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

Employee work rules and policies continue to be controversial at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).  Under President Obama, the NLRB determined that many common employer policies and work rules violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) because they interfered with and chilled employee rights to engage in protected concerted activity.  The NLRB found these

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

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

In helping employers with their written employment policies, we are often asked whether it is necessary to have a policy regarding employees’ use of cell phones for work purposes while driving.  The answer, as is often the case, is “it depends.”  If your employees drive as part of their job or commonly use their cell phones for work purposes while driving, then your company should address cell phone use while driving in a written policy.  A well-written policy can not only reduce the likelihood of accidents caused or contributed to by distracted driving, it can also help reduce your company’s liability in the event of an accident caused or contributed by your company’s employee.
Continue Reading Put the phone down!

Employee trade secret theft is a significant problem faced by many businesses. It is unfortunately all too common for a departing employee to take valuable confidential information from the former employer to the new workplace. An employer may use a number of legal strategies to stop the theft and misuse of its trade secrets by

In closely-held businesses, it is common for owners to also work as employees. Often, their primary source of income is not from distributions of the business’ profit, but rather their regular salary. This is particularly true for service professions such as accountants, consultants, and medical professionals. The dual role of employee and owner can cause