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Latest from Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren Ltd.

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In the latest move in the proverbial tug of war over possible changes to the overtime laws, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a potential new rule on March 8 that would increase the salary required for the so-called “white collar exemptions” under the Fair Labor Standards Act  from $23,660 to $35,308, with automatic cost of living adjustments thereafter.  In other words, in order for a white-collar employee to be exempt from minimum wage and…
Earlier this year, Housing First MN, a Minnesota trade group that advocates for the interests of the housing industry and homeowners, issued a powerful report entitled Priced Out: The True Cost of Minnesota’s Broken Housing Market (full disclosure: the author represents this organization). The report confirms what others have speculated about in recent years and that is the dramatic difference in the cost of building an identical new home in Minnesota as compared to…
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Businesses constantly search for ways to protect their competitive advantages, customer relationships, confidential business information and trade secrets.  Non-competition agreements (which often include confidentiality provisions) are usually part of those protection efforts.  Despite the belief of many employers (and employees) that these non-competition agreements are unenforceable and not worth the paper they’re written on, they are both enforceable and extremely valuable when properly drafted.  Attorneys, however, are often asked to revise or pursue enforcement of…
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Companies are becoming more aware of the need for their websites to be accessible to people with disabilities. But what does this mean and what are the legal requirements?  The current state of the law is in flux and the fact is, there is no clear set of criteria to which a company can look with assurance for the prerequisites of a fully and legally accessible website.  That said, there are some steps a company…
Last week the City of Bloomington adopted an expansive “inclusionary zoning” ordinance for the purpose of compelling developers of single and multifamily housing to include a portion of their new housing as affordable based on prescribed income standards.  “Inclusionary zoning” refers to a policy that compels developers to include some land use component desired by a given city as part of a development project being proposed in that city.  It is justified in the affordable housing…
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The Minnesota legislature has once again taken up proposed legislation that would add language to the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) eliminating the U.S. Supreme Court’s standard for actionable sexual harassment, which requires it to be “severe or pervasive.” House File No. 10 and its companion Senate File No. 1307 propose adding the following sentence to Minn. Stat. § 363A.03 subdiv. 43, “An intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment . . . does not require the…
When employees become dissatisfied with their union representation, they often ask questions of their employer as to how to get rid of their union.  When a union no longer enjoys the support of unit employees, it can be decertified. Decertification is the process of formally removing recognition of a union as the authorized representative of the employee unit.  However, the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) has strict requirements for decertification—including when an employer can even…
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Most employers understand the importance of having a well-communicated policy that prohibits various forms of illegal harassment, including sexual harassment. Not only can such policies have the beneficial effect of reducing or eliminating the existence of such harassment in the workplace, but a documented program of addressing and correcting such problems can go a long way towards reducing or eliminating potential liability. No company can guarantee a pristine work environment, and the law does not…
Franchising has now been going strong for more than 50 years. Why does it work? For would-be franchisors, it is a way to expand with other people’s money and human resources. For franchisees, it is a way to get into business without having to reinvent the wheel or go it alone. Of course, like any business venture, there is no guarantee of success for either franchisor or franchisee, and each should understand what they are…
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Cannabis remains illegal under federal law as a Schedule I drug, leaving states to craft their own marijuana-related laws in true patchwork fashion.  By now, most states have enacted at least some form of medical marijuana law.  State officials increasingly understand the benefits of medical marijuana for patients who have qualifying medical conditions.  But acceptance does not necessarily create clarity in the law.  What happens when an employee with a qualifying medical condition seeks reimbursement…