Category: BLOG
Back to Work: Can Your Employer Force You to Return to the Office?
You found a work-from-home routine that meets your needs, you’ve been a productive remote or hybrid employee, and you were hoping the working arrangement would become permanent. We get it. There’s tension, as you like your setup and don’t want to see it changed. Unfortunately, many employers feel differently. According to Resume Builder, which surveyed …
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Landmark Legislation Protects Minnesota Workers from Employee Misclassification
On May 20, 2024, the Minnesota legislature passed a groundbreaking bill aimed at tackling the prevalent issue of employer misclassification fraud. This pervasive problem, which affects workers across Minnesota and many other states, involves employers incorrectly classifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees. This misclassification allows employers to evade paying employee benefits, protections, …
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What Potential Whistleblowers Need to Know Before Exposing an Employer’s Illegal Conduct
“We’re all familiar with that ubiquitous mantra, “If you see something, say something.” We usually hear that in the context of reporting suspicious or criminal activity in public – an unattended package left in a subway station, a person menacing or threatening others, or similar potential dangers. But when employees discover their employers’ potentially dubious, …
Sexual Harassment in the Fast-Food Industry: Women Bear the Brunt of Illegal Workplace Practice
Across our nation, women employed at fast-food establishments are frequently experiencing the horrors of sexual harassment, abuse or assault in their workplace. A survey1 conducted by Hart Research Associates reports that 40% of female fast-food workers reported having been sexually harassed, abused, or assaulted on the job. The survey, which included polling 1,217 women aged …
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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5 Things to Know About Whistleblower Protections and Remedies Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Over the past century, securities fraud and other fraudulent activities involving publicly traded companies have cost investors – and often taxpayers – trillions of dollars. Such misconduct has also fueled major economic crises, including the 2008 financial crash. That catastrophe led to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”), a sweeping federal law that focused …
Is Workplace Bullying Illegal?
Employees frequently call our office because they are being harassed or bullied by a boss or co-worker. You might be surprised to learn that, generally, workplace bullying is not illegal. We are often told that the employer has an Employee Handbook that includes some form of Respectful Workplace Policy that prohibits any type of offensive …
‘Gendered Ageism’: Discrimination Against Older Women in the Workplace
Each of us is more than the sum of our parts. No single characteristic defines us; rather, we are an amalgamation of different traits, inclinations, experiences and perspectives. For some people, their unique combination of biology and background means they’re members of more than one class that the law protects from workplace discrimination and harassment. …
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NLRB Says Employers Can No Longer Use Severance Agreements to Buy Laid-Off Employees’ Silence
Most employers don’t offer severance packages to laid-off employees out of the kindness of their hearts. They do so because they’re buying something. That something may be employees’ release of any harassment or discrimination claims or promises not to solicit employers’ customers. Employers also use severance agreements to buy employees’ silence. As a result, employees …
Subtle Signs of Workplace Discrimination
Whatever else they may be, most employers aren’t dumb. They know that engaging in discrimination, harassment or retaliation against protected groups in hiring and employment practices is illegal. They also understand that discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims can negatively affect their finances and their reputations. That’s why workplace discrimination is often subtle and nuanced rather …