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Minnesota

Employment Lawyer Network:
Minnesota

Carl Crosby Lehmann (Editor)

Minnesota Employment Law

Carl.Lehmann@GPMLaw.com
(612) 632-3234

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Carl Crosby Lehmann, Esq., of Gray, Plant Mooty in Minneapolis, has significant experience in advising employers on personnel matters, drafting employment policies and agreements, and litigating employers' interests in both administrative and judicial proceedings. Carl's practice includes advising employers in personnel-related matters, including terminations, discrimination and sexual harassment issues, defamation claims, employment and independent contractor agreements, noncompete and confidentiality agreements, wage-hour concerns, voluntary and mandatory affirmative action policies, and insurance issues.

Bill would lower standard for harassment complaints

06/26/2018
A bill before the Minnesota legislature would establish a lower bar for sexual harassment victims under the Minnesota Human Rights Act than the one required to file claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Part-time job may be reasonable accommodation

06/26/2018
The ADA requires employers to consider transfer to open positions as reasonable accommodations for disabled workers. But what if an employee isn’t qualified for any open full-time positions? A part-time position may suffice.

ADA doesn’t guarantee right to pick a different supervisor

06/26/2018
An employee may claim that the stress of having a difficult boss creates a mental disability such as major depression. She can ask for another supervisor as a reasonable accommodation—but employers don’t have to grant it.

Failure to follow reporting procedures can justify firing—even if boss should have acted

06/26/2018
If an employer has a process in place for reporting wrongdoing that includes bypassing one’s supervisor when necessary, employees who don’t take that step can’t aviod punishment by blaming the supervisor. That’s not a justified excuse.

Avoid discrimination lawsuits! Beware hiring below minimum job requirements

06/26/2018
If you rejected an applicant early in the hiring process because he or she didn’t meet your stated minimum requirements, but then hired someone else who also didn’t meet them, then the rejected applicant may have a potential discrimination lawsuit.

Noncompete violation means no unemployment

06/26/2018
When an employee is fired for violating the terms of a noncompete, he won’t receive unemployment compensation because he committed willful act of wrongdoing, which bars benefits. It doesn’t matter if the employee’s supervisor was involved in the breach.

Unofficial off-the-clock rule spells class-action trouble

06/21/2018
What happens if there is an unwritten rule among supervisors that workers must come in early to set up and prepare for work before they’re allowed to log into the time-keeping system? That’s a recipe for a class-action FLSA lawsuit.

Accommodation requires employee’s good faith

06/21/2018
An employee who makes a request for an ADA reasonable accommodation and is punished for doing so may have a retaliation claim. But she has to actually believe in good faith that the accommodation she is requesting will work.

Minneapolis gears up to enforce Safe and Sick Time Ordinance

05/16/2018
Since Minneapolis’s Safe and Sick Time Ordinance took effect last July, the city has been working with employers to help them comply with the law. For almost a year, the city has levied no fines. That will all end on July 1.

Court knocks down multi-state wage-and-hour class action

05/16/2018
A federal court has refused to certify a wage-and-hour class-action lawsuit. The crux of the case: Minnesota’s unique rules requiring employees to be paid for breaks of less than 20 minutes.