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Minnesota

EEOC sues FedEx for bias against hearing-impaired staff

11/13/2014
Shipping giant FedEx faces an EEOC lawsuit alleging that it systematically fails to accommodate deaf and hearing-impaired employees.

FMLA may cover some independent contractors

11/13/2014
A federal appeals court has cast doubt on the longstanding belief that independent contractors are never “employees” under the FMLA.

Watch out for rivalry that could spawn lawsuit

11/13/2014
In highly competitive fields, it’s not unusual for bosses and subordinates to distrust one another. But when that distrust leads to one party badmouthing the other, that can spawn a lawsuit.

No touching required to support lawsuit alleging supervisor harassment

11/13/2014

There’s flirting and then there’s sexual harassment. If the flirter is a supervisor, it’s probably sexual harassment whether or not there was any physical contact. Set a strict no-fraternization rule for supervisors and subordinates.

When ‘manager’ doesn’t manage, title doesn’t determine exempt status

11/13/2014
Just because an employee is called a supervisor and sometimes tells others what tasks to perform, that doesn’t mean she’s an exempt admin­­istrative or executive employee. It’s the actual duties performed day to day that count.

Older workers driving up insurance costs? That’s no reason to terminate them

11/13/2014

Because it costs more to provide health insurance for older workers, some employers may be tempted to trim their workforce of older workers during reductions in force. Or they may think twice before considering hiring an older applicant. Such actions carry considerable risk that the employee or applicant will sue for age discrimination.

Wells Fargo pays to settle Minneapolis race bias suit

11/13/2014
The Minneapolis personal insurance office of banking giant Wells Fargo has agreed to settle an EEOC race and national origin discrimination claim.

Unemployment due after quitting for harassment

11/13/2014
Here’s a reminder that you should not ignore complaints about workplace harassment—or promise to take action but then fail to follow through. Not only may this mean a discrimination or harassment lawsuit, but the employee could quit and qualify for unemployment compensation, too.

Beware automatic nightly time-clock resets

11/13/2014

If your business doesn’t operate 24/7, you probably shut down just about everything at some point during the night. That’s especially common with retail operations. If that shutdown includes resetting the time clocks to automatically clock out everyone, you may be courting a lawsuit.

What do we need to consider before offering extra pay for weekend work?

10/14/2014
Q. We have a short-term project coming up that is going to require some of our hourly, nonexempt employees to work some extra weekend hours. We are thinking we might pay them a higher rate to work on the weekends to encourage employees to volunteer and to reward them. Is there anything we should be keeping in mind before we do that?