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Minnesota

Title company sued over alleged prevailing wage violations

09/17/2014
The U.S. Labor Department has filed suit against White Bear Lake-based Northwest Title, alleging the company failed to pay prevailing wages when it handled real estate closings for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The company held the HUD contract from April 2010 to April 2012.

Careful how often you suggest retirement

09/17/2014
Remind bosses: Be careful how you approach discussing potential retirement plans. Asking too often or in a way that’s not business-related may precipitate an age discrimination lawsuit if the employee loses her job or is demoted after such conversations.

Court won’t toss case over strict 90-day filing limit

09/17/2014
When the EEOC issues a so-called “right to sue” letter, the recipient has just 90 days to file a federal lawsuit. But courts are increasingly reluctant to dismiss cases filed within a few days of the deadline.

Time records matter! Make sure time clock system lets workers enter OT hours

09/17/2014

Do you have a time clock system that employees use to record the hours they work? Make sure it allows hourly employees to record the overtime they work. Otherwise, they may later argue that they worked overtime hours and your time-keeping system was designed to discourage them from tracking those extra hours and getting paid overtime.

Business facing financial difficulties? Don’t let supervisors alter hours worked

09/17/2014
Faced with declining revenues and staff shortages that mean more overtime hours, managers may be tempted to adjust time records to reflect fewer hours worked. But this is a dangerous tactic.

There’s rude and then there’s harassment: Simple slights won’t cost you in court

09/17/2014
Rudeness is likely to sneak into the workplace no matter how many civility rules you post. Unless the behavior is clearly abusive or obviously offensive to a protected class, don’t lose too much sleep over a potential lawsuit.

Stillwater, Okla. restaurant adds ‘minimum wage fee’ to checks

09/17/2014
Things are not peaceful at the Oasis Café in Stillwater. When the state’s higher minimum wage took effect on Aug. 1, the restaurant began charging a 35-cent “minimum wage fee” on each order. Restaurant management claims the charge is to highlight the burden the wage hike places on small businesses.

Slurs followed by firing? Get a lawyer!

09/17/2014
Here’s a surefire way to spur a lawsuit and ensure it goes to trial: Just fire an employee who has been the target of her boss’s racial slurs.

Discipline for problems discovered during FMLA

09/17/2014
Some employees seem to think that their employer can’t punish them for violating company rules if they happen to be on FMLA leave when their employer finds out. They think the FMLA protects them broadly from consequences. For­­tu­­nately, that’s just not true.

Are we courting trouble by denying accommodations to pregnant employees?

08/18/2014
Q. Since pregnancy does not qualify as a disability under the ADA, our company denies all special accommodation requests granted by otherwise healthy employees who are pregnant. Does this policy make us vulnerable to a lawsuit?