Posted March 28, 2017
The days of the “company man” are seemingly over. Employees are changing jobs faster and more often, and that means their knowledge – and potential trade secrets – are leaving with them. In response, employers are using non-competes more and …
Posted March 23, 2017
In a case of first impression, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that “an employee who cannot sit for more than four hours in an eight-hour workday cannot perform ‘sedentary’ work that requires ‘sitting most of the time.’” …
Posted March 13, 2017
With cities like San Francisco and Seattle adopting predictive scheduling ordinances, should employers consider implementing strategies to get ahead of the growing trend? According to employment law attorneys from the Minneapolis-based Nilan Johnson Lewis, employers who choose to adopt flexible …
Posted March 7, 2017
As more states pass stronger pay equity laws, employers need to be proactive about evaluating their practices. Recent laws passed in California, New York, Massachusetts, and Maryland, have expanded upon the federal pay equity laws to allow employees to more …
Posted February 9, 2017
Recent demonstrations highlight a significant passion for expressing dissent and opposition to the Trump administration and its public policy positions. Given the dramatic increase in queries we have received from our clients around permitted political activities, a review of the relevant limitations imposed by federal regulations on charities (organizations described in Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3)) seems timely.
Posted January 17, 2017
In its statement, FAA administrator Michael Huerta indicated that the agency is attempting to balance industry needs with safety and privacy concerns related to drone flights over people. However, the FAA promises to continue to move forward on this effort, recognizing its importance to many industries.
Posted January 16, 2017
The specific question at issue before the Court in all three cases is whether the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which provides that employees have a right to engage in “concerted activities” for mutual aid or protection, trumps the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and its express policy in favor of arbitration.
Posted January 11, 2017
Could health insurers leave the commercial market before the end of their plan year? The question has become relevant in light of recent court proceedings (House v. Burwell) involving the Affordable Care Act. The federal government currently pays insurers to subsidize health coverage in what is known as cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments.
Posted December 12, 2016
On November 28, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump nominated current House Budget Chair Representative Tom Price for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Price introduced an Affordable Care Act (ACA) replacement plan in 2015 entitled the “Empowering Patients First Act” (EPFA). EPFA suggests extensive healthcare reform applicable to payors in both the public and private sectors. Upon his nomination for HHS Secretary, Price promised that the impending healthcare reform overhaul would bear significant resemblance to his 2015 proposal, which ran on a two-year implementation timeline. While Congress will present the ultimate reform initiative to Price to implement in his new role, Price’s past healthcare reform efforts, both via EPFA and other congressional activities, are likely to help shape the final decisions.
Posted December 1, 2016
Hospital boards have a thousand moving pieces to watch. Boards are not supposed to understand the day-to-day operations of the hospital collection process. Rather, hospital boards are charged with ensuring that policies, processes and people are in place so that the hospital is in compliance with the rules, laws and agreements governing the collection of patient debt.
Posted November 23, 2016
On November 17, 2016, Judge William Conley of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin issued an opinion and order addressing rarely litigated procedural defenses to CPSA enforcement actions. The case, United States of America v. Spectrum Brands, Inc., No. 15-cv-371-wmc, involves allegations that Spectrum Brands, Inc. (“Spectrum”) violated the reporting requirements under section 15(b) of the CPSA by failing to immediately notify the CPSC of a potential defect in one of Spectrum’s coffee pot carafes that may pose a significant product hazard. The decision will be closely analyzed by product manufacturers, retailers, and legal practitioners alike, both because federal courts rarely issue opinions in CPSC enforcement actions and because Judge Conley roundly rejected Spectrum’s numerous procedural defenses.
Posted September 21, 2016
In its first-ever regional X-PORT Challenge, UPS—together with Nilan Johnson Lewis, InBIA and others—will offer services valued at more than $29,000 to business contestants residing in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.
Posted August 24, 2016
On Aug. 22, 2016, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Morris v. Ernst & Young LLP, joining the 7th Circuit in holding that arbitration agreements precluding all forms of collective or representative actions are unenforceable because they are illegal under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Morris deepens a circuit split that already existed between, on one hand, the 7th Circuit and, on the other, the 2nd, 5th and 8th Circuits, all of which concluded that compulsory individualized arbitration is permissible.
Posted August 12, 2016
Despite the Equal Pay Act being passed in 1963, which requires equal pay for equal work and prohibits gender-based compensation discrepancies, the overall wage gap in America persists, with women making on average 77 cents for every dollar men make.
Posted July 5, 2016
Eleven attorneys from NJL have been selected to the 2016 Minnesota Super Lawyers list. Seven attorneys from NJL have been selected to the 2016 Minnesota Rising Stars list.
Posted June 24, 2016
Though employees may bring a claim for age-based discrimination against their employer under the Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA) without an expressly discriminatory policy in place, the question remains whether job applicants are allowed to do so under the same disparate impact theory of liability. This issue will be examined in late June 2016 by the 11th Circuit Court when they convene for a rehearing of Villarreal v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The answer was clear and decidedly in favor of employers until November 30, 2015, when a divided panel of the 11th Circuit ruled otherwise.
Posted June 21, 2016
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finalized the much-anticipated rules for commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or drones). The rules were initially proposed in February 2015 and will now take effect in late August 2016. At that time, companies – ranging from real estate companies wanting to take aerial photography of properties to organizations wishing to inspect inventory or utilities – will no longer need to apply for an FAA Section 333 exemption for routine commercial drone use as long as their operations comply with the new rules.
Posted June 7, 2016
Revisions to the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“MHRA”) enacted at the end of the just-completed legislative session are intended to provide businesses with additional protection against the recent trend of “drive-by” disability discrimination lawsuits – threats of litigation designed to pressure businesses, often small businesses, to agree to make early cash payoffs rather than face the cost of protracted lawsuits.
Posted June 6, 2016
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently ruled that the Minnesota Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (DATWA) has a multi-state reach and its requirements apply to employees of Minnesota-based employers who work in other states.
Posted June 1, 2016 with Tags Consumer Class Actions, Consumer Fraud, Products Liability
Republished with permission. Originally published in FDCC Insights, June 2016. Introduction In 2015, our firm was hired to defend a manufacturer in a consumer fraud class action lawsuit filed in federal court in Minneapolis. As we analyzed the complaint, one …
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