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To Accommodate or Not To Accommodate

February 10, 2012

Come On, Let’s Be Reasonable An interesting case came down earlier this week from the Minnesota Court of Appeals.  In Melanie Michael v. Education Management Corporation, a former sonography student brought a disability discrimination/failure to accommodate claim against Education Management Corporation d/b/a Argosy University (“Argosy”) under the Minnesota Human Rights Act. The student suffers from [...]

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UPDATE: NLRB Postpones Union Rights Posting Requirement Again – New Deadline is April 30, 2012

December 27, 2011

The National Labor Relations Board announced on December 23, 2011, that it was again postponing the effective date of its new rule requiring most private sector employers to post a notice informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act.  Covered employers now have until April 30, 2012, to post the required notice. [...]

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Federal Judge Asks NLRB to Delay New Posting Requirement

December 23, 2011

The battle over the National Labor Relations Board’s new rule requiring most private sector employers to post a notice by January 31, 2012, informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act has taken another turn.  On December 19, 2011, a federal Judge asked the NLRB to delay enforcement of the new rule.  [...]

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Act Fast, This Is A Limited Time Offer

November 4, 2011

That’s what Karl Bjorkman (“Bjorkman”) probably learned the hard way on October 31, 2011, when the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued its opinion affirming the district court’s dismissal of his breach of contract and promissory estoppel claims against his former employer, Arctic Cat, Inc. (“Arctic”). Bjorkman worked for Arctic at its Thief River Falls, MN [...]

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Pay Attention! You Are Being Sued.

October 11, 2011

In the case of Chapman v. Burton, et al., the Minnesota Court of Appeals provided yet another harsh example of what can happen when you ignore a Complaint, and believe that someone else is “taking care of matters…”  As part of a complex real estate transaction, defendant Kristopher C. Howard (“Howard”) convinced Renee C. Burton [...]

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UPDATE: NLRB Delays Union Rights Posting Requirement Until January 31, 2012

October 7, 2011

On October 5, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board announced that it was postponing by 2½ months the effective date of its new rule requiring most private sector employers to post a notice informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act.  You can see my previous blog entries regarding the new rule [...]

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Plead It With Particularity

September 26, 2011

In a recent post, I summarized the Eighth Circuit case, Semi-Materials Co., Ltd. v. MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., et al., in which two words in a contract were found to be “ambiguous,” compelling the court to remand the matter for an expensive trial. In keeping with this theme, today, the Minnesota Court of Appeals released [...]

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Words Matter, Choose Them Wisely

September 14, 2011

In the recently decided case of Semi-Materials Co., Ltd. v. MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., et al., the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reminded us that the words businesses choose when entering into a contract matter, a lot. Between July 2003 and April 2004, Semi-Materials entered into two “International Sales Representation Agreements” [...]

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National Association of Manufacturers Files Lawsuit to Stop Implementation of New Posting Rule

September 14, 2011

This is an update to my August 29, 2011, blog entry concerning the NLRB’s new rule that will soon require most employers to notify employees of their rights under the NLRA.  On September 8, 2011, the National Association of Manufacturers filed a lawsuit to stop the NLRB from implementing the new rule.  NAM argues that [...]

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Starting November 14, 2011, Employers Must Notify Employees of Their Right to Organize a Union

August 29, 2011

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has issued a Final Rule, which was published on August 30, 2011, that requires private sector employers under its jurisdiction (which includes most businesses other than railroad, airline, agricultural, and very small businesses) to notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).  The new rule, [...]

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Didn’t I Say to Get it in Writing?!

May 26, 2011

In my April 19, 2011, blog post, I talked about the importance of putting agreements in writing.  This was so the terms of the agreement would be clear to both parties, and if there was dispute later on, one party would be unable to “mis-remember” (ala Roger Clemens) the terms.  This principle was recently reaffirmed [...]

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Court Grants Employer a Temporary Injunction in Non-Compete Agreement Dispute Despite Arbitration Clause

May 11, 2011

On May 3, 2011, the federal district court of Minnesota in RSM McGladrey v. Peter Epp, et al., reaffirmed the notion that a court may issue a temporary injunction in a non-compete agreement dispute even if the agreement contains an arbitration clause. RSM McGladrey (“RSM”), a nation-wide provider of tax services, sought a temporary injunction [...]

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Minnesota Court of Appeals “Pierces the Corporate Veil” of a Single Member LLC

May 4, 2011

This is a case that may give small businesses pause, especially businesses with only one employee.  In SCA License Corporation v. Steve Hackbarth a/k/a Steven Hackbarth d/b/a/ Hackbarth Roofing, the Minnesota Court of Appeals found that Mr. Hackbarth’s company, West Builders, LLC, was simply his “alter-ego” for purposes of certain debts he  incurred in the [...]

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No Benefits, Vacation Time or Withholdings = Employee

April 25, 2011

No Benefits, Vacation Time or Withholdings = Employee Even though you may not provide your workers with benefits, or withhold any taxes from their paychecks, they may still be considered your employees. In a recent Minnesota Court of Appeals decision, Anderson v. Holly Littrell, et al., Anderson worked as a truck driver delivering liquid fertilizer [...]

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Employers Must Make a Reasonable Accommodation for Religious Beliefs or Show That an Accommodation will Cause an Undue Hardship

April 22, 2011

Employers Must Make a Reasonable Accommodation for Religious Beliefs or Show That an Accommodation will Cause an Undue Hardship In Maroko v. Werner Enterprises, Inc., Yabesh Maroko, a devout Seventh-Day Adventist, brought a Title VII claim for religious discrimination against Werner Enterprises.  This was a pretty straightforward case, as it was evident that Werner made [...]

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