On August 20, 2024, a Texas federal court struck down the Federal Trade Commission’s final rule that banned noncompete agreements nationwide. Noncompete agreements generally prevent separated employees from working for a competitor. The FTC’s final rule was scheduled to take effect on September 4. If that would have happened, the rule would have: (1) prevented employers from forcing their employees to enter into noncompete agreements; (2) … [Read more...]
MHRA 2024 Amendments: Expanding Protections and Rights for Minnesota Workers
While almost all states provide some sort of protection for workers belonging to a protected class (whether age, sex, race, disability, or other characteristic), the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) offers some of the strongest protections for workers in the country. The MHRA is one of the key tools that the employment attorneys at Schaefer Halleen have to hold employers accountable—and it just got stronger. On May 15, 2024, … [Read more...]
Should I Take a New Job While Being Paid a Severance?
When an employee is laid off or enters into a separation agreement, they will often be offered severance payments from their former employer. These severance payments, which are essentially salary/wage replacement, are either paid out as a lump sum or over the severance period—whether the period is two weeks or two years. When employees find themselves in this situation, a common question they have is whether they will have to repay the … [Read more...]
Potential Damages in a Wrongful Termination Case
If you are in the unfortunate position of being wrongfully terminated, a natural question is: what damages am I entitled to? Fortunately, state and federal laws, including those in Minnesota, offer extensive damages to individuals who prove they were wrongfully terminated. Back Pay and Front Pay The first bucket of damages is damages for lost compensation. Almost all state and federal laws allow you to recover your wage loss, which can take … [Read more...]
Are Confidentiality and Nondisparagement Clauses Enforceable?
In exchange for providing an employee with severance or separation pay, employers commonly require that an employee not disparage the company after the employee’s exit and that the employee keep the terms of the agreement confidential. If an employee speaks badly about the company despite the existence of a nondisparagement clause or tells others about how much severance he or she received, the employee exposes him or herself to … [Read more...]
