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Employment Law

Court: ‘Trump supporter’ isn’t a protected category

05/21/2018
After a New York City bar tossed out a patron last year for wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap, he sued claiming discrimination.

Unions win more elections during Trump administration

05/21/2018
Unions won 1,013 organizing elections in 2017, the first year of the Trump presidency. That’s up from 998 elections in 2016.

Disciplining disabled worker for absenteeism? Make sure she knows your rules

05/17/2018
It is essential to grant FMLA leave when eligible employees need it. At the same time, it is perfectly legal to require employees to follow specific procedures for using leave. Just make sure employees understand those rules.

Court knocks down multi-state wage-and-hour class action

05/16/2018
A federal court has refused to certify a wage-and-hour class-action lawsuit. The crux of the case: Minnesota’s unique rules requiring employees to be paid for breaks of less than 20 minutes.

Employee can’t physically assault alleged harasser unless she is in danger

05/16/2018
When a customer harasses an employee, the employer may be held liable for allowing a hostile work environment if it knew about the potential problem. However, the employee has a responsibility to report the incident.

Beware even appearance of pregnancy bias

05/16/2018
Be careful how you react when an employee announces she is expecting. In the end, the employer won this pregnancy discrimination lawsuit, but defending against it cost huge legal fees and took up hundreds of hours.

Never base hiring decisions on stereotypes

05/16/2018
Here’s an important warning for managers with the power to influence hiring decisions: Repeating stereotypes about applicants invites discrimination lawsuits, as a recent case shows.

Alleged anti-gay bias at University of Minnesota – Duluth attracts more litigation

05/16/2018
Last month we reported that former University of Minnesota – Duluth women’s hockey coach Shannon Miller had finally prevailed in a years-long sex discrimination lawsuit. Now two more former employees are alleging the university discriminated against them on the basis of their sexual orientation.

NLRB wants to settle troublesome joint employer issue with new rule

05/15/2018
The National Labor Relations Board is considering enacting a rule to address the standard for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act.

Target pays $3.9 mil to settle background check lawsuit

05/15/2018
Retail giant Target has agreed to pay $3.9 million to settle a long-running discrimination suit alleging its policy of not hiring people with criminal convictions disproportionately affects black and Hispanic applicants.