This isn’t an employment law issue per se, but I have represented enough family business over the years that I have seen first-hand the critical importance of succession planning. Here is an excellent summary from today’s New York Times on what to consider to avoid a “succession disaster”, including some obvious and some not-so-obvious tips.
What is the secret to having happy employees? According to this business owner, it’s two-fold: treat them well, and fire the unhappy ones. “As a manager you cannot make everyone happy. You can try, you can listen, you can solve some problems, you can try some more. But there comes a point when you are [...]
This morning there are a couple of interesting privacy stories that serve as good reminders of best practices in this area. The first arises in connection with a union arbitration over discipline meted out to an employee of a municipal liquor store in Paynesville, Minnesota. As you know, these types of arbitrations usually depend largely [...]
Reports yesterday suggest that the government officials are starting to aggressively pursue companies that misclassify regular employees as independent contractors, at least in part to garner additional tax revenues. For example, the federal government’s 2010 budget assumes that the federal crackdown will yield at least $7 billion over 10 years, while more than two dozen states [...]
According to a new survey by health insurance company HealthPartners, health care costs are the biggest obstacle to business expansion for Minnesota businesses.
Almost two-thirds of companies said health costs jumped 10 percent or more in the past two years, with a quarter reporting costs increasing by more than 20 percent
Many employers blame employee lifestyles for [...]
As reported on Work Place Prof Blog, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Minnesota) issued an interesting opinion in a sex stereotyping/appearance case this week. In Lewis v. Heartland Inns, the court found that the plaintiff had presented enough evidence to suggest that she was fired for not conforming to stereotypes about how women [...]
A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled last week that the Family and Medical Leave Act does not provide protection to an employee who took a seven-week trip to the Philippines to participate in a faith healing event with her husband.
Maria Tayag worked as clerk at Lahey Hospital. Her husband had a number of serious chronic [...]
The federal government recently added language to its jobs website banning discrimination in federal hiring on the basis of gender identity (i.e. transgendered status). While the government has apparently prohibited such discrimination for several years, the move is nonetheless being hailed by civil rights groups and denounced by conservative ones.
Minnesota employers know that the [...]
A new report from the Center for Worklife Law concludes that at least 63 local governments in 22 states—including some of the nation’s major urban areas—have passed employment anti‐discrimination laws that go beyond federal and state statutes to ensure that those with caregiving responsibilities are not discriminated against at work. Cases filed under these laws may [...]
The Supreme Court will hear a case later this term which will help establish the contours of privacy in the workplace, although the focus will be on public employees, not private.
Sgt. Jeff Quon was a member of the Ontario, California police department. The department had a written policy reserving the right to monitor “network activity [...]
