Minnesota Sexual Harassment Laws Definition Policy Investigation Discipline and Resolution Follow-up and Retaliation Romance in the workplace Definition of Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is defined as a form of sex discrimination. It exists in the workplace where an employee is subjected to unwelcome advances, suggestive comments, or physical contact of a sexual nature which…
Age Discrimination Settlement Agreements Employers who are terminating the employment of older employees often enter into settlement agreements with these employees in which the employer provides benefits to the employee in return for the employee’s release of his or her claims against the employer. The release usually focuses on waiving rights that the employee may…
Early Retirement Programs Employers who are planning to reduce their workforce may legally institute early retirement programs which offer incentives to certain groups of employees who wish to take the opportunity to retire early. These programs are permissible so long as the choice to accept or reject the early retirement offer is truly voluntary and…
Minnesota Law Minnesota law protects individuals who have attained the age of majority (18) from discrimination in the workplace based on age. Federal law, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), protects persons age 40 or older from age discrimination by employers with 20 or more employees. An employer who is not covered by ADEA…
MN Law | Minnesota Human Rights Act Under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (which generally applies to employers with one or more employees), individuals with a disability are protected from discrimination in employment. A disabled person is one who has a physical, sensory or mental impairment that materially limits one or more major life activities,…
Ensure Compliance with Wage and Hour Laws When Hiring Teens for Summer Positions As you hire teens for summer positions, it’s crucial to ensure compliance with wage and hour laws. Join them on May 21 for a free webinar about child labor laws and tips to keep teen workers safe. Here’s an overview of some…
Individuals employed in bona fide executive, administrative, professional or outside sales positions and who are paid on a salary basis, are exempt from the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the federal FLSA. In Minnesota, executives, administrators, professionals and outside salespersons also are not subject to minimum wage and overtime provisions because they are excluded…
What hours does an employee need to be paid for? Minimum wage must be paid to non-exempt employees for all hours worked. Hours worked include training time, on-call time, cleaning time, waiting time, or any other time when the employee must be either on the premises of the employer or involved in the performance of…
As a condition of employment, an employer may require that an applicant or employee sign an agreement not to work for a competitor and not to form a competing business during the term of his or her employment or after he or she departs. The agreement also may provide that the individual may not solicit…
Many employers would like to terminate the employment of an employee who is arrested for or convicted of an off-duty DUI, possession of narcotics, or other conduct the employer regards as unbecoming of its business or harmful to its reputation. Even though Minnesota is still an “at will” employment state, an employer will be best…
When offering employment to any individual, whether orally or by offer letter, the employer should be sure to avoid making statements such as “we look forward to a long and rewarding experience with you on our team.” If the employer uses an offer letter, the terms and conditions of employment should be fully described as…
Even if an employer does not institute a drug and alcohol testing policy, the employer is well advised to put its employees on notice that it will not tolerate drug or alcohol use, sale, possession, or the like in the workplace, on work time or while operating company vehicles or machinery and that violations of…
MINNESOTA LAW For more information, see When Can an Employer Give a Pre-Employment Physical? A Minnesota employer may require an applicant, as a condition of hire, to submit to a pre- employment physical exam, which may include a medical history, if: The applicant (except for certain peace officer applicants) has first received an offer of…
Is An Alcoholic Employee (or Drug Addicted Employee) Protected? An individual with alcoholism or a drug addiction is protected under the Minnesota Human Rights Act as a “qualified disabled person” if he or she can, with reasonable accommodation, perform the essential functions of the job in question and does not constitute a direct threat to…
This section discusses all pre-employment tests other than physical examinations and drug and alcohol tests. Under current law, a Minnesota employer may require an applicant to take a non- medical pre-employment test before the applicant receives a job offer. Such a pre-employment test must not be given for the purpose of discriminating against any protected…
Before an individual is actually hired, a company that contracts with the government should consider what effect the hiring will have on its affirmative action obligations to recruit and advance qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities and covered veterans. Federal, state and local laws each have different criteria for compliance with their respective affirmative action…
The employer must review the employment application carefully. In order to determine whether all the questions asked are appropriate, consider whether the information requested is reasonably related to the job for which the applicant is applying. For example, does the employer really need to know whether an applicant for a custodian position has a driver’s…
Independent Contractors This post is part of a series of posts on common issues Minnesota employers face. Persons who follow an independent trade, business or profession in which they offer their services to the general public usually are considered independent contractors and not employees. However, whether such persons are employees or independent contractors depends on…
Statutory Employees This post is part of a series of posts on common issues Minnesota employers face. Even if a worker is not an employee under common law rules, he or she may be considered an employee for certain statutory purposes, such as FICA (Social Security and Medicare) tax, federal and state unemployment insurance taxes,…
When an employee leaves to compete with an employer, employer’s have a number of legal rights and options. The Problem: Employees Leave and then Compete with Their Former Employer One problem many employers face is employees who leave the company and then compete with the employer. Typically, a valuable employee will think to herself, “I…
Fringe Benefits Fringe benefits include items such as accident and health insurance, medical savings accounts, group term life insurance, salary continuation plans, reimbursements for educational expenses, dental insurance, death benefits, day care programs, supplemental unemployment benefits, “cafeteria plan” programs, and others. As with employee retirement benefit plans, the tax treatment of fringe benefits is a…
Wages for employees are covered by both Federal and state wage and hour laws. The federal law that governs wage and overtime requirements is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the regulations established under that act. In most cases, the FSLA does not require employers to pay minimum wage or overtime to employees who…
The federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides that if an employer violates the FMLA, the employee may be entitled to “liquidated damages”. Liquidated damages are in essence a penalty, are in addition to actual damages and are calculated as an amount equal to: Wages, salary, employment benefits or other compensation denied or lost to…
Employers Must Promptly Pay Wages to Ex-Employees Minnesota Statutes require that employees be paid promptly upon the termination of their employment. The actual date that payment must be made depends upon whether the employee quit the job or was terminated. If the employee is fired, payment must be made immediately. See Minnesota Statutes section 181.13….
In this video, you get answers to these questions about separation agreements, also known as severance agreements: What is a severance agreement? What questions should you ask before signing a severance agreement? What are you agreeing to when signing a severance agreement? What do attorneys look for in a severance agreement? Introduction Often a business…
Paying Overtime – Minnesota Law The Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay overtime for all hours worked over 48 per workweek, unless the employee is exempt under Minnesota Statutes 177.23, subdivision 7. Overtime pay must be at least 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate of pay. This is calculated by dividing the…
Pregnancy Discrimination Pregnancy itself can be an exciting, stressful, overwhelming experience. It also creates added stress for working women who have to decide how to tell their employer they are expecting and coordinate maternity leave. What happens when an employer is less than accommodating to a pregnant employee? Federal law provides that an employer cannot…