Newsroom

Posted August 12, 2016

To Truly Ensure Equal Pay, Employers Must Start from a Blank Page

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 June 21, 2016

FAA Releases Finalized Operational Rules for Small Commercial Drones

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 6, 2016

Building an “All-Terrain” Drug and Alcohol Testing Employment Process

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

A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing – Undressing the Consumer Fraud Class Action to Reveal the Hidden Product Liability Claim

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 …

Posted May 17, 2016

Creative Solutions for Employers to Navigate Overtime Pay Changes

The new rules will undoubtedly cause many employees who have traditionally been paid a regular salary to transition to hourly employees with overtime (much to their chagrin). However, careful planning may avoid this pitfall. Employers who want to continue to pay employees falling below the new DOL threshold on a salary basis should be aware of two lesser-known methods of maintaining a compensation plan akin to a traditional salary for non-exempt employees.

Posted May 13, 2016

Newly Enacted Defend Trade Secrets Act Gives Non-Compete Claims a Federal Forum

Unlike most intellectual property matters, which are protected by federal law, trade secrets have historically been the domain of states. However, new provisions to the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) – just signed into law May 11 by President Obama - signal an important change to this landscape. By providing a federal civil action to protect trade secrets, these new provisions, which take effect immediately, create significant new possibilities for the enforceability of employer/employee agreements.

Posted May 3, 2016

Courtney Blanchard Joins Nilan Johnson Lewis’ Labor and Employment Practice

Blanchard complements her legal training and experience with strong writing skills she honed during a prior career as a court and legislative reporter in several markets.

Posted April 18, 2016

Nilan Johnson Lewis Once Again Recognized Among Top Law Firms for Female Attorneys by Law360

Nilan Johnson Lewis is proud to rank near the top on both of the Glass Ceiling Report lists: ninth on the list for best law firms for female attorneys, and 10th on the list of the best law firms for female partners. This is the second consecutive year in which Nilan Johnson Lewis has ranked highly on both lists.

Posted April 13, 2016

Appeals Court Ruling Shines Light on CGL Insurance’s Applicability for Data Breaches

The Fourth Circuit just affirmed a Virginia district court ruling that Travelers Indemnity Company of America had a duty to defend a class action brought against Portal Healthcare Solutions, LLC under a cyber liability insurance policy providing coverage for the electronic publication of certain materials. The breach allegation of the class action claim in Travelers Indem. Co. of America v. Portal Healthcare Solutions, LLC was that due to a security failure, the wrong security setting was selected on a web access portal allowing normal search engines to scoop up not only the login page as a search result, but also the underlying sub-pages containing medical records. Members of Portal Healthcare used the web access portal to not only log into their account, but also click to review their medical records.

Posted April 7, 2016

Safety Rules for Small Drones Prepare for Lift-off

As businesses anxiously await final rules from the FAA governing commercial drone use, the Micro Unmanned Aircraft Systems’ Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) released an important report on April 6, 2016, that laid out specific safety recommendations related to the FAA’s proposed rules for small drones under 55 pounds.

Posted April 7, 2016

Nilan Johnson Lewis Named Leadership Award Winner by Minnesota Women Lawyers for Third Time

Nilan Johnson Lewis is pleased to announce that it has been named the 2016 Leadership Award recipient by Minnesota Women Lawyers (MWL), in recognition of the firm’s efforts to enhance the status, influence, and effectiveness of its female attorneys.

Posted April 1, 2016 with Tags Kate Andresen

Nilan Johnson Lewis Welcomes Shareholder Katheryn Andresen

Kate brings more than 20 years of experience of information technology law, eCommerce law, intellectual property, and corporate law to the firm.

Posted April 1, 2016 with Tags Sarah Didrikson

Sarah Didrikson Elected President of the Association of Legal Administrators, Minnesota Chapter

Nilan Johnson Lewis’ Applications and Database Manager Sarah Didrikson has been elected president of the Association of Legal Administrators, Minnesota Chapter (ALAMN). Didrikson’s term began April 1, 2016, and ends March 31, 2017.

Posted March 24, 2016

Labor Department Signficantly Reduces Allowable Levels of Silica Dust in Work Sites

On March 24, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor released new rules significantly reducing the allowance of workplace exposure to silica. Silica is a potentially harmful mineral found in materials commonly located in construction and hydraulic fracking sites.

Posted March 11, 2016

Supreme Court: ERISA Preempts State Health Care Reporting Requirements in 18 States

The Supreme Court decided this month that a Vermont law requiring health insurers and other entities to provide regular reports to the state—including health insurance claims and enrollment—impermissibly interferes with the uniform recordkeeping scheme established by ERISA and is therefore preempted.

Posted February 8, 2016

Minnesota Business Magazine Highlights NJL’s Majority Female Board

Nilan Johnson Lewis Shareholder Sheila Kerwin discussed and shared the firm’s view on the importance of supporting female attorneys with Minnesota Business Magazine, as the firm recently announced that two female attorneys were elected to its board of directors, making it 60% majority female.

Posted January 26, 2016

Nilan Johnson Lewis’ Board of Directors Now Predominantly Female

With the election of two shareholders to the board of directors, the leadership team at Nilan Johnson Lewis is now majority female. The Minneapolis-based law firm elected shareholders Susan Kratz and Christy Mennen to join fellow shareholders Sheila Kerwin, founder Brian Johnson, and current president Stephen Warch to serve on the board.

Posted January 21, 2016

Supreme Court: ERISA Plan’s Equitable Lien Cannot Be Enforced Against Plan Participant’s Separate Assets

In an 8 to 1 decision, the Supreme Court held that a subrogation lien set forth in the benefit plan cannot be enforced in equity under section 502(a)(3) of ERISA against a plan participant's separate assets—those funds that exist outside a specified fund.

Posted January 1, 2016

Nilan Johnson Lewis Announces Its 2016 Board of Directors

Nilan Johnson Lewis is pleased to announce its 2016 board of directors. Newly elected shareholders Susan Kratz and Christy Mennen join fellow shareholders Sheila Kerwin, founder Brian Johnson, and current president Stephen Warch. The election of Kratz and Mennen makes the board of directors majority female.

Posted December 18, 2015

EEOC’s Attack on Severance Agreements Rejected by U.S. Court of Appeals

In a result that will likely be viewed as an important victory for employers, the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the EEOC’s landmark lawsuit against CVS Pharmacy Inc.