When I prepare a drug and alcohol testing policy for Minnesota clients, they often tell me it is their understanding that although post-accident testing is permitted under Minnesota law, it is prohibited by OSHA. Their perception that post-accident testing is unlawful is based on a 2016 change in OSHA’s reporting and retaliation policies, to prohibit
As many know, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to employees with serious health conditions. That leave is only available to eligible employees, generally those who have been employed for at least a year and worked at least 1,250
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
Many business open to the public are seeing an increase in the number of service animals being brought into public businesses. There has been a lot of media attention to airline passengers who bring animals onto an airplane as service animals or to provide emotional support or therapy. The same issue can arise in the
A common question asked by employers, particularly new and/or smaller companies, is whether they should create an employee handbook. Although companies are not legally required to have an employee handbook, there are several important reasons (legal and non-legal) why they should do so.
Handbooks are useful to
Today’s employees come from hundreds of foreign countries and speak hundreds of languages. Some employees have accents and some employees are difficult to understand because of their accents. What is an employer to do? It is illegal under state and federal law to discriminate against an applicant or an employee because of his or her
The MeToo movement has highlighted the reality that people who work closely together can develop romantic feelings about a co-worker. In many cases, these feelings are not reciprocated, and how the party who desires a sexual or romantic relationship deal with that can create problems.
Surveys have estimated that 20 percent of married partners met
Navigating the Minnesota Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (MDATWA) can be a complicated task for employers who want to maintain a drug-free workplace. This is especially true for those operating in safety-sensitive industries like transportation, where such testing is often mandated by state and federal regulations. In light of the country’s continuing
While employers may have well-written agreements with their employees, such as non-competition and confidentiality agreements, those same employers sometimes fall down with regard to having those contracts executed on the company’s behalf. Prudent companies will not allow employees to commence employment until they have signed the applicable employment agreement, noncompete or an agreement to resolve