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Employment Law

After firing boss accused of harassment, zip your lips

01/15/2015
If a court concludes that one of your supervisors created a hostile work environment, you probably don’t want to retain him. But don’t go overboard with the explanations.

Court refuses to sidestep employee notification of pending class-action lawsuit

01/15/2015
The federal trial court with jurisdiction over Minnesota employers has refused an employer’s request to streamline the FLSA collective-action process.

Ask court to limit claims when employee acts as his or her own lawyer

01/15/2015
Good news for employers that are sued by pro se litigants—employees who act as their own lawyers. Courts really don’t want to waste time on cases that no attorney has seen fit to take on. However, they also don’t want to let lack of legal representation sink an otherwise solid claim.

He who has the best time records usually wins a wage-and-hour lawsuit

01/15/2015

The FLSA and DOL regulations require employers to track all hours worked so employees can be paid for all the time they spend working. That’s especially true for hourly employees. But what about tracking hours for so-called exempt employees who aren’t eligible for overtime pay for hours worked over 40 per week?

Minneapolis rated best city for LGBT protection

01/15/2015
Minneapolis earned the top spot in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual rankings of American cities with local laws and policies that protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from dis­­crimi­­na­­tion. Minneapolis scored a perfect 100 on the gay-rights advocacy organization’s scale.

Iron-clad misconduct proof not needed to fire

01/15/2015
Worried about terminating an employee because the allegations against him amount to a he-said, she-said situation? Relax. Courts don’t want to become HR departments and don’t want to mediate every dispute.

Employee on workers’ comp refuses to take a drug test: Is it legal to terminate him?

01/14/2015
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Technological change drives three new NLRB decisions

01/14/2015
The National Labor Relations Board has issued three far-reaching decisions that change long-standing practices under the National Labor Relations Act. All reflect a disquieting connection between modern communications and old-fashioned labor relations.

Transgender employees: The new protected category?

01/14/2015

By now, most employers are familiar with the list of categories protected from employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act: race, color, religion, national origin and sex. Other federal anti-discrimination laws add additional protected categories to the list: disability (ADA), age (Age Discrimination in Employment Act), pregnancy (Pregnancy Dis­­crimi­­nation Act) and genetic information (Genetic Information Non­­dis­­crimi­­na­­tion Act). Absent is any mention of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Amazon, NLRB reach accord on ‘disrespectful, loud’ speech

01/14/2015
Online retail giant Amazon and the NLRB have resolved an unfair labor practices claim with an agreement that could lead to unionization of many of the company’s warehouses. The move was prompted by a heavy-handed response to an employee complaint during an employee meeting.