The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a significant decision threatening the viability of provisions routinely included in employment settlement agreements. In the McLaren Macomb decision, the NLRB ruled that an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) when it offered severance agreements to 11 terminated employees containing confidentiality, nondisclosure and non-disparaging provisions.
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Larkin Hoffman’s Employment Attorneys Help Navigate Workplace Issues During COVID-19

As COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease, many employers are navigating the best path forward for their business to ensure we keep our communities healthy while also protecting against potential litigation. Employers and employees are asking many questions about their rights and thoughtful comprehensive planning and policies are necessary. Employers have questions about whether they are…
Does your employee handbook create an employee contract? The answer might surprise you!
This post is co-authored with Larry Morgan, MAIR, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, GPHR
Originally published in The Minnesota Society of CPA’s
Virtually all employee handbooks contain the statement, “This handbook is not a contract.” Most employers assume with this contract disclaimer none of the policies and provisions in their employee handbook constitute a contract.
On Feb.…

Should You Buy Employment Practices Liability Insurance?
Over the past decade or so, more and more employers have purchased employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) through their agents. In general, EPLI provides employers with coverage, usually for both defense costs and damages potentially awarded in cases involving claims of discrimination or harassment by employees, overtime, and other allegedly unfair employment practices. At first…

Are you covered? Employment Practices Liability Insurance
Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) is a popular product for employers of all sizes. Many companies obtain EPLI coverage by purchasing a package of insurance policies covering a variety of management risks, such as directors and officers liability, professional liability, and cyber security. Once the policies are in hand, reviewing your company’s voluminous insurance terms…

It’s Complicated – Understanding the Impact of Non-Discretionary Bonuses on Overtime Pay
The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) defines certain employees as exempt and others as nonexempt. Nonexempt employees are generally entitled to receive overtime pay at a rate of at least one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay. Overtime is often easy to calculate on straight weekly earnings, but what happens when employees…

Tick Tock: A New Year’s Resolution for All Employers with Employees Who Work in Minneapolis
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
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Employers Be(a)ware!
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…

Do’s and Don’ts of Tipping
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…

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