• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly
Connection failed: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] No such file or directory

Minnesota

Employer gets to set harassment standards

03/11/2016
Employers have the right to set reasonable behavioral expectations for employees. This, of course, includes expecting that employees won’t sexually, or otherwise, harass employees. Feel free to make your anti-harassment policy as strict as you want.

Court: Constant racial slurs plus unequal treatment warrant a trial

03/11/2016
A few isolated comments don’t usually form the basis for challenging an otherwise legitimate employment decision.

Reasonable accommodations on the table? Put that offer in writing!

03/11/2016
Disabled employees who have medical needs that require a reasonable accommodation and don’t receive one can quit and still be eligible to receive unemployment benefits.

Sometimes, employee gets 2 shots at lawsuit

03/11/2016
An employee who had a state interference-with-contract claim dismissed—the court said he had been legitimately fired for insubordination—can still file a federal whistleblower retaliation lawsuit based on the same facts.

Beware boss backlash after complaint–you’re probably looking at retaliation

02/22/2016

It usually happens like this: An employee comes to HR complaining that her boss said something inappropriate—maybe it was a sexually explicit joke, racial slur or offensive comment about someone’s religion. Then the supervisor gets angry at the employee for complaining and retaliates.

Should we acknowledge an employee’s resignation with some form of written documentation?

02/12/2016

Q. If an employee resigns, do I need to get them to sign a resignation letter?

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.

DOL sues to wind down old 401(k) in Eagan

02/12/2016
We’ve all seen those commercials asking if employees have left something behind at an old employer such as an old 401(k) plan. Well, if the U.S. Department of Labor allegations are true, Carr Freight Systems forgot about its plan as well.

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.