Posted March 6, 2020
NYC Employers: Watch For Proposed NYC Legislation Limiting the Use of AI in Hiring
New York City is considering proposed legislation that would regulate the use of artificial intelligence in hiring.
Newsroom
Posted March 4, 2020 with Tags Minnesota Tip-Pooling, Minnesota Tip Statute, Restaurants, Minnesota Restaurants
Minnesota Restaurateurs: Fix Your Tip Pools Before You’re Hit with a Tip-Pooling Class Action Lawsuit
Restaurants are getting hit with tip-pooling class action lawsuits. Now is the time to audit your practices, or, at the very least, review your tip pooling policies. This is especially important for Minnesota restaurateurs, as they face the difficult challenge of complying with the state’s unique tip-pooling statute—which is unlike federal laws and those of other states. Restaurants can make specific changes now to meet the law’s requirements and avoid class action litigation.
Posted March 2, 2020 with Tags Employers, COVID-19, COVID-19 for Employers
Employers and Coronavirus: A Brief Guide
The circumstances surrounding COVID-19 (commonly referred to as the “coronavirus”) are unfolding each day. Currently, there is no evidence of widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the U.S. Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advise that most American workers are at a low risk of contracting coronavirus absent sustained human-to-human transmission with infected travelers from abroad or other close contact with infected persons. Nonetheless, as individuals take steps to prepare for a potential outbreak, employers must also prepare for the possibility of a workforce impacted by an outbreak of COVID-19. There are several legal issues to consider.
Posted March 2, 2020
Charting a Safe Course into Equal Pay “Safe Harbors”
The rising tide of state pay equity legislation shows no sign of abating, with several new laws set to become effective in 2020 and 2021. Many of these laws differ from the federal Equal Pay Act by defining comparable work more broadly, limiting the factors on which employers can rely to justify pay disparities, and imposing additional penalties. A handful of the laws also attempt to balance these new burdens on employers by creating “safe harbors” for those who proactively assess and address their pay gaps.
Posted March 1, 2020
A Brief History of the Start-Stop-Start-Stop of the Revised EEO-1 Report
Check out this 2-minute video on what's going on with EEO-1 reporting.
Posted February 28, 2020
Minnesota to Ban All Non-Competes and Non-Solicits?
The Minnesota legislature is currently considering HF 3673, which purports to ban all non-compete agreements with all employees, and may also ban all customer non-solicit and non-disclosure agreements. The language of the bill—which currently has 30 co-sponsors—is confusing and internally contradictory, so its progress through the legislative process warrants close watching.
Posted February 26, 2020
NJL Names Pablo Orozco as Leadership Council on Legal Diversity Fellow
Nilan Johnson Lewis has chosen shareholder Pablo Orozco to be a member of the 2020 class of Fellows, participating in a landmark program created by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) to identify, train, and advance the next generation …
Posted February 14, 2020
California Employers: CA Supreme Court Takes Aim at Wage Laws, Contradicts Federal Law
California wage laws have taken another alarming departure from federal standards. The highest state court recently held in Frlekin v. Apple that non-exempt employees must be paid for the time their bags and personal belongings are inspected before leaving the office. According to the California Supreme Court, that time is compensable even though the employees brought the items voluntarily and for their own benefit. The determinative question for the court was whether they remained under the employer’s control during inspection time.
Posted February 6, 2020
What Companies Should Know About CCPA
The California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) went into effect January 1, 2020, though the enforcement of the CCPA is delayed until July 1, 2020. The obligations set forth below will apply to all parties; however, the application to B2B or employer/employee situations are delayed for implementation until 2021. In the implementing regulations, the California Attorney General had hoped to provide clarity to CCPA, but there remain ambiguities.
Posted January 28, 2020
Recent IoT Class Actions Highlight Need for Manufacturers & Vendors of Connected Products to Be Aware of Liability Risks
The Internet of Things (IoT) products have become a way of life. There are huge benefits of “smart” products, which interact through the internet to gather and exchange data to provide additional functions, security, and easy use for consumers. These “smart” products are present in our everyday lives, including such standard products as refrigerators, watches, fire alarms, door locks, security systems, and fitness trackers. These are only a few examples of the many IoT products on the market today. However, in spite of the significant benefits provided by connected products, the new technology raises thorny legal issues and is leading to litigation.
Posted January 7, 2020
Adding More Deep Expertise, Nilan Johnson Lewis Welcomes Largest Group of Laterals in History, Promotes Experienced Associates to Shareholders
Minnesota law firm Nilan Johnson Lewis (NJL) announces it has added four new attorneys and promoted three attorneys to shareholder, effective immediately. The additions represent the firm's largest acquisition of talent in its history and brings its employee count to 56 attorneys and 36 other professionals.
Posted December 23, 2019
Private Foundation Tax Simplified and Lowered
On Friday, December 20, 2019, President Trump signed a $1.4 trillion spending package that included simplification of the taxes paid by private foundations.
Posted December 23, 2019
Nonprofit Parking Tax Is Repealed as Part of Government Spending Bill
It is a December miracle: late on Friday, December 20, 2019, President Trump signed a $1.4 trillion spending package that included the repeal of the nonprofit parking tax!
Posted December 18, 2019
Federal Courts Turn Away Challenges to FDA’s e-Cig Regulations
On Monday, December 16, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi granted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by trade organization United States Vaping Association and Big Time Vapes, Inc., a vape store in Mississippi, challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authority to regulate e-cigarettes.
Posted December 6, 2019
ABA Opines on Lawyer Non-competes, But Does It Apply to In-House Counsel?
The American Bar Association just issued an opinion about what lawyers and law firms can and should do when lawyers move from one firm to another. A key point of the opinion is that, according to the ABA, “ethics rules do not allow non-competition clauses in partnership, member, shareholder, or employment agreements” among attorneys. Remember, though, that these rules may not be the ultimate authority in the in-house counsel context.
Posted December 5, 2019
Minneapolis Wage Theft Update: Sample Wage Notice & Updated Poster
The Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights has now issued an Example Prehire Notice and an updated Notice Poster informing employees of their rights under the Ordinance.
Posted November 6, 2019
Allyson Petersen, Pharaoh Lewis Featured in MSBA’s Profiles in Practice
Two Nilan Johnson Lewis associates - Allyson Petersen and Pharaoh Lewis - were recently featured in the Minnesota State Bar Association's (MSBA) Profiles in Practice, a showcase of Hennepin County attorneys with diverse and distinguished careers.
Posted November 4, 2019
Nilan Johnson Lewis Hires New Associate, Mai Lee Yang
Minneapolis law firm Nilan Johnson Lewis announces it has added Mai Lee Yang as an associate, effective immediately. Yang brings more than five years of legal services experience to the firm. Her practice has focused on assisting health care companies, providers, insurers and plans, as well as medical device manufacturers, clinical laboratories and other clients with compliance and transaction needs involving federal and state laws, regulations and sub-regulatory guidance.
Posted November 1, 2019
Free Speech or Belligerence? NLRB Reassessing the Threshold for When Otherwise Protected Activity Crosses the Line
For employees boisterously raising employment-related concerns on behalf of a larger group, when might their words or actions be so hostile or offensive that they lose the protections of federal labor law? The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) hopes to shed new light on this issue soon, as its open-comment period on the subject closes in November.
Posted October 29, 2019
Can Donors Control How A Charitable Endowment is Used? MN Court of Appeals Concludes No
A recent Minnesota Court of Appeals decision affirmed that funds like endowment funds, held by charitable organizations, will generally be considered gifts and not contracts.