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Minnesota

Receptionist delivers messages from hell

05/13/2008
Zachary Winspear joined Community Development, Inc. (CDI), a property management company in Golden Valley, as a personal assistant to company president Charles Schneider. As the two grew close, Winspear confided to Schneider that his brother had committed suicide …

Must manager release notes on performance when employee requests personnel file?

05/13/2008
Q. One of our managers keeps notes of performance issues in a file that he uses for completing performance appraisals. One person he supervises has made a written request to see her personnel file—and specifically asked for information in the manager’s file. Do we have to give the notes to the employee? …

What are the rules on parenting leave for small employers?

05/13/2008
Q. We are a small shop with 15 employees. One of our full-time employees who has been with us for more than five years recently announced that his wife is pregnant. He requested eight weeks’ leave after the baby is born. Are we required to give him this leave? …

The pitfalls of providing references

05/13/2008
Q. Why is it that so many companies refuse to give references for former employees? …

Clear, open promotion policies key to litigation-Free decisions

04/08/2008
The reality of the modern workplace is that at any given time, someone is going to be unhappy. Promotions may not come. Resentment may arise from working with employees from many racial, ethnic or religious backgrounds. Simply put, it’s next to impossible to prevent all discrimination claims. You can, however, minimize the risk of being sued by developing clear and open workplace and promotion policies …

Tell managers: Unless you have notes, you can’t terminate

04/08/2008
The quickest way for an employer to get into big trouble is to retaliate against an employee who files a discrimination charge. Any negative employment action after the charge is filed may mean an additional lawsuit. Instruct managers to document any alleged poor performance—and make sure they use only objective, concrete measures …

Provide real chance to weigh signing separation agreement

04/08/2008
To make a severance agreement involving older workers stick, employers have to follow the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA). The law prohibits releases of Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) claims unless the agreement meets very specific requirements …

Computer policy should allow some personal use

04/08/2008
You can punish employees who abuse computer use as long as you do so consistently. But recognize that some abuses are obviously worse than others. Someone who spends company time bidding on eBay may be due a reprimand. But someone who forwards risqué or racist jokes should receive more severe discipline, up to and including discharge …

Beware cancellation of Assigned Risk Plan workers’ comp

04/08/2008
Employers that can’t get workers’ compensation insurance in the private insurance market can get coverage through the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Assigned Risk Plan (MWCARP). To get the coverage, an employer typically pays a small estimated premium …

Older worker’s performance falling? Document the decline before discharge

04/08/2008
It almost never looks good in court when an employee who has been with the company for decades suddenly loses his job. For many potential jurors, that smacks of age discrimination even before they’ve heard any testimony. That’s one reason to try to get age cases dismissed long before a jury gets a chance to impose its judgment …