Performance and Discipline

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A distinguishing characteristic of employment discrimination claims in their short statute of limitations – for Minnesota Human Rights Act claims the statute is only 12 months. Defamation claims are two years and tort and breach of contract claims are six years, so a one year limitation period is very favorable to employers. Doubtless, the Minnesota…

Employees will on occasion negligently perform their duties and as a consequence can often be discharged. But what about any damages caused by their negligence? Who pays the bill for that?
This issue was recently decided by the Minnesota Court of Appeals which held that the employer was not allowed to seek damage payment from…

All Minnesota Employers are statutorily obligated to provide employees, “the right to be absent from work for the time necessary to appear at the employee’s polling place, cast a ballot and return to work” without a pay or PTO deduction or any direct or indirect interference.  Minn. Stat. §204C.04. This applies to any time of…

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which held that an employer acted unlawfully by firing an employee who threatened a co-worker.
In Nichols Aluminum LLC v. NLRB, the employer fired an employee for making a threat to a co-worker shortly after the…

“Free Speech,” or “First Amendment Rights,” is a fundamental concept of modern society, but in the employment context, it has its limitations.
First and foremost, an employee of a private corporation cannot assert that restrictions on the employee’s verbal and non-verbal conduct violate his or her First Amendment rights.  That is for the simple reason…

Yes – according to an administrative law judge for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), racist and profane comments made during union picketing qualify as protected concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
In Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., the employer and the union reached impasse during collective bargaining, and the employer…

No – the Colorado Supreme Court recently held that because medical marijuana remains illegal under federal law, an employee’s off-duty use of prescribed medical marijuana was not protected by the state’s lawful activity statute.
In Coats v. Dish Network, the employer fired an employee who tested positive for marijuana after using medical marijuana during…