What’s Going On in There? Access to Company Books and Records

Business owners like to keep the business’s financial information secret. This policy can be wise toward outsiders, customers, and even employees. But secrecy becomes a source of frustration and conflict when practiced toward co-owners of the business, and secrecy pursued too far may cross the line into illegality. It’s important...

Million-Dollar Verdict For Plaintiff Experiencing $1 In Damages: The Michael Mann Defamation Suit

Michael Mann is a professor of climate science at the University of Pennsylvania.  He rose to notoriety for a graph he published in 1998 in the journal Nature, meant to illustrate the dramatic warming of the planet.  The curve in the graph resembled a hockey stick and, as such, was...

Five Ways Small Businessowners Can Protect Themselves from Personal Liability and Ensure the Corporate Veil is Strong

Pierce the Veil—It’s not just an emo-rock band touring with Blink 182 this year.  It’s a legal term of art that describes an equitable remedy used to bypass the corporate structure and hold business owners personally liable.

Employer Alert: Additional Employer Posting Requirements Started on January 1, 2024

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry established a new posting requirement for all employers with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees. This new posting requirement went into effect on January 1, 2024. The new poster is aimed at raising awareness for the services offered by the Minnesota Department of...

Cannabis Is Legal In Minnesota. What Does That Mean For Employers?

You suspect that one of your employees is high as a kite at work. Or maybe they were high as a kite last night. Cannabis is legal in Minnesota but illegal federally. What options do you have as an employer to address the issue?

Employer Alert: Minnesota’s New Paid Family and Medical Leave Law Requires Employer Action as Early as 2024

This year, the Minnesota legislature adopted a new law to create state Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”). Specifically, the law provides employees with partial wage replacement for a minimum of twelve weeks (up to twenty weeks) of leave in a fifty-two week period for medical leave, bonding with a...

Employer Alert: Preventing Pay Discrimination Act

Effective January 1, 2024, Minnesota’s new Preventing Pay Discrimination Act prohibits employers, employment agencies, and labor organizations from inquiring into, considering, or requiring disclosure of an applicant’s pay history for the purposes of determining wages, benefits, salary, or other compensation.

Employer Alert: New Earned Sick and Safe Time Statute

This year, the Minnesota legislature passed new Earned Sick and Safe Time (“ESST”) laws. Effective January 1, 2024, Minnesota employers must provide paid leave to employees who work in the state. The law provides up to 48 hours of paid leave per year for covered employees and the time can...

So You’ve Been Sued. Now What?

Being served with a lawsuit is a disorienting experience, one that tends to raise the same basic questions regardless of who has been sued: What am I accused of? How much will this cost? Can I sue this plaintiff back?  

Pitfalls for Minority Shareholders

Becoming a minority owner of an LLC or corporation (an owner of less than 50% of the business) is obviously a declaration of faith in the majority owner’s business savvy. It is also a declaration of faith in the majority owner’s good will, because control of a majority interest gives...