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Employment Law

Must we accommodate a bike courier who can no longer ride a bike?

02/20/2013
Q. We run a courier service delivering time-sensitive documents around the Twin Cities by bicycle. Recently, an employee broke her leg while skiing. Now she is unable to perform her job as bicycle courier. Do we have to put her in a different job while her leg is in a cast?

Is left-handedness a real disability?

02/20/2013
Q. An employee recently complained that we have failed to accommodate his left-handedness. He argued that all our desks are constructed for right-handed people. To accommodate his left-handedness, he is requesting an expensive new piece of office furniture. Do we have to accommodate him?

Romance policies that work–even with ‘irresistible’ employees

02/20/2013
Workplace romance has long been the bane of the HR profession. A December 2012 Iowa Supreme Court decision in Nelson v. Knight has further roiled the workplace romance waters by holding that an employer could terminate an employee for being “irresistible.”

U of M gay bias lawsuit turns on cellphone, text records

02/20/2013
Ongoing employment discrimination litigation between the University of Minnesota and a former golf coach is now focused on a cellphone. Former women’s associate golf instructor Kathryn Brenny sued the university, claiming that golf director John Harris stripped her of her duties once he discovered she is a lesbian.

Yes, you can fire for working off the clock

02/20/2013

Some employees refuse to follow rules prohibiting off-the-clock work. Some—insisting they can’t complete their work any other way—may clock out and then return to work. That puts employers at risk for wage-and-hour lawsuits. You don’t have to put up with it.

Beware firing for ‘spreading rumors’ about bias

02/20/2013
Bosses may not like it, but em­­ployees have the right to complain about their working conditions. Characterizing those complaints as unfounded gossip doesn’t change that—and should never be a reason for termination …

Twin Cities concert halls silent as musician lockouts continue

02/20/2013
Minnesota’s quiet winter may become a silent spring if labor disputes continue for two of the state’s premier orchestras. Management teams at both the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra have locked out musicians after the parties failed to agree on new contracts.

Simply declaring employees are contractors won’t change status

02/20/2013
Before you decide to convert employees to independent contractors, remember that it isn’t the label that counts, but the actual work per­­formed. Calling someone an independent contractor doesn’t make him one.

Economic conditions require worker layoffs? Be honest about reason for termination

02/20/2013
No one wants to have to explain why an employee just lost her job. But passing the buck and coming up with inconsistent excuses are the worst possible approaches. Instead, make sure the information comes from one source—preferably HR—and stick with a defensible reason.

ADA: Firing OK if health problem is minor

02/20/2013
Firing someone because you be­­lieve he has a disability violates the ADA under some circumstances, but not all. If the disabling condition is transitory and minor, you can terminate without violating the ADA.