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...]
Understanding Mental Health Disabilities
By Lawrence P. Schaefer | An article in the Minnesota Star Tribune today reported that the Minnesota Health Action Group, a consortium of Minnesota business leaders, called on fellow employers to upgrade their employee benefits packages and “workplace attitudes” to improve the treatment of depression and reduce the state’s rising suicide rate. We are in the midst of a growing mental health treatment crisis in this country, and it is … [Read more...]
The Effect of Implicit Bias in the Workplace
By Lawrence P. Schaefer | I’m very privileged to have been asked by Minnesota Lawyer’s Mutual to facilitate a panel discussion on July 16th on “implicit bias,” where vignettes involving indulgence of subtle bias will be portrayed by local actors to help the defense bar understand how implicit bias works. I’ve ben told I’m the first “plaintiffs lawyer” asked to present to this group of defense lawyers. The subject of implicit bias is … [Read more...]
Understating Mental Health and Related Diagnosis in Disability Cases
By Lawrence P. Schaefer I moderated and led a panel discussion on “Continuing Developments in Disability Litigation: The impact of Mental Health Diagnosis on Accommodation and Related Issues Cutting Edge ADA Issues in Litigation” at the May 19-20, 2014, Annual Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute in St. Paul. This presentation focused on the huge growth of mental health-related disability cases in recent years, how these cases have been … [Read more...]
Employees with Disabilities: Rights & Guidelines to Know During the Application Process
By Peter Christian Recognizing the value of individuals with disabilities in the workforce, state and federal government have recently taken action to remove barriers to employment. For example, this summer, Gov. Mark Dayton signed a directive ordering state agencies to increase hiring of people with disabilities to at least 7% of the state government workforce by August 2018 (up from less than 4% in 2013). Similarly, President Obama signed the … [Read more...]
