State and federal law provide Minnesota employees with the right to take leave to provide care for a family member. Understanding the contours of these protections is important before you take leave and even before you speak with your employer about doing so. Under both state and federal law, your right to take leave to care for a family member only kicks in after certain requirements have been met. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act … [Read more...]
Minnesota Supreme Court Strengthens Protections from Disability Discrimination
The Minnesota Supreme Court just held that Minnesota’s workers’ compensation laws do not bar Minnesota workers from bringing state disability discrimination claims against their employers. In so ruling, the Minnesota Supreme Court overruled its own decision from 1980, Karst v. F.C. Hayer Co. – a decision that for the last three decades had been used by employers to avoid reasonably accommodating employees with disabilities and avoid being held … [Read more...]
Malpractice Insurance, Non-Competes, and Secrecy Provisions in Doctor’s Contracts
By Darren M. Sharp | Four earlier posts on the Schaefer Halleen website provided: An introductory discussion of why legal counsel is important when a doctor is negotiating a contract A brief discussion of contract law fundamentals and basic provisions that appear in almost all physician contracts The promises doctors are typically asked to make when they enter into a contract, and the kinds of benefits and compensation they … [Read more...]
How to Prove Retaliation in the Workplace
By Darren M. Sharp | When employers fire their employees, they don’t simultaneously circulate a memo to the team explaining that what prompted the termination was the employee’s recent whistleblower report or complaint of discrimination. Instead, employers point to claimed rule violations or attitude problems, or let the employee know that things just weren’t “working out.” In this reality, how do former employees prove that they … [Read more...]
Understanding What a Wrongful Termination Lawyer Can Do for You
As a lawyer who represents employees, I primarily do three things: 1) I advise clients, 2) I advocate for them, and 3) I help them resolve their problems. Each can be significant and greatly beneficial to former employees. Advise After being terminated, to be successful, you must have a forward-looking approach as you determine the next steps for your life and career. You must adapt financially and decide whether to look for work … [Read more...]
