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

Minnesota

Fired county official denies harassment charges

10/22/2015
The former head of the Dakota County Community Development Agency denied the charges that led to his firing in a meeting with the County Board.

Don’t let FMLA stop planned staffing changes

10/20/2015
Normally, it’s risky to fire someone who has just taken FMLA leave. However, you can terminate such an employee—if you can show that changes were underway before FMLA leave began.

Can we discipline for bad behavior at party?

10/15/2015
Q. At our company holiday party, which was not at the workplace or during work hours, an employee told some inappropriate jokes and put an arm around a co-worker who did not appreciate it and complained. The company is aware that the employee took a leave of absence for treatment of chemical dependency and is concerned that the employee might have been drinking at the party. Can the company discipline the employee? The company would like the employee to get additional help for chemical dependency.

Do you have guidance on résumé retention?

09/14/2015
Q. How long do we have to retain résumés received in response a job posting? Our HR department has asked if we only have to keep those that were considered for the job or if we must keep every résumé that comes in regardless of whether we look at it.

Can employee take intermittent FMLA leave to attend her child’s sporting events?

09/14/2015
Q. An employee’s daughter has diabetes and the employee has intermittent leave to provide assistance and care for her. The employee is now using FMLA leave to attend her daughter’s field hockey games and practices, claiming she needs to be there in case of diabetic complications during athletic events. The health care certification that we received in connection with this FMLA leave request does refer to a need to provide care during “flare ups.” Do we have to continue to permit the mother to attend the games and practices as intermittent FMLA leave?

What should we do? We’re worried that one of our company laptops may contain child porn

09/14/2015
Q. Our HR team has been advised that one of our employees has been arrested for possessing child pornography. This employee has a company laptop computer that is in our worksite. What, if anything, should we be doing with this computer?

DOL releases proposed revisions to ‘white collar’ overtime exemptions

09/14/2015

On July 6, the U.S. Department of Labor published a 295-page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking public comments on proposed changes to the “white collar” overtime exemption regulations. The comment period closed on Sept. 4. The DOL proposes specific changes to the salary level requirements for the majority of the white collar exemptions and also seeks commentary regarding potential changes to the duties tests for the exemptions.

University of Minnesota admits fumbling on athletic director hire

09/14/2015
University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler says he takes “full responsibility” for the botched hiring of Norwood Teague as the university’s athletic director. Teague resigned Aug. 7 after admitting he sexually harassed two administrators at a university leadership event.

Working overtime hours can be an essential function

09/14/2015
Working overtime can be an essential job function. If disabled employees can’t work overtime, you may not have to accommodate them.

Mentioning pregnancy during discipline doesn’t prove bias

09/14/2015

Rest easy: You can talk about an employee’s pregnancy while also discussing discipline against her. As long as you make it clear that you are disciplining the employee because of issues that have nothing to do with her pending childbirth, mentioning pregnancy while discussing potential penalties won’t make you lose a discrimination suit.