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.
While
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
Employers use numerous tools to screen applicants and determine which one may be the best for the job including job applications, interviews, reference checks and criminal background checks. Criminal background checks can be highly useful for employers, and can legitimately weed out applicants who are not suitable for the position. Nevertheless, the Equal Employment Opportunity
Employers have long disliked labor unions’ use of inflatable rats, large balloon cats, mock funerals and other types of dramatic protests mounted when a labor union wants to exert pressure on a company to cease doing business with the employer with whom the union has a dispute. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) expressly prohibits