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Minnesota

Placed on PIP? That’s no reason to quit

08/26/2011
Employees placed on performance improvement plans (PIP) sometimes suspect that they are about to be fired. But that doesn’t mean they can jump the gun, quit and apply for unemployment compensation.

How should we respond to a ‘no-match’ letter?

08/10/2011
In April 2011, the Social Security Administration resumed the practice of sending no-match letters, which notify an employer of a discrepancy between information they reported on an employee’s W-2 form and information in the SSA’s database. The DOJ’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices recently issued the following “do’s and don’ts” regarding no-match letters:

What do we need to do to hire an H-1B immigrant currently working for another employer?

08/10/2011
Q. We are interested in hiring someone who is currently working for another company in H-1B status. Do we have to file a new H-1B application before this person can work for our company? If so, how long do we have to wait until he can start work?

The ICE man cometh … with a notice of intent to audit

08/10/2011
You may have noticed a slight chill in the air recently. For the second time this year, ICE has notified 1,000 employers that it plans to inspect their Form I-9 records. Whether your company has received a Notice of Intent to Audit or you have been lucky enough to avoid one until now, it is important to understand how a NOI may impact your organization.

Employee with cerebral palsy agrees to settlement with Target

08/10/2011

Minneapolis-based retail giant Target will pay $160,000 to settle a disability discrimination suit at one of its California stores. The EEOC filed the suit on behalf of Jeremy Schott, who suffers from cerebral palsy.

Serious rules violation enough to void unemployment comp

08/10/2011
Employers have a right to expect em­­ployees to follow the work rules laid out for them. Employees who are terminated for breaking those rules won’t be eligible for unemployment compensation because it was their fault they were discharged.

Punish poor behavior, not FMLA leave

08/10/2011
Some employees need FMLA leave to cope with work stress. But that doesn’t mean that employers can’t punish someone who makes threats.

Employee alleges hostile environment? Act fast to identify culprits, repair damage

08/10/2011

Fortunately for employers, courts measure a hostile work environment against the “reasonable employee” standard. If a reasonable employee would not find the conduct hostile, then it doesn’t matter how intensely a particular employee reacts to allegedly hostile acts. The idea behind the standard is to protect employers from exaggerated claims, especially when it is clear the employer took the allegations seriously and moved to prevent further problems.

Clear and fair hiring process yields the best candidates–and impresses judges

08/10/2011

Employers that develop clear, fair and transparent hiring processes seldom have to worry about losing a failure-to-hire lawsuit. That’s true even if they end up using so-called subjective reasons for not hiring a candidate. Simply put, judges are impressed when it looks like a potential employer bends over backward to ensure it doesn’t discriminate.

Case against Schwan’s heats up as court backs EEOC

08/10/2011

Marshall-based frozen food giant Schwan’s attempt to quash an EEOC subpoena was stopped cold when the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the company must hand over a list of 600 Schwan’s general managers, their genders and dates of hire. The EEOC demanded the documents in connection with a sex discrimination case filed by a former employee.