Category: BLOG
Is It Legal Record a Conversation with My Employer?
As an employment law attorney, I am often asked, “Can I record a conversation with my employer without saying that I am recording it?” The answer depends on whether the state you are recording in requires a one-party or two-party consent and whether your employer has a company policy that prohibits employees from recording conversations.
COMPLAINTS ABOUT WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION MUST BE TIMELY
In a recent case in the Minneapolis school district, an employee was let go from her position. The employee complained to the school system’s equal opportunity division regarding what happened, and she alleged that workplace discrimination, harassment, and a number of financial improprieties were going on within the school system that led to her firing. The …
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Disgruntled Employees? You Bet. Whistleblowers in the United States
A few years back, a news article reported that a meeting of corporate defense attorneys had called out whistleblowers as primarily “disgruntled employees.” This remark reflects a too-common perspective that whistleblowers are a nuisance rather than a contributor to the well-being of our businesses and our government. Far from being a nuisance, whistleblowers are champions …
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Good News for Minnesota Employees with Disabilities: Recent Minnesota Supreme Court Decision Requires “Thorough Communication” about Accommodations
A new case decided by the Minnesota Supreme Court provides additional support to employees with disabilities—it clarifies that employers cannot terminate disabled employees who request an accommodation without a “thorough communication” and “documented good faith efforts” to see if the accommodation would actually pose an undue hardship. Under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, employers are …
WHISTLEBLOWERS AT MINNESOTA FOR-PROFIT COLLEGES
It is important that employees are able to report improper or dangerous conditions that they observe in their workplaces. When someone is aware that fraudulent or dangerous practices could negatively impact the public, they are often uniquely positioned to report the problem. Unfortunately, an employee who is aware of a violation of the law may …
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Supreme Court Further Denies Basic Rights to Workers & Consumers
Recently the U.S. Supreme Court struck another blow against consumers and employees in the case of Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela. Yet again the Court reasoned backward from the result it wanted to reach and went out of its way to find in favor of a corporate defendant – at the expense of individual citizens …
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Minnesota’s Connect 700 Program: Aiming to Increase Representation of Workers With Disabilities, But More Progress Is Needed
In 2014, a Minnesota demographic survey conducted on State employees showed that less than 4% self-identified as having a disability. When compared to the presence of employees with a disability statewide and nationwide, 7.9% and 10.5% respectively, it was evident that the State’s workforce did not reflect the diversity of Minnesota’s population of individuals with …
Minnesota Supreme Court Decision Grants New Rights to Employees Disabled from Workplace Injury
A Victory to Minnesota Employees The Minnesota Supreme Court has just handed a victory to Minnesota employees who have been disabled as a result of a workplace injury. The Court’s recent ruling in the Daniel v. City of Minneapolis case, states that employees who develop a disabling condition resulting from an on-the-job injury may now recover …
Understanding DATWA: Minnesota’s Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act
PART ONE Ten Things Minnesota Job Applicants Need To Know About Drug & Alcohol Testing Laws You received a telephone call from a prospective employer, and they want to hire you! You are ecstatic – this is the dream job you’ve always wanted! The employer goes on to tell you that that the “offer of …
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Whistleblowers Take a Stand – Cheating Legitimate Small Businesses Out of Government Contracts
Much of the work of the federal government is accomplished through contracts with non-governmental entities. For the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015, those contracts added up to more than $500 billion. The Legislature wants a good portion (23%) of those dollars to go to small businesses as a means of strengthening the nations’ economy. …