart agreed Dec. 9 to pay $54.25 million to settle a seven-year class-action lawsuit with roughly 100,000 current and former hourly employees in Minnesota. All things considered, that was a bargain.

Hilton women sue over orgy

01/13/2009

Deborah Smith, a former night manager of the SkyWater Restaurant at the Hilton Minneapolis, has filed a lawsuit alleging she was fired for walking in on an orgy involving upper managers in December 2007.

Former Minnesota U.S. Attorney retaliated against whistle-blower

01/13/2009

Former U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose retaliated against John Marti, a former first assistant U.S. attorney for the district of Minnesota, according to an investigation by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

Not a union employer? Proposed EFCA could soon change that

01/13/2009

Union-free employers should consider acting now to keep their operations union-free, given the nature of the changes that are likely to come with enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act. The law would make it more difficult for employers to oppose union organizing, and would limit employers’ bargaining power if they do become unionized.

Can we have an English-only rule?

01/13/2009

Q. Is it OK for our company to prohibit employees from speaking in languages other than English in front of our customers?

Can we terminate now an employee who we know can’t return from FMLA leave?

01/13/2009

Q. We have an employee out on FMLA leave and have just learned that she will not be able to return to work when her FMLA entitlement expires. Should we go ahead and send her a termination notice now?

Can we forbid employees from sharing how much of a bonus they received?

01/13/2009

Q. My company asks employees who receive raises or discretionary bonuses not to discuss them with other employees. An employee recently took issue with this request and told me the company’s practice is illegal. Is that true?

New Congress dives into employment law

01/13/2009

The 111th Congress wasted no time signaling its intention to enact employment law legislation that dramatically favors employees, quickly passing both the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. They promise equal pay for equal work. Find out why business and HR groups oppose both measures.

Are employees obligated to keep wages and salaries confidential?

01/12/2009

Q. Can an employer prohibit employees from sharing confidential wage information with each other, such as rates of pay or the amount of wage increases?