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Employment Law

New EEOC guidelines expand legal protections for pregnant employees

07/15/2014
Employers can now be required to provide accommodations to this class of workers.

Dakota County, Minn. workforce center settles disability case

07/15/2014
The Dakota County Burnsville Work­­force Center has agreed to settle federal charges that it discriminated against a client by perceiving her to have a disability.

MHRA plaintiffs can now have juries decide their cases

07/15/2014
Effective Aug. 1, plaintiffs filing complaints under the Minnesota Human Rights Act may take their cases to a jury. Before, MHRA plaintiffs had their complaints heard by judges.

New medical marijuana law may be strongest in nation

07/15/2014
On May 29, Gov. Mark Dayton signed Minnesota’s new medical mari­­juana bill into law. Unlike similar laws in other states, this law specifically amends a state law—the Minne­­sota Con­­trolled Substance Act—to carve out exemptions for those permitted to use medical marijuana.

Just reporting wrongdoing isn’t enough to trigger protection

07/15/2014
Minnesota law presumes at-will employment—that workers can be fired for any reason or no reason as long as no law makes the firing illegal. However, employees can’t be fired for refusing to engage in illegal activity.

‘No-call, no show’ termination isn’t adverse employment action

07/15/2014
Under Minnesota’s whistle-blower law, employers can’t punish employees for reporting wrongdoing to authorities. Even so, it’s still legitimate for employers to enforce existing workplace rules.

Employee has full year to file Minnesota Human Rights Act complaint

07/15/2014
The Minnesota Human Rights Act has a one-year deadline for filing complaints with the state or a local human rights commission. Does that mean that an EEOC complaint filed within one year but after 300 days is timely? According to a recent decision, yes.

Prove executive exemption by demonstrating ‘direct involvement’ in hiring process

07/15/2014

To avoid paying overtime for hours worked over 40 per week, employers have to fit employees into an exempt category. One commonly used exemption is the executive label. But that exemption requires an employee to either be directly involved in hiring and firing or to have his or her recommendations for hiring and firing weigh heavily in the decision-making process.

Timing is everything in FMLA retaliation case: Keep careful records when making decisions

07/15/2014
Here’s a hypothetical situation that shows how important it is to be aware of the calendar when dealing with the FMLA.

Litany of gripes won’t prove hostile environment

07/15/2014
Hostility isn’t the same as discrimination. Proving it requires an affected employee to show both subjectively and objectively that she endured ridicule or worse—not just that her supervisor was unfair or even discriminated.