Both U.S. and Minnesota law require employers with more than fifteen employees to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled workers, but the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“MHRA”) provisions aren’t identical, and the differences can be important. Procedurally, a plaintiff must file a federal claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) or the Minnesota Department of … [Read more...]
God, The Supreme Court, and LGBTQ Employment Rights
Over the last few years, state laws allowing discrimination against LGBTQ people have sprouted up like toxic mushrooms after a foul storm. Legislatures in all but three states have at least considered anti-LGBTQ bills since 2020. Almost 240 were proposed in the first three months of 2022 alone, up from about 200 for all of 2021. In 2018, there were fewer than 50. The proposed laws would exclude LGBTQ issues from school curricula, allow … [Read more...]
Pitfalls in Physician Contracts
Medicine is a unique profession; a life and death calling for many doctors, but for most also a hard-nosed business with little margin for error. Physician contracts reflect the profession’s special status, and the conflicting pressures on employers who want to attract and keep top talent, but also want to pay as little, and retain as much termination autonomy as possible. Especially for younger doctors about to take their first real job, … [Read more...]
Take the Jab or Lose Your Job – Can Employers Force Employees to Get Vaccinated?
The Covid-19 Delta variant has put a big crimp in pandemic recovery, and driven many employers to require employees to get vaccinated. To the extent reasonably possible, employers must accommodate those who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons, and those who won’t for religious reasons, but the bottom line may often come down to jab versus job. Is that legal? The answer, pretty much, is yes, at least in most states. The Equal Employment … [Read more...]
LGBTQ and Religious Freedom in the Workplace
Just over a year ago, on June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision making it unequivocally clear that under federal law employers cannot discriminate based on the sexual orientation or transgender status of an employee or prospective employee. It is impossible, Justice Gorsuch wrote in Bostock v. Clayton County, “to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that … [Read more...]
