• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Employment Law

Racial remarks? Respond quickly and forcefully

02/12/2016
As a manager, it’s your responsibility to ensure that none of your people behave in a way that diminishes the sense of mutual respect and dignity in your unit. That’s what insensitive racial remarks do.

Pregnancy protections expand, as do compliance obligations

02/12/2016
Federal and state laws protecting pregnant employees and prospective new parents continue to expand at a rapid rate.

Labor relations sour at American Crystal Sugar

02/12/2016

American Crystal Sugar in Moorehead fired a warning shot across the bow of the union that represents employees when it announced in November that it wanted to begin contract negotiations early.

Court upholds union for personal care assistants

02/12/2016
A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a Minnesota law that allows personal care assistants to unionize. A business group representing for-profit companies that provide in-home care filed the lawsuit.

Your new litigation danger: Conspiracy charges against rogue managers

02/12/2016

If managers somehow collude to discriminate against an employee, that may be grounds for a conspiracy lawsuit. It happened in a recent case.

6-year deadline to file whistleblower suit

02/12/2016
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that a whistleblower who reports alleged violations of the law has a full six years to file a lawsuit. The more common two-year limitation does not apply.

Exempt or nonexempt? That depends on actual duties, not title or job description

02/12/2016

Don’t expect a quick ruling when challenged on whether and employee has been properly classified as exempt or nonexempt.

New EEOC guidance would redefine retaliation

02/11/2016

The EEOC has issued a proposed revision to its guidance on workplace retaliation—the first since 1998—that could radically change how enforcement authorities and courts define retaliation and its causes.

Disabled worker must request accommodation

02/11/2016
Employees who claim they are disabled and need an accommodation must do two things: Tell their employer that they are disabled and request a reasonable accommodation.

Postpone discipline while awaiting FMLA certification

02/10/2016
It can take a long time to process an FMLA request, especially if the employee doesn’t promptly respond to demands to provide medical certification of the need for leave.