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Is your small business navigating the complex world of employment law on its own? Talk to an experienced employment law attorney today:

1. Stay Compliant: Employment laws are constantly changing. An employment attorney can assist with compliance to avoid costly administrative claims and litigation.
2. Protect Your Business: Proactively handle employee disputes, draft brst practice policies, and protect your business from potential lawsuits and reputation damage.
3. Save Time and Money: Focus more time on growing your business and learn how efficiently set up procedures and policies to more efficiently manage your employees.
4. Expert Guidance: Whether it’s hiring practices, terminations, or workplace disputes, having a seasoned employment attorney on your side helps you make informed decisions.

Let a skilled employment law attorney help safeguard your business. Give Holden Law Firm a call today! (952) 943-3960 🛡️

Terminating an employee is never easy and should never be done hastily. Before making this significant decision, it's crucial to follow best practices to avoid legal complications and ensure a fair process.

📋 Key Steps to Consider:
1. Gather All Facts 📚
2. Review All Documents 🗂️
3. Assess Legal Risks ⚖️
4. Prepare for the Meeting 🗣️

Want to learn more about these critical steps? Read our latest article for an in-depth guide on what to do before terminating an employee to protect your business and uphold a fair workplace:

🔗 [Read Now: Best Practices for Terminating an Employee]
https://holdenlawfirm.com/what-to-do-before-terminating-an-employee/

View our latest article: HR Best Practices: On-Call Policy

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View our latest article: HR Best Practices: Attendance Policies

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Home - Holden Law - Business and Employment Law Firm in Minnesota Holden Law Firm PLLC Minnesota Employment Lawyer Holden Law Firm represents individuals and small businesses in employment law matters in Minneapolis and the surrounding suburban areas. Contact Us Get Answers Holden Law Firm PLLC Minnesota Employment Lawyer Holden Law Firm represents individuals and...

How a small business is defined depends on who is making that determination. The Small Business Administration defines a small business as businesses with 500 or less employees. The SBA has a number of size standards — including employee size and revenue size — depending on the industry. For the ACA (Affordable Care Act), it defines a small business as having fewer than 50 full-time employees. According to the ACA only 2% of employers employ over 100 employees, 2% employ between 50 and 100 and 96% of employers employ less than 50. According to the IRS, the size of a business is dependent on individual tax laws.

However you define a small business, as an employer grows the number of employees will require the employer to comply with more regulations and employment laws. Growing your business and hiring more employees sounds great, but as your business grows you need to know what employment laws apply to your business and what is the impact to operating your business.

Read Article: https://holdenlawfirm.com/employer-compliance-burdens-start-at-50-employees/

In Minnesota, Non-Compete agreements are looked upon with disfavor and are cautiously considered, and carefully scrutinized, but are enforceable. Non-Compete agreements are enforceable if they serve a legitimate employer interest and are not broader than necessary to protect that interest. Courts will uphold non-compete agreements that are reasonable and protect a legitimate business interest.

Almost all Non-Compete cases are decided in the context of a motion for either a temporary restraining order (TRO) or a temporary injunction. It is costly to enforce non-competes and your former employer would have to bring an action against you to enforce the restrictions in the Non-Compete, and therefore there has to be a concern that they will suffer damages before they incur legal fees to enforce the Non-Compete against you. In order to obtain a temporary injunction, they must show they are likely to suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is to be granted.

Many times, if you are going to work for a competitor you can work something out with your new employer so that you are not causing the former employer damages during the time of your Non-Compete or you can negotiate with the former employer to seek a waiver from the Non-Compete Agreement and agree to not do certain things while working for the new employer, so you don’t cause them damages.

Employment Non-Compete Agreements can be complicated, and it is important to work with an experienced employment attorney. Contact John Holden at Holden Law Firm for answers to any questions you might have regarding your non-compete agreement or other employment law matters. John Holden provides knowledgeable, experienced legal counsel regarding Employment Contracts. Call today to 952-943-3960 to discuss the details of your case.

Learn more at: https://holdenlawfirm.com/non-compete-agreements/

Have you been terminated from employment and not sure what to do? Learn 5 simple steps everyone should take after being terminated.

Holden Law has been practicing employment law for over 35 years for both employers and employees. Unlike many firms who represent clients in a wide array of areas, Holden Law focuses strictly on employment maters and offers impeccable, client focused representation.

If you have been terminated from employment and feel it was unwarranted, give Holden Law a call today to schedule a consultation to see how we can help.

View Article: https://holdenlawfirm.com/what-to-do-if-you-are-terminated-from-your-job/

There is no better time negotiate a favorable employment contract then right now. Employers are looking for employees and talented people are in high demand. You are in the best position to negotiate great compensation, bonuses, stock options, benefits, time off and avoid restrictive non-compete and non-solicitation contracts if the position doesn’t work out.

Holden Law has been practicing employment law for over 35 years for both individuals and small businesses. Holden Law focuses strictly on employment law matters and offers personal representation to management level employees, independent contractors and small businesses that need human resource and employment law advice.

Holden Law assists individuals with employment contracts, executive contracts, professional employee contracts, non-compete agreements, non-solicitation agreements, non-disclosure agreements, independent contractor agreements and other employment law matters.

Holden Law assist small businesses with employment law compliance and best practices including: employee relations, hiring and terminations, employee discipline, employee leaves, wage disputes, employee handbooks and policies, EEOC charges, and all other employment law matters for small businesses.

Give us a call at 952-943-3960 or contact us online to learn more.
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Before You Sign a Severance Agreement - Holden Law Firm What You Need to Know Before Signing A Severance Agreement. Have you been laid off or terminated from your job? Many employees will experience this sometime during their working career. Good employers provide employees with notice that the employee isn’t meeting the employer’s expectations. The ...

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The results of MDHR's investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department will be announced tomorrow. It will be interesting to hear their findings.

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Tomorrow: Announcement of Findings Tomorrow: Announcement of Findings Minnesota Department of Human Rights sent this bulletin at 04/26/2022 04:00 PM CDT View as a webpage / Share Civil Rights Newsletter Investigation into the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 27 at 11:00 am CT, the M...

Minnesota Severance Agreements

Severance Agreements - Holden Law Firm If you are threatened with being fired or laid off from your employment, I can assist you with the process of negotiating a severance agreement. A Minnesota Severance Package is offered for various reasons, but some of the reasons include: The Employer has a policy of offering employees a Minnesota....

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For The Starbucks Union Campaign, A Bruising Contract Fight Is Just Beginning Recent statements by CEO Howard Schultz offer a glimpse of some of the hardball tactics that might lay ahead.

The Minnesota legislature has approved a bill by the House Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy Committee.
HF999 which would make non-compete covenants void and unenforceable unless they meet certain criteria.

Currently non-competes are allowed in Minnesota if reasonable in duration and scope, supported by adequate consideration, and necessary to protect a legitimate business interest. They are “disfavored” under Minnesota law but are often enforced by judges.

The bill prohibits non-competes other than when the employee earned an annual salary at least equal to the median income and the employer is required to pay the employee during the non-compete period at least half the employee’s highest annualized base salary in the last two years of employment as consideration for the non-compete.

The bill also would not allow a different state choice-of-law provision if the employee is not represented by legal counsel.

There is no law requiring that you have an employee handbook, but an employee handbook can be very helpful in documenting all your policies in one place and making your policies consistent with State and Federal law. An employee handbook should be tailored to the employer and should not be borrowed from another organization. Failure to create or maintain a well-drafted employee handbook can be a liability to the employer.

You have policies and procedures, but they may be in the form of memos or statements to employees. Rather than assume that the employees know the company policies and procedures, it is good practice to organize these policies in one place documenting you have communicated these policies and procedures to the employees.

For those employers who have employee handbooks, it is important to annually review them to ensure they are up to date. Employment laws constantly change and it is important to review the handbook so it is in compliance with the latest State and Federal laws. An annually updated employee handbook will provide you with the proper legal defenses in case you are sued in an employment law case. Employee handbooks won’t guarantee that you will not be sued in an employment lawsuit, but they can help you avoid lawsuits and assist in defending you if they are used properly. If your managers are informed and understand the employee handbook and your employees are informed about the rules and expectations of them, then you will have gone a long way in avoiding employment law disputes. Many employment law disputes occur because of a lack of communication and misunderstandings. If you take the time to actually place your personnel policies in a handbook and educate your managers and employees about the policies, it's more likely you will do a better job of keeping your employees informed of what is expected of them and avoid miscommunications that lead to disputes.

There are certain subjects that should be in your employee handbook depending on the type of business and the number of employees, and what your practices have been in the past. One item that is essential is a disclaimer that the handbook is not a contract of employment and does not change the employee-at-will relationship. This disclaimer is important if you don’t want your handbook to be a contract of employment. The next item in the employee handbook is a description of the company’s business and a mission statement to communicate the culture of the company and what is important to the company. The handbook can be a tool to explain to employees what the big picture of the company is and what it is trying to accomplish. Once these preliminary provisions are drafted, the next step is to document employment policies and procedures that govern the daily operations of the company.

You want your employee handbook to be the definitive authority on your current policies and procedures, but also give your company the flexibility to vary from company policy depending the circumstances of the situation. The handbook will supersede all previously issued employee handbooks and any inconsistent verbal or written policy statements made or issued before an updated employee handbook. Except for the policy of at-will employment, you will want to reserve the right to revise, delete and add to the provisions of the employee handbook.

Draft handbook policies and procedures that tend to identify desired conduct of employees, rather than promised conduct of management. All managers should be thoroughly trained to understand the employee handbook and employees should sign and acknowledge that they have received and reviewed it.

We offer a flat fee package to develop your employee handbook based on the number of employee, status of operation, the length of your current handbook and objectives for the handbook.

Please contact us now so we can create or update your employee handbook.

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The latest news for you You don't want to miss this. Explore Our Blog Employment Lawyer John C. Holden, Esq. 4 Things Small Companies Can Do to Deliver Paid Leave to Their Employees The United States notoriously lags behind

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Four Guidelines for Workplace Investigations to Help Small Businesses Avoid Lawsuits Four Guidelines for Workplace Investigations to Help Small Businesses Avoid Lawsuits Small Businesses should have policies prohibiting discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Under the disc…

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Employee or Independent Contractor? Holden Law Firm Greetings! Employee or Independent Contractor? Misclassification of employees as independent contractors is a common issue for business owners in Minnesota and elsewhere. Business owne

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How Employees are Classified. Exempt vs. Non-Exempt Status: How Employees are Classified. Classification of employees is dictated by Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rules. The FLSA ensures employees receive compensation for the…

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The state has lifted its COVID-19 mask mandate. Here's what that means for you Friday morning, Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order that undoes the state's mask mandate. The announcement comes after the CDC said that people who are fully vaccinated no longer have to wear masks outside or inside in most cases. Here’s what you need to know about the latest developments.

Could We Ever See a Federal Ban on Non-Compete Agreements?
Congress has looked at introducing new regulations on non-compete agreements. As an issue that comes up on a national level every so often, Employers and Employees wonder whether non-compete agreements are valid and if they will be upheld by the courts. Congress has looked at non-compete agreements and courts closely scrutinize these agreements, but it is unlikely that there will be a total ban on non-competes in the near future. Read More: https://lnkd.in/ecgyeen

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Current News Holden Law Firm Greetings! Work From Home Mandate Expires in Minnesota on April 15 On March 12, Governor Walz issued an Executive Order to ease up some COVID-19 restrictions affecting the state of Min

House passes sweeping pro-union bill that would reform labor laws If passed into law, the PRO Act would reform labor laws and give U.S. workers more power to organize after decades of setbacks for unions.

A recent ruling by the Minnesota Supreme Court discussed the issue of whether an employee is owed PTO at the time of the termination of their employment.

Case Background

Donald Hall was fired by the City of Plainview in 2017. At the time of his termination, he had more than 1,700 hours of unused paid time off (PTO), and demanded to be paid the PTO he had accrued. The City declined to pay him stating there was no contractual obligation to pay him because the Employee Handbook had a disclaimer that the Employee Handbook was not a contract. Donald Hall sued to collect the money owed to him based on breach of contract, violation of Minn. Stat. 181.13 (Payment of Wages Statute) and unjust enrichment.

The Employee Handbook for the City had a disclaimer in its introduction that the Employee Handbook was not meant “to create an express or implied contract of employment.” Under the Handbook’s section on paid time off, it stated any unused PTO would not be paid unless the employee gave “sufficient notice” of two weeks.

Mr. Hall filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the City, and the district court granted the City’s motion to dismiss the case. Mr. Hall appealed the case to the Minnesota Court of Appeals which affirmed the decision of the district court. Mr. Hall appealed his case to the Minnesota Supreme Court and they agreed to review it.

The primary questions for the Minnesota Supreme Court are:

Was the Handbook’s disclaimer language sufficient to defeat Hall’s claim for PTO payment?.
Does Minn. Stat. 181.13(a) create an independent substantive right to payment of accruedPTO in the absence of a contract between the employer and the employee or some other reason under the statute?

The Minnesota Supreme Court’s answer was no to both questions. The Court determined the Handbook provision mentioning unused PTO could create a unilateral contract if it had definite terms communicated by the employer which were accepted by the employee, and the employee gave the appropriate consideration. The Minnesota Supreme Court concluded that the Employee Handbook was ambiguous as to whether unilateral contract was formed and remanded the issue to the district court for a trial on whether a contract was formed.

For the second question, the Court determined that Minn. Stat. 181.13 is a timing statute that does not create a right to PTO, but merely states that an employer must pay the PTO owed in a timely manner if a contract exists entitling the employee to payment of PTO.

This case makes it clear that employees and employers must have clear contractual language stating whether PTO is paid out or not paid when an employee is terminated or quits. Holden Law Firm represents employees and small businesses with drafting, negotiating and litigation of employment contracts. Contact Holden Law Firm and ask to speak to John Holden to discuss your employment contact law question