There are many different types of contracts that arise in employment relationships.  Sometimes when you start a new job, your employer may ask you to sign an employment contract.  Usually the contract will set forth your compensation, benefits, and duties.  It may also include confidentiality or non-compete provisions.  Confidentiality provisions are usually designed to protect what are called trade secrets.  They may also provide that anything you design or develop while working for your employer belongs to that employer.  A non-compete provision is a little different.  It prevents you from competing with your employer after you leave it.  In order to be valid, the provision must be limited in time, scope, and geographic area.

Separation Agreements

Employment relationships end for a number of reasons.  Sometimes everyone parts on good terms; other times, the relationship looks more like a nasty divorce.  Often when an employee is terminated or laid off, he or she will be asked to sign a separation agreement in exchange for severance pay.  Separation agreements usually require the employee to waive any potential claims he or she may have against the employer in exchange for severance pay.  Often they will also include confidentiality or non-compete provisions.  There may also be provisions such as “non-disparagement” clauses that are designed to prevent you from bad-mouthing a prior employer.  Ultimately the agreements usually require an employee to give up some right in exchange for severance pay.

Why hire an attorney?

If you are faced with the loss of your job or are just starting a new job, you may wonder if it is worth it to hire an attorney to review an employment contract.  The answer is yes!  If you are beginning a new job, it is important to have an attorney review your employment contract to determine if it will adequately protect your options if you choose to leave the employer in the future.  You do not want to be in a position where you sign a contract, are unhappy, find the perfect fit in a new job, but can’t start working there for six months because you agreed to a non-compete provision.  Similarly, if you are signing a severance or separation agreement, it is a good idea to have an attorney review it first.  The attorney can help you evaluate whether you have other potential claims against your employer that may make signing a separation agreement unwise.  The attorneys at Twin Cities Law Firm would be happy to evaluate your employment contract.  Contact us today to find out your options.

Whistle-blower statutes, also known as anti-retaliation statutes, provide protection for people who report wrongdoing or file lawful claims.  There are several different kinds of statutes.  One well-known example is that of worker’s compensation.  An employee cannot be terminated for filing a legitimate worker’s compensation claim.  Similarly an employee cannot have her employment terminated for reporting illegal activity to a government authority.  The purpose of such laws is to encourage people to do the right thing without fear of retaliation from employers.

Many of the whistleblower statutes also provide a remedy for employees.  If they believe an employer has taken some adverse action because the employee filed a claim or reported wrongdoing, the employee may be able to take legal action to remedy the situation.  If you think you have suffered some adverse employment decision or been terminated because of whistleblower activities, consider contacting a lawyer.   You can retain the attorneys at Twin Cities Law Firm to investigate a potential claim for you.

The WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) requires employers under certain circumstances to provide 60 days notice prior to closing a plant, initiating mass layoffs, or taking action that results in employment termination for several people.

The act generally applies to employers with more than 100 employees, excluding part time employees or people who have not worked at least 6 of the past 12 months.  The WARN Act requires notice to all level of employees, from hourly to salaried to management, about a potential plant closing or layoffs.

Plant Closing

The act requires at least 60 days advance notice before closing a plant.  The notice requirement is triggered by plant closings, which it defines as an employment loss for 50 or more employees for 30 days or more.  If the employer is going to close a plant, it generally must notify the affected employees as well as local government entities and any unions involved.

Mass Layoffs

An employer also must give notice before a mass layoff.  A mass layoff involves the employment loss of over 500 employees for 30 days or more, or for 50-499 employees for 30 days or more if the number of employees represents at least 33% of the total workforce.

The law considers an employment loss as either termination of employment or a layoff of six months or more.  It also includes a reduction in hours of 50% or more for six months.  There are some exceptions when an employer is not required to give notice.  The exceptions depend on the particular factual circumstances at issue.

Violations

If your employer fails to follow the requirements of the WARN Act, you may be entitled to back pay and benfits for up to 60 days.  If you bring a claim under the WARN Act, the court may also award damages that include your attorney’s fees.  That is at the discretion of the district court.

If you have suffered employment loss and believe your employer failed to comply with the requirements of the WARN Act, you can hire the lawyers at Twin Cities Law Firm to investigate your options.

• Employee is incorrectly categorized as exempt from overtime pay.  One example from the legal field is paralegals.  Many law firms argued that they have the type of specialized training and duties that make them exempt from overtime pay.  The Department of Labor has issued opinions that paralegals and legal assistants are not exempt from overtime pay, however.  Incorrect classification is a common occurrence in other industires as well, such as mortgage and banking.
• Employee did not have permission to work overtime.  Generally your employer cannot refuse to pay you overtime just because you did not have advance permission to complete the work.
• Employee is salaried.  Just because you are paid a salary rather than on an hourly basis, that does not mean you are exempt from overtime.  It depends on the details of your work based on specific guidelines set by statute.
• Employee is misclassified as an independent contractor.  A true independent contractor is probably not entitled to overtime pay.  Sometimes employers will call employees independent contractors to avoid overtime and other expenses, but the relationship is really one of employer/employee.
• Employee is reclassified as non-exempt.  If your employer changes your classification from exempt to non-exempt, you may be entitled to recover up to two years of overtime pay if you were misclassified as exempt.
• Employee falls below the minimum salary.  If you earn less than $455 per week, you are automatically entitled to overtime protection.
• Employee is required to work off the clock.  Often employees have to set up before beginning work or clean up after work.  You are generally entitled to credit for that time as working time.

An attorney can help you evaluate whether you have a claim for overtime wages.  Keep in mind that there are strict time limits for filing a claim for overtime wages.  You can hire the attorneys at Twin Cities Law Firm today to investigate whether you have a claim.

Pregnancy itself can be an exciting, stressful, overwhelming experience.  It also creates added stress for working women who have to decide how to tell their employer they are expecting and coordinate maternity leave.  What happens when your employer is less than accommodating to your exciting news?

Federal law provides that an employer cannot discriminate against employees because they are pregnant.  The law treats pregnancy as a medical condition: it must be treated the same way as other medical conditions with similar employment effects.  Your employer must treat a pregnant woman the same way it treats anyone else who has a medical condition that may require missing work.  The key requirement is consistency.

Can my employer require me to stop working because I am pregnant?

Generally no.  Even if your employment conditions could be deemed dangerous to the fetus, your employer cannot force you to quit.  It once again becomes a matter of consistency - your employer cannot treat you differently than it would anyone else just because you are expecting.

Can my employer require a certain amount of notice of my pregnancy?

If you will be taking leave, you have to follow the notice requirements set by your employer.  Generally those requirements should be the same for anyone taking a family or medical leave.  The notice requirements cannot differ based on the reason for the leave.  For example, your employer cannot require 90 days notice of a pregnancy leave and only 30 days notice to care for an ailing parent.

How do I prove a pregnancy discrimination claim?

Pregnancy discrimination claims are generally proven through circumstantial evidence, just as any other discrimination claim is proven.  The facts of pregnancy discrimination cases are often very similar: an employee receives glowing reviews until she announces she is expecting.  Suddenly her performance is heavily criticized and she is told that if she doesn’t improve she’ll be fired.  Make sure you ask a lot of questions about the alleged problems with your performance and document everything.  If you think something is fishy, it is important to keep track of your concerns and how your employer addressed them.  That circumstantial evidence will be important if you decide to pursue a claim.

What do I do if I was the victim of pregnancy discrimination?

There are procedures you must follow to preserve your claim.  There are also strict timelines for such claims.   The attorneys at Twin Cities Law Firm can be retained to investigate whether you have a discrimination claim.

Often times people are afraid to seek legal advice because they are not sure if they can afford a lawyer.  Legal fees can be significant, depending on the type and complexity of the case involved.  For people who have suffered employment discrimination or who have been wrongfully terminated, the fear of additional expense is a very real concern.  Law firms employ a variety of fee structures to help people obtain representation regardless of their financial background.

Employment Law Cases: Statutory Fees

Legislators have recognized that the cost of bringing a claim may prevent some people from pursuing legitimate discrimination or other employment cases.  As a result, several statutes provide that you are entitled to recover your attorney’s fees in addition to your damages.   If you bring a claim under some federal antidiscrimination laws, reasonable attorney fees are part of your recovery.  See 42 U.S.C. Section 2000e-5(a).  Similarly, if you bring a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act for overtime or other pay claims, you may be entitled to recover your legal fees.

The advantage to this system is that people have access to legal representation without incurring huge legal bills.  If an employee has a claim for $10,000 in unpaid overtime, it would be difficult for the employee to pay $5,000 in legal fees in order to get $10,000 in damages.  The attorney may also struggle to work on contingency fee if the fee does not reflect the amount of work performed to obtain recovery. For an attorney billing $300 an hour, it would only take 10 hours of work to exhaust a 1/3 contingency fee on $10,000.

Courts determine whether the claimed attorney’s fees are reasonable under the statute.  The lawyer usually must show the amount of work performed and the typical hourly rate for performing the work.  This yields the total claim for legal fees.  The judge examines whether the claimed hours are legitimate and if the hourly rate is in line with other attorney’s performing similar work with similar experience in the area.  Statutory attorney’s fees can be an important tool in encouraging employers to settle claims early.  They have little incentive to keep litigating if the amount they have to pay the plaintiff’s attorney continues to grow while their defense does not get any stronger.

Hourly Fees and Retainers

In some cases it makes sense to use an hourly rate rather than a contingency claim.  This is particularly true if the case involves a high risk of failing.  A retainer is just an advance deposit towards hourly attorney’s fees.  Many lawyers will require payment of a retainer before they begin work.

The Combination Method

In employment law cases, often lawyers will use some sort of mixture of compensation methods.  A case may be too high risk to be purely a contingency fee case, but the client may not have the funds to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees.  The lawyer agrees to work for a reduced hourly rate in exchange for a reduced contingency fee on any final recovery.  This method balances the client’s lack of funds with the attorney’s desire to have some payment security.

Contact a Minnesota Employment Lawyer

The attorneys at Twin Cities Law Firm can be retained to handle a variety of employment law issues, such as reviewing contracts or severance agreements.  Our attorneys work primarily on an hourly basis.