Protecting Employers Since 1985

James Sherman named A Minnesota Super Lawyer

By Wessels Sherman / July 21, 2022

Wessels Sherman President/CEO, James Sherman, has once again been named a Minnesota “Super Lawyer” in 2022.  Super Lawyers are selected through independent research and peer evaluations for having attained a high degree of recognition and achievement in their field of practice. Only 5 percent of lawyers receive this distinction.  Said Mr. Sherman: “I am truly…

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Judge Shoots Down Nonsensical Class-Action ADEA Lawsuit Against Amazon With an Assist From The Goat, Tom Brady

By James B. Sherman / July 6, 2022

Some lawsuits are so outlandish they make headlines … for all the wrong reasons. One such silly case was brought as a class action against Amazon by employees in California. The plaintiffs, all 40 and older, alleged Amazon violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) by imposing productivity quotas on all employees. The complaint…

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What The Dobbs Decision Means for Employers in Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa

By James B. Sherman / June 28, 2022

Last week the United States Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated and controversial decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, overturning Roe v. Wade. Whereas Roe had held for nearly 50 years that the right to an abortion was guaranteed by the U. S. Constitution, Dobbs disagreed, giving the issue back to the states to…

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High Wage Expectations In Collective Bargaining

By Richard H. Wessels / June 21, 2022

It is becoming clear that union employees in the last year or so have high wage expectations. Contract settlements are becoming much more difficult to achieve. Here are some of the reasons for it. Covid is a big part of it. Employees will regularly say “we worked our butts off during Covid, risked our health,…

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FMLA “Interference” Violations Not Confined to Denying Leave, Can Include Comments Discouraging Employee from Taking FMLA

By James B. Sherman / June 3, 2022

On June 1st the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in Chicago, reversed a lower court’s dismissal of FMLA claims where the plaintiff employee’s request to use FMLA leave, had not been denied. The appellate court held that a verbal conversation that included an alleged threat to discipline the employee for taking more…

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Construction Industry Labor Law

By Richard H. Wessels / March 25, 2022

Construction industry labor law is very different from regular labor law. The labor agreements are different, and there is often no negotiating by employers who are stuck with an area-wide, multi-employer contract. The organizing process is typically different. Usually there are not NLRB elections and unions will attempt to organize by putting pressure on the…

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ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT HOLDS BIOMETRIC PRIVACY CLAIMS ARE NOT PREEMPTED BY WORKERS COMPENSATION ACT

By Jennifer Adams Murphy / February 3, 2022

Today, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision on whether the “exclusive remedy” provision of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act bars BIPA claims against Illinois employers. Unfortunately for employers, the Court ruled that workers’ compensation exclusivity does not bar BIPA claims against employers, thus leaving the floodgates open for further costly, and usually class action,…

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OSHA Vaccine Mandate – The Epilogue

By Wessels Sherman / January 31, 2022

After weeks of consternation, uncertainty and litigation, the fate of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), which required employers with 100 or more employees to implement mandatory COVID vaccination policies, is now sealed – and it has been done by OSHA itself. After the U.S. the Supreme Court issued its decision to stay the OSHA mandate…

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Supreme Court Lifts Injunction on DHHS Vaccine Mandate for Recipients of Medicare and Medicaid Funding

By Alan E. Seneczko / January 13, 2022

In a companion decision to its ruling on the OSHA vaccine mandate, the Supreme Court issued another stay – but this one on injunctions that had been issued enjoining regulations issued by the Secretary of Health and Human Services mandating that recipients of Medicare and Medicaid funding (e.g., hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities,…

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Supreme Court Puts Skids on OSHA Vaccine Mandate

By Alan E. Seneczko / January 13, 2022

In a decision released this afternoon, the Supreme Court put a halt to the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard that requires employers with 100 or more employees to implement a mandatory vaccine policy, under which employees must either be vaccinated for COVID or undergo weekly testing at their own expense, on their own time, or be…

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