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Minnesota

After firing boss accused of harassment, zip your lips

01/15/2015
If a court concludes that one of your supervisors created a hostile work environment, you probably don’t want to retain him. But don’t go overboard with the explanations.

Court refuses to sidestep employee notification of pending class-action lawsuit

01/15/2015
The federal trial court with jurisdiction over Minnesota employers has refused an employer’s request to streamline the FLSA collective-action process.

Ask court to limit claims when employee acts as his or her own lawyer

01/15/2015
Good news for employers that are sued by pro se litigants—employees who act as their own lawyers. Courts really don’t want to waste time on cases that no attorney has seen fit to take on. However, they also don’t want to let lack of legal representation sink an otherwise solid claim.

He who has the best time records usually wins a wage-and-hour lawsuit

01/15/2015

The FLSA and DOL regulations require employers to track all hours worked so employees can be paid for all the time they spend working. That’s especially true for hourly employees. But what about tracking hours for so-called exempt employees who aren’t eligible for overtime pay for hours worked over 40 per week?

Minneapolis rated best city for LGBT protection

01/15/2015
Minneapolis earned the top spot in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual rankings of American cities with local laws and policies that protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from dis­­crimi­­na­­tion. Minneapolis scored a perfect 100 on the gay-rights advocacy organization’s scale.

Iron-clad misconduct proof not needed to fire

01/15/2015
Worried about terminating an employee because the allegations against him amount to a he-said, she-said situation? Relax. Courts don’t want to become HR departments and don’t want to mediate every dispute.

‘Ban the Box’ still a struggle for some Minnesota employers

01/15/2015
Starting Jan. 1, Minnesota em­­ployers’ job applications could no longer ask candidates about past criminal convictions. But some employers, including some of the state’s largest, have not completely adapted to the new legal landscape.

Focus on transgender discrimination as EEOC brings first cases

11/13/2014
Just before the launch of Amazon’s new TV series about a 70-year-old divorced father who announces to his children that he intends to transition from a man to a woman, the EEOC filed its first-ever lawsuits alleging sex discrimination against transgender individuals.

IKEA announces 17% boost in its minimum wage

11/13/2014
Swedish ready-to-assemble furniture maker IKEA will soon give a pay raise averaging $1.59 per hour to its lowest-paid U.S. employees. The move, affecting about half the company’s workforce of 11,000, will raise IKEA’s average minimum wage to $10.76.

Choir director hires top attorney for gay-bias suit

11/13/2014
A gay man who directs the choir at St. Victoria Catholic Church in Vic­­­­toria has retained the attorney who represented Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe after the athlete alleged that the team was intolerant of gays.