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Minnesota

Is there a Minnesota equivalent of the federal WARN Act?

07/08/2008
Q. We are closing one of our offices in Minnesota. The number of employees affected is not sufficient to trigger any notice obligations under the federal WARN Act. Does Minnesota have a state statute that would require us to give the employees advance notice of the restructuring? …

How to regain wages paid after worker falsified timecards

07/08/2008
Q. We recently discovered that one of our employees has been falsifying her timecards. When we confronted her, she admitted it but said that she only began doing this recently. An internal investigation showed that this has been going on for several years. Over the past two years our company overpaid her at least $5,000 as a result of her fraud. She resigned. Her final paycheck, including wages and accrued paid time off, is $1,500. Can we refuse to pay her final paycheck and use that money to offset the $5,000 she owes us? How do we recover the remaining $3,500? …

Can we ask applicants about their immigration sponsorship and legal status?

07/08/2008
Q. I was recently reviewing an employment application submitted by a candidate for an open position. Can we lawfully ask whether the candidate requires immigration sponsorship in order to obtain authorization to work for our company? …

Minnesota Supreme Court clarifies employer penalties

06/10/2008
The Supreme Court of Minnesota has issued a decision clarifying penalties under the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act (MFLSA). The ruling makes it clear that employers that don’t follow the law and don’t maintain the required wage-and-hour records may face large fines payable to the state …

Little things can add up to discrimination and harassment

06/10/2008
Do your managers and supervisors understand that ostracizing an employee can backfire? Do they make diligent efforts to train everyone equally and include everyone in work-related social events? If not, it’s time to remind them …

Is that harassment—Or just a personality clash?

06/10/2008
When an employee complains about alleged discrimination or harassment by a supervisor, take a careful look at what each person says is happening. As the following case shows, sometimes just a poor working relationship—not discrimination—is the source of the problem …

When worker complains, find out if she’s a ‘Serial sue-er’

06/10/2008
Sometimes, you can tell how seriously to take an EEOC or other discrimination complaint by checking to see if the employee (or applicant) has filed other discrimination lawsuits in the past. If the complaint turns into a court case, an employee’s pattern of frivolous litigation may become powerful evidence a judge or jury will want to consider …

No unjust enrichment claims allowed in state and federal FLSA cases

06/10/2008
Sometimes, attorneys representing disgruntled employees will try anything to make the charges stick. Now the federal district court in Minnesota has ruled that plaintiffs can’t add state unjust enrichment claims to standard overtime claims under the federal FLSA and Minnesota’s similar state law …

Sometimes settling a claim is the smartest thing to do

06/10/2008
Have you considered settling a claim instead of fighting it tooth and nail? Sometimes, that’s the smartest course of action—even if you believe your company didn’t do anything wrong. If you do decide to settle, make sure you ask your attorney to ensure that the terms and conditions are airtight …

Mission Foods fires Muslim women over dress code

06/10/2008
Mission Foods of New Brighton dismissed six Somali women for refusing to wear uniforms instead of their traditional loosefitting skirts and scarves. The women refused to comply with a new dress code requiring trousers and shirts, which are considered immodest by Islamic standards …