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Understanding Workplace Reasonable Accommodation Discrimination in Minnesota
When President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law more than a quarter century ago, it represented a sea change for the rights of those who have disabilities and their access to housing, transportation, places of business, and employment opportunities. Like other laws that prohibit discrimination in employment against people …
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Are Kickbacks and Bribes Legal
It was announced yesterday that the CEO of Insys Therapeutics Inc., Micheal Babich, pleaded guilty to participating in a nationwide scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe its opioid medication Subsys. Babich resigned as the Arizona-based drugmaker’s CEO in 2015. His guilty plea comes just weeks before Insys founder, and one-time billionaire, John Kapoor goes to …
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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Minnesota Legislature Considers Competing Bills on Workplace Sexual Harassment Standards: One Protects Workers; the Other Hurts Them
In 1986 the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson – its first significant venture into the world of workplace sexual harassment claims. While the decision was critically important in confirming that hostile workplace sexual harassment is unlawful,[1] it also unfortunately made it extremely difficult for workers to …
Halunen Law and Co-Counsel Firms Reach Settlement in Case Against IKO Roofing Shingles
Halunen Law, Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P., and Levin Sedran & Berman, announced recently that plaintiffs they represented entered into an agreement to settle various class actions relating to IKO roofing shingles. The settlement applies to the “organic” asphalt shingles that were installed on buildings in the United States primarily between 1978 and 2008. Read the recent press release about …
Halunen Law’s Emma Denny to Serve on Upcoming CLE Panel Focused on Sexual Harassment
In the age of the #MeToo movement, many law firms are experiencing an increase in sexual harassment cases. And they are considering changes in how they litigate these cases. On October 17, the Minnesota State Bar Association’s “How #MeToo is Impacting Employment Law Today” panel will discuss how attorneys assess sexual harassment claims, how …
From Cashiers To CEOS, Women In The Workplace Deserve To Be Heard
As an immigrant from Bangladesh, Eva Biswas was granted asylum in the United States to escape the persecution, terrorism, and sexual violence she experienced in her home country. But she found life in her new country brought unexpected challenges in the form of the alleged sexual harassment from her workplace supervisor at a national chain …
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Are You a Whistleblower? Take a Stand Against Workplace Retaliation
What is a Whistleblower? Has your treatment on the job changed recently? Have you suddenly received performance criticisms you have never received before? Were you terminated for a bogus reason? And did this negative treatment come after a time you told your employer or a government agency that the company was doing something illegal? If …
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Proposed Amendment Could Lead the Way, Providing Victims of Workplace Sexual Harassment a Clearer Legal Path
As an employment attorney, I’ve witnessed the courage it takes to bring a workplace sexual harassment claim forward, and the legal hurdles victims of sexual harassment in the workplace must clear in order to achieve justice. In late March, I was asked to share my professional perspective at the Minnesota House Subcommittee on Workplace Safety …
Five Things Every Woman Should Know About Employment Law
Number One: Basics about Gender Discrimination Employment in Minnesota is at-will, unless you are in a union or have an employment contract. What this means is that your employer can terminate you at any time, for any reason, even if that reason is unfair or untrue. However, your employer cannot terminate you for an illegal …
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