• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly
Connection failed: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] No such file or directory

Minnesota

Executive order: Federal contractors must provide paid sick leave

10/28/2015

On Labor Day, President Obama signed the latest in a string of executive orders applicable to employers that contract with the federal government. Executive Order 13706 will permit certain employees working on federal contracts to earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. According to a White House fact sheet, the new paid leave mandate will affect approximately 300,000 workers … and imposes substantial new obligations on many employers.

Teacher complained of racism, says firing was retaliation

10/28/2015
A black teacher is suing for race discrimination after she was fired from her job at Park Center High School in Osseo, Minn.—after she complained about race discrimination.

Minnesota drug testing law doesn’t protect airline employee

10/28/2015
If it stands, a recent federal court decision could provide some clarity for Minnesota employers.

EEOC: Religious schedule request cost applicant job

10/28/2015
A registered nurse claims North Memorial Health Care in Robbinsdale, Minn., withdrew its employment offer after she requested a religious accommodation. The woman is a Seventh-day Adventist and had sought a schedule that would not force her to work from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.

Courts grow impatient with class-action suits

10/28/2015

For a time, it seemed as if employers were losing every class-action lawsuit filed by hungry lawyers on behalf of one or two named employees. It almost became a legal cottage industry. But now courts are losing patience with some of these lawsuits—especially when the attorneys get sloppy.

Firing? Never blast the departing employee

10/28/2015
When announcing a termination, make sure no one says anything that’s potentially defamatory. Keep the announcement professional and don’t make gratuitous comments, no matter the reason. Tell only those who need to know why the firing happened.

Be prepared to comply with Minnesota’s requirement to explain involuntary termination

10/28/2015

Minnesota employers have to walk through a minefield in order to terminate someone. Consider, for example, what might happen if the newly discharged employee asks for a written explanation of her termination. Offer one that’s less than honest, and you may be violating Minnesota’s Section 181.933.

Target pays $2.8 million, agrees to drop hiring tests

10/28/2015
The Target retail chain has agreed to stop using three pre-employment assessments that the EEOC claimed were discriminatory.

Act fast to stop harassment … and still get sued

10/26/2015

It is critical to prevent sexual harassment—especially when a supervisor is involved—instead of relying on your post-harassment policy to block lawsuits. The University of Minnesota just learned that the hard way.

Suit: State didn’t accommodate disability–alcoholism

10/22/2015
A former Assistant Director of the State Lottery has filed suit against the Minnesota State Lottery, the Department of Management and Budget and her former boss, Ed Van Petten. She was fired after being charged with drunken driving in 2012 after injuring an elderly man in a traffic accident. She is yet to stand trial on those charges.