Minneapolis Wrongful Termination Law Blog

Those in Minneapolis who are hunting for a job may face a long road ahead of them. Sometimes it takes many job applications and several interviews before a person lands the job they've been looking for. Those who have a disability may be fearful that they won't be hired due to their disability. However, per the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), employers cannot engage in disability discrimination against qualified job applicants with a disability.

What is important to remember, though, is that job applicants with a disability must still be able to meet the job requirements and perform the "essential functions" of the job if they're provided with "reasonable accommodations" that do not cause an employer to experience an "undue hardship." Employers do not have to hire applicants who cannot perform the essential functions of the job even if the applicant is provided with a reasonable accommodation, but employers cannot refuse to hire a qualified applicant with a disability if the disability only prevents the applicant form performing minor duties that are not considered essential to the position.

Sexual harassment was a concern in every workplace in Minnesota and across the nation. The social media attention paid to "me too" with the hashtag to emphasize it has had an impact on how women are treated in terms of reducing sexual harassment. Because these behaviors can be so damaging to a person's job and career and there is often fear of coming forward, any tactics to reduce its frequency are welcome. However, although research indicates there has been an improvement, there have been side effects to the increased scrutiny on sexual harassment. When there has been any level of mistreatment at work, sexual harassment or otherwise, having legal advice is key to decide how to proceed.

A study recently published regarding the me to movement says that workers have seen a reduction in unwanted sexual attention and being sexually coerced while working. In the study, 250 women were surveyed in 2016 and again in 2018. For the first survey, 25 percent said they had been subject to sexual coercion in 2016. By 2018, that reduced to 16 percent. Regarding undesired sexual attention, that went from 66 percent to 25 percent. This is undeniably positive. Still, there were other issues that could be problematic. Gender harassment has gotten worse.

When you're living in America, the expectation is that you can practice any religion freely and be free from persecution as a result of the religion you choose. This also applies to the workplace.

Religious discrimination is fairly easy to understand: It means discriminating against a person based on their religious beliefs. That can mean treating both an employee or an applicant unfairly based on their religious preferences.

While areas of employment disputes and complaints like sexual harassment, discrimination and other violations are getting significant attention in Minnesota and across the nation, one of the most common reasons for a legal complaint is still wage discrimination and wage theft. When workers are not paid what they are owed or do not get the benefits they are entitled to, they have the right to seek a legal resolution with help from an experienced employment law firm.

A new law that recently went into effect in the state sets out to hold companies responsible for not paying their workers and with it, construction workers are seeking wages they were not paid. The law became effective on July 1. The number of state investigators that examine allegations of wage theft has doubled. There will be a rise in investigations and the penalties for employer violations are more severe.