With the coming New Year, it is a perfect time for Minnesota employers to ensure that they are complying with the new laws and ordinances that affect employment in the state. This post is intended to highlight a few areas that deserve particular focus as 2019 comes to a close. Minneapolis Wage Theft Prevention Ordinance We have written extensively about the Minneapolis Wage Theft Ordinance, and the requirements it imposes on employers. See one such…

Larkin Hoffman Employment & Labor Law Blog

Employers Be(a)ware!

By Dayle Nolan

December 3, 2019

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is leading the fight with 18 States’ Attorney Generals (AGs) to ask the federal government to ban employers from utilizing non-competition provisions with most employees. According to Ellison and the other AGs, such provisions constitute an “abusive practice,” especially with respect to “low wage” employees. In their opinion, such provisions take advantage of workers, hurt the economy by holding back innovation, and hinder fair competition with other businesses. The AGs’…

Larkin Hoffman Employment & Labor Law Blog

It’s Party Time!

By Andrew Moran

November 26, 2019

Company Party — Employee Holiday Celebration

The time has come for companies to begin planning their 2019 holiday parties. While these events are a great way to show appreciation for employees and build morale, they can present certain risks for employers. Being mindful of the following issues can help employers avoid complaints, or worse, lawsuits, associated with holiday parties. Alcohol While alcohol is common, and often expected, at holiday parties, employers can and should be mindful of potential problems which could…

Larkin Hoffman Employment & Labor Law Blog

Do’s and Don’ts of Tipping

By Alex Beeby

November 14, 2019

What is the deal with tipping in Minnesota? Although there are many legal considerations which must be taken into account when running a service business where customers tip your employees, there is one cardinal sin that comes up the most in service-industry conversations and can get businesses in big trouble: tip-sharing. There are many cautionary tales, but perhaps one of the most infamous recent examples is the $2.5 million Surly agreed to pay last year …

Larkin Hoffman Employment & Labor Law Blog

Congress is Considering a Bill Which Would Significantly Alter the Labor Law Landscape

By Phyllis Karasov

November 12, 2019

Whether a business’s employees are represented by a union or not, all employers should be concerned about the pending Protecting the Right to Organize Act (“PRO Act”) being considered by Congress. If enacted, the PRO Act will alter fundamental principles of labor law and significantly prejudice the rights of employers. Supporters of the PRO Act claim that this legislation is needed to increase employee wages and create an environment in which unions can negotiate better…

Larkin Hoffman Employment & Labor Law Blog

Supreme Court to Decide Important Issue for Employers Regarding LGBTQ Discrimination

By Dan Ballintine

October 16, 2019

For several years, employers have been uncertain whether discrimination based upon sexual orientation is illegal under federal law. Although many states, including Minnesota, have enacted laws prohibiting such discrimination by employers located within their jurisdiction, many have not, leaving federal law as the only source for potential protection in such states. In three cases argued on October 8, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (“Title…

Larkin Hoffman Employment & Labor Law Blog

Joint Employer Liability…Again

By Phyllis Karasov

October 10, 2019

Whether or not two or more employers are joint employers, thereby making them liable for each other’s violations of the law, has been a very hot topic of late. The NLRB, in Browning-Ferris, found a staffing agency to be a joint employer with its client Browning-Ferris, because Browning-Ferris had the right to exercise control the staffing agency’s employees. That case has now been affirmed in part by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and remanded…

Larkin Hoffman Employment & Labor Law Blog

U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Overtime Rule

By Susan Tegt

September 27, 2019

The U.S. Department of Labor announced this week a final rule making an additional estimated 1.2 million workers eligible for overtime pay. The final rule, effective January 1, 2020, marks the first update to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) minimum wage and overtime pay thresholds in 15 years. The final rule updates the “white collar” or “highly compensated employee” earnings thresholds necessary to exempt executive, administrative, or professional employees from the FLSA minimum wage…

Larkin Hoffman Employment & Labor Law Blog

Reminder: EEO pay data must be submitted by September 30, 2019

By Andrew Moran

September 18, 2019

By September 30, 2019, employers with 100 or more employees are required to submit pay data for 2017 and 2018 to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This submission is known as the Component 2 EEO-1 survey, and covered employers should have received both an email notification and a letter providing their UserID which is needed to access the online filing system for the EEO-1. Background Under the Obama administration, the EEOC proposed a series of…

Larkin Hoffman Employment & Labor Law Blog

Minneapolis Passes Ordinance Requiring New Employee Notices

By Dan Ballintine

August 14, 2019

On August 8, the Minneapolis City Council passed an ordinance requiring employers to provide new notices to employees effective January 1, 2020. The ordinance will apply not only to employers with brick and mortar locations within the City’s limits, but also employers outside the City with employees who work at least 80 hours each year inside its limits. Many of you are already familiar with the State of Minnesota’s so-called wage theft law, which took effect…

Larkin Hoffman Employment & Labor Law Blog

Insights on employment law for today’s employer

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Tick Tock: A New Year’s Resolution for All Employers with Employees Who Work in Minneapolis

Employers Be(a)ware!

It’s Party Time!

Do’s and Don’ts of Tipping

Congress is Considering a Bill Which Would Significantly Alter the Labor Law Landscape

Supreme Court to Decide Important Issue for Employers Regarding LGBTQ Discrimination

Joint Employer Liability…Again

U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Overtime Rule

Reminder: EEO pay data must be submitted by September 30, 2019

Minneapolis Passes Ordinance Requiring New Employee Notices

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