More than half a year has passed since COVID 19 came to America and changed so much about our lives, and courts already have seen hundreds if not thousands of cases related to the disease. To date, however, while legislation has addressed things like paycheck protection, enhanced unemployment benefits, and COVID-related time off, courts have issued only a few rulings on some of the most important employment law issues raised by the disease. … [Read more...]
What to do if You’re Experiencing Workplace Bullying, Harassment, or Discrimination?
Bullying and harassment in the workplace are issues for a significant number of employees, with surveys revealing incidence rates between 9.4% and 28% for U.S. workers. Bullying may occur between co-workers or between a manager and a subordinate. Bullying may include repetitive and frequent harassing behavior such as derogatory remarks, verbal or physical threats, humiliating or demeaning insults, intimidation tactics, inappropriate jokes at … [Read more...]
Can My Employer Require Me to Come to Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Some Minnesotans are concerned about working in an office or service industry workplace during COVID-19. They’ve asked our team of employment law attorneys whether their employer can require them to come in for their shift even if they’re feeling unsafe because of the Coronavirus. Your employer can never require you to work in an unsafe environment, and that includes during a pandemic. Furthermore, the pandemic does not abolish employees’ … [Read more...]
Proving Promotion and Hiring Discrimination
Discrimination litigation typically involves challenges to termination decisions, harassment/hostile work environments, or compensation decisions. There are far fewer reported cases alleging discrimination in promotion or hiring decisions. That’s not because bias less frequently infects promotion and hiring decisions. Rather, it’s because courts have erected hurdles to successfully proving discrimination in these cases. It’s also because … [Read more...]
5 Types of Modern-Day Workplace Discrimination
Federal and state laws prohibit employers from discriminating against a job applicant or an employee because of the individual’s race, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), age, or disability. These five types of workplace discrimination are described in more detail below. Race Discrimination in Minnesota Race discrimination involves treating an individual unfavorably because he or she is … [Read more...]
