On April 29, 2022, Governor Tim Waltz approved a new bill authorizing pandemic payments to hundreds of thousands of frontline workers, with implications for Minnesota employers. Senate File 2677 applies to employers and employees in fifteen specified “frontline sectors,” including: (1) long-term care and home care; (2) health care; (3) emergency responders; (4) public health,...

On March 1, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated guidance regarding reasonable accommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs. This update answers important questions raised by employers following the publication of federal and state COVID-19 vaccination and testing emergency standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration emergency temporary standard, which Minnesota adopted but has...

The field of employee non-compete agreements (“NCA”) is changing, broadly reflecting a growing concern about the adverse effects of NCAs on employee labor prospects and market competition. Employers must stay abreast of the legal status of NCAs in Minnesota as well as the general trends on NCAs throughout the nation to plan their employment contracts...

Many employee handbooks have a general disclaimer that “nothing contained herein creates a contract” (hereinafter, the “No Contract Disclaimer”). In Hall v. City of Plainview, 954 N.W.2d 254 (Minn. 2021) the Minnesota Supreme Court evaluated this disclaimer and answered the following questions: Does a No Contract Disclaimer prevent an employee handbook from ever being an...

At its September 9, 2021 Agricultural Lending Conference, Gislason & Hunter LLP provided a case law and legislative update regarding new legal developments pertinent to the lending industry. One of the cases presented was Lighthouse Management, Inc. v. Oberg Family Farms et al., which was decided by the Minnesota Court of Appeals less than two...

Over the last two years, the world has grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to address the economic crisis following the arrival of COVID-19, the United States took a number of significant actions, including, among other things, infusing cash into the national economy, generally, and the agricultural industry, in particular. The introduction of...

Minnesota has long authorized police departments and similar agencies to seize property associated with certain crimes and, under proceedings known as “civil forfeiture,” assume ownership of the property. In the past, criminal property seizures have caused problems for secured creditors who have a properly perfected security interest in vehicles or other equipment that is seized...