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Employment Law

Minnesota Supreme Court clarifies workplace sexual harassment rules

06/20/2013
The Minnesota Supreme Court has issued a ruling that ­clarifies what employees have to show in order to win a sexual harassment case under the MHRA. It concluded that employees who work in a sexually hostile work environment don’t have to lose pay or benefits to win a case. Nor is it a defense that the harasser was an equal opportunity harasser who targeted both men and women.

State OKs same-sex marriage, employers await DOMA ruling

06/20/2013
Minnesota has become the 12th state to legalize same-sex marriage, following enactment of legislation that re­­quires employers to provide the same rights to same-sex couples as to opposite-sex couples in terms of health coverage and survivor benefits.

Obscenity, drunk-dialing: No unemployment

06/20/2013
In a win for common sense, the Court of Appeals of Minnesota has reversed an unemployment compensation award to a supervisor who used obscenities at work and then drunk-dialed a subordinate more than once.

Beware firing worker who sleeps with the enemy

06/20/2013
Here’s a situation that should send you straight to your attorney’s office. If you fire an employee because you discovered her spouse works for the competition, you may be violating the marital status discrimination clause in the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA).

Screaming at ashtrays: Just part of the job?

06/20/2013
That’s what several employees of Dynamic Medical Services in Miami were required to learn to do, according to a recently filed EEOC religious discrimination lawsuit.

Court: If interns perform work, pay them!

06/19/2013
A New York case with a Hollywood connection is a timely reminder that, in almost all cases, employers must pay interns, no matter how menial their work is.

Bill would ban demanding access to Facebook, Twitter accounts

06/19/2013
Ten states already prohibit employers from requiring employees and job applicants to hand over their personal website passwords, and now the House of Representatives is considering similar national legislation.

Speak freely to EEOC–it’s privileged communication

06/18/2013
Good news: You won’t be held personally liable—and neither will your company—for what you say in re­­sponse to an EEOC complaint. State­­ments made in an EEOC investigation are privileged.

Supreme Court won’t nix ADA reassignment

06/18/2013
The U.S. Supreme Court on May 28 let stand a lower court’s ruling that employers may be required to reassign a disabled employee to a vacant position as an ADA reasonable accommodation if the employee can’t perform his or her current job.

Incorporation beats the misclassification conundrum

06/17/2013
The DOL will shortly survey ­workers on their understanding of their status and whether they know that independent contractors aren’t eligible for overtime, benefits, etc. A crackdown on employers that misclassify workers is probably not very far behind.