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Employment Law

Are you a prime contractor? Beware liability for your subs’ safety violations

03/12/2009

OSHA is responsible for worker safety, and it takes that responsibility seriously. It recently won a significant victory in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld OSHA’s right to hold contractors liable for their subcontractors’ safety violations.

Know what’s in that contract before you ask anyone to sign a noncompete

03/12/2009

More and more employers are asking their HR staffs to prepare noncompete agreements to prevent employees from taking trade secrets to competitors. Before you pull out a standard form or download one from the Internet, consider the consequences.

Think twice before firing workers’ comp applicant

03/12/2009

Minnesota employees are protected from being fired in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. That means employers have to think twice before discharging such an employee for anything but the most solid reasons.

Coincidental timing alone does not make a retaliation claim

03/12/2009

Sometimes, employees think they can save themselves from being disciplined by making a fuss about possible employer wrongdoing. They assume that whistle-blowing will protect them from being fired, for example, because their employer’s timing will look suspect. Smart employers don’t fall for this.

Minneapolis fireman fights insurance rules, too

03/12/2009

In his 25 years on the Minneapolis Fire Department, Thomas Davison fought a series of debilitating health conditions along with the fires he helped put out. He also had to fight the department to obtain health benefits.

Legislative auditor calls for workers’ comp ombudsman

03/12/2009

Minnesota’s Office of the Legislative Auditor claims Minnesota workers’ compensation insurers underpaid benefits by about $3 million last year. An auditor’s report charged in February that insurers frequently reject legitimate claims.

First law Obama signs opens door to more pay discrimination claims

03/12/2009

The first bill signed into law by President Obama significantly expands employers’ exposure for possible claims of discriminatory pay. It’s too soon to tell whether the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act represents the beginning of a new wave of pro-employee legislation. But in and of itself, the law represents a significant development of which careful employers need be aware.

How long do we need to hold job for employee out for workers’ comp injury?

03/12/2009

Q. Is an employer required to keep a job open for an employee who is out on an indefinite leave due to a workers’ compensation injury? Does the employee have an automatic right to get put back into the same job he was doing right before he was injured?

What’s the Minnesota law on confidentiality agreements? Are they enforceable?

03/12/2009

Q. Our company works with proprietary and confidential information. We would like to protect ourselves from having that information get disclosed to competing companies. Are confidentiality agreements enforceable? If so, must they be signed at the start of a new employee’s job in order to be valid?

Is this legal? It looks like one of our employees will soon be a competitor

03/12/2009

Q. We are hearing rumors that one of our employees may be setting up a new business in the same industry in which we operate. That employee has not signed a noncompete agreement. If he is starting up such a business, is that illegal even without a noncompete?