Category: BLOG
House of Representatives Passes Legislation Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination
Older workers are one significant step closer to enjoying the same federal protections as other protected classes after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (“POWADA”) on January 15, 2020. The Bill, if enacted, would amend the standard for employees alleging discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, …
DISCRIMINATION CAN MAKE JOB-HUNTING IN MINNESOTA IMPOSSIBLE
Applying for a job can be the ultimate test of one’s confidence, especially in light of a new study which found that employment interviews are more often given to candidates with current jobs or who were recently laid off, as opposed to those candidates who had been unemployed more than 26 weeks. In fact, many …
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First Circuit Issues Important Decision Clarifying the False Claims Act’s “Original Source” Standard
One of the first and most frequent arguments defendants make in fighting qui tam allegations under the False Claims Act (FCA) is that the case brought by the whistleblower, or “relator,” is not viable because it is based on publicly available information, the relator is not an “original source” of that information, or both. On …
Did You Know? Minnesota Law Protects Parents Who Take Time Off Work to Attend Their Child’s School Activities
We often write about the more common protections for employees in Minnesota, such as protections against discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation for reporting law violations (i.e. whistle blowers), and protections for employees who take medical leave. But, did you know that Minnesota also provides lesser-known protections to employees? For example, Minnesota law allows employees to take …
Employee’s Rights When Summoned For Jury Duty
What rights does an employee have when jury duty calls? This is a common question many Minnesotan employees have as they followed the media’s coverage of the high-profile case of Mohamed Noor, a police officer on trial for shooting Justine Ruszczyk (Damond) after she reported a crime being committed near her home. The trial started …
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Truck Drivers, Couriers, and Delivery Service Workers Beware! You May Be Misclassified.
Employee misclassification has become a huge problem in the United States. Employers who want to increase profits by not paying withholding and other taxes and escaping liability for workers’ compensation and unemployment claims will often claim that their workers are ‘independent contractors’ or ‘consultants’ (ICs), even though these people perform jobs that go to the …
5 Things to Do After Getting Fired
You’ve just been fired, or you suspect you’re about to be fired. And you think that your termination may be for an illegal reason (e.g., discrimination, retaliation, blowing the whistle). Now what? 1. Do Not Quit / Do Not Sign Anything. Most workers who suspect termination is imminent often believe it is better to quit …
20 Common Ways Employers Violate Employee Rights
Although Minnesota is an “employment at-will” state—meaning the employer may terminate an employee at any time for any reason—there are, in fact, exceptions to the rule. Since 1967 the Minnesota Human Rights Act has served as the State’s comprehensive employment rights law and provides a wide range of protections for employees. Yet even with the …
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What Happens to an FCA Whistleblower’s Reward If the Government Files Criminal Charges against the Defendant?
As a whistleblower, or “relator,” under the False Claims Act (FCA), you have filed a complaint against a company that defrauded the federal government. The government investigated your allegations and indicted the defendant company on federal criminal charges. At sentencing, the government seeks restitution of the amount it lost due to the defendant company’s fraud. …
Whistleblowers in the Intelligence Community
There are many different statutes that provide protections to whistleblowers, and in some instances, also provide specific procedures to follow. That is the case with the federal whistleblower in the news these days. That whistleblower works in the Intelligence Community, where blowing the whistle may involve classified information. The intelligence community defines whistleblowing as “the …
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