Legislative and Judicial Updates

Last week, we posted a blog addressing how the recent legalization of recreational cannabis in Minnesota may affect employee drug-testing policies. We now direct our attention to employers with questions about their general drug and alcohol policies. Here are some things to consider when changing an existing drug and alcohol policy.

Understanding the Law

As

On August 1, 2023, recreational marijuana and cannabis products became legal in the state of Minnesota. Employers are now asking how this new law affects their employment policies and procedures. In the first of a two-part series of blog posts on how the legalization of marijuana affects drug and alcohol polices, we address whether employers

Last week, I wrote a blog post predicting that President Biden may be requiring project labor agreements (PLAs) on projects funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Acts, effective November 15, 2021 (link here).  That prediction has now become reality.

On Friday, February 4, 2022, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14063 (EO

The United States House of Representatives announced a new era for congressional influence over how the federal government spends some of the $1.4 trillion in discretionary spending approved every year.  As of today, the Senate has not yet announced its plan but both chambers are in negotiations to implement this in a transparent and responsible

Change in the political party of an administration can be expected to impact the development and interpretation of federal law and regulation.  This is particularly true in the transition between former President Trump’s administration and that of President Joseph R. Biden.

President Biden has only been the President for two weeks, yet he has already


The City of Minneapolis determined that many freelance workers (independent contractors) need legal and economic protections since they are not covered by employment laws.  The City, therefore, enacted the Minneapolis Freelance Worker Protections Ordinance (the “Ordinance”).  This Ordinance, effective January 1, 2021, requires companies to enter into written agreements with most freelance workers.

The Ordinance

The EEOC has encouraged employers to voluntarily modify employment practices and systems which create barriers to equal employment opportunity, without waiting for litigation or formal government action.  The EEOC has said that the principle of nondiscrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin and the principle that each employer should take

We are nearly 9 months into the so-called COVID-19 global pandemic.  While not without historical precedent, COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the physical and economic health of millions both within the United States and around the world.  In Minnesota and across the country, governors and their public health departments have exercised “peacetime” emergency powers designed