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As the pandemic continues, so do the work-related disparities
April 26th, 2021
A recent Gallup survey examined how the ongoing pandemic has affected work opportunities in the past year. Like other aspects of life, the pandemic has increased and aggravated existing inequalities when it comes to employment-related matters. For ex…
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Categories: Blog
State attorneys general step up and expand enforcement efforts
September 5th, 2020
In multiple ways since January 2017, as has been discussed here previously, the politically appointed leadership at the United States Department of Labor, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board,…
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Minnesota Supreme Court expands civil rights protections in 2 additional rulings
August 1st, 2020
In Fletcher Properties, Inc. v. City of Minneapolis, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that an anti-discrimination ordinance adopted by Minneapolis does not violate either the equal protection or due process provisions of the Minnesota Constitution.…
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Categories: Blog
United States and Minnesota Supreme Courts issue landmark decisions favoring employees and promoting the public interest
July 1st, 2020
In Bostock v. Clayton County, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the main Federal civil rights statute governing the workplace, Title VII, makes it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The United States Supr…
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Categories: Blog
Trump administration continues to eliminate work protections – but advocates for workplace fairness fight back
March 16th, 2020
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) once again and recently changed its standard to favor employers over employees. Specifically, the NLRB adopted a new rule to make it more difficult to prove that affiliated companies share culpability f…
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Categories: Blog
2019 was a good year for large corporations, but not so much for employees
December 26th, 2019
The year began with the impact of the Trump Administration’s tax “reform” becoming clear. This legislation has amounted to one of the largest redistributions of wealth in the country’s history, giving a windfall to large corporations and extr…
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Categories: Blog
As workplace unfairness and economic inequality increase, union support surges
November 1st, 2019
Although the field for the Democratic Party nomination remains large and includes a number of so-called centrist candidates, the field almost uniformly supports progressive policies to address the unfairness and inequality intensifying with each pass…
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Categories: Blog
Slim Supreme Court majority again uses arbitration clauses to thwart robust enforcement of workplace rights
May 1st, 2019
Five Justices of the Supreme Court reversed both the District Court and the Court of Appeals in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela to rule that the right to pursue class action claims through arbitration must be clear. In Lamps Plus, an employee (Mr. Frank V…
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Categories: Blog
Trump’s DOL and NLRB continue to pursue policies that evidently favor corporations over people
April 9th, 2019
For starters, a little context is in order. During the Obama Administration, both the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) reinforced the legal standard for proving that two supposedly sepa…
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Categories: Blog
Minnesota Supreme Court overrules itself to declare that workers compensation law no longer bars civil rights claims in the workplace
March 4th, 2019
In Daniel v. City of Minneapolis, the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed course and rejected the legal standard established 30 years ago under employment law in Karst v. F.C. Hayer Co., 447 N.W.2d 180 (Minn. 1989). Before Daniel, and for the past 3 dec…
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Categories: Blog