Farrish Johnson Law Office Welcomes New Attorney
Farrish Johnson Law Office is pleased to announce the addition of our new attorney, Yuri Jelokov. Yuri focuses his practice in the areas of workers’ compensation law, Social Security disability law, and vaccine claims. After obtaining his law degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, MN, Yuri spent several years practicing in Minneapolis, MN,as well as Bemidji, MN. Yuri has dedicated many hours to workers’ compensation litigation, from initial consultations, to settlement negotiations and trials. Yuri is actively involved in the Minnesota Association for Justice. A native of Tallinn, Estonia, Yuri speaks both English and Russian. For... Read More
Minnesota Homestead Property Tax
Many of us are not clear what the various abbreviations mean that our found on our real estate tax statement. How and why property receives homestead classification or non-homestead classification can be a mystery, particularly for those owning agricultural land. Losing homestead classification usually results in higher real estate taxes payable each year but the hidden loss may be the unavailability of the estate tax credit available to farmers. Under current law, qualified farmers have a Minnesota estate tax credit of $5 million. To qualify for these additional credit, the farm must be, among other things, taxed as homestead property.... Read More
Rights for Minnesota Nursing Mothers
Minnesota law protects nursing mothers both inside and outside of the workplace. Mothers may breast-feed in any location, public or private, so long as the mother and child are authorized to be in that location. This generally includes places like parks, malls, stores, and restaurants. Minnesota law gives breast-feeding mothers additional rights in the workplace. Reasonable, unpaid break times must be given to an employee who needs to express breast milk. And reasonable efforts must be made to provide nursing mothers with a private room or other location – not a bathroom or toilet stall – to do so. The... Read More
Protect Yourself and Your Business Against Drive-By ADA Lawsuits
Despite new legislation protecting small businesses, so-called “drive-by” law suits are being filed against small businesses across Minnesota under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) for things like handicapped parking lot, entry access, and bathroom violations. A fresh wave of these lawsuits has been hitting local Mankato area businesses within the past several weeks. The new law in Minnesota gives more protections to small businesses, such as the right to notice and a chance to fix potential violations before suit is filed. Federal courts have also disfavored these serial suits. If you are... Read More
Can an Employer Control an Employee’s Use of Social-Media?
If the employee is at work and using computers owned by the employer, the general answer is yes. Work if for working; not for using social media. Generally, employers are within their rights to regulate social-media use on work time if they do so for work-related reasons and apply the rules evenhandedly to all employees. Off-hour use of social-media might be regulated if an employee’s initial and continued employment are subject to written social-media policies. There are important exceptions. Under and Minnesota’s Wage Disclosure Protection law no employer can prohibit employees from disclosing or discussing their own wages. Even if... Read More
Jesse Ventura — $1.8 Million Dollar Verdict Reversed on Appeal
The Eighth Circuit for the United States Court of Appeals reversed an award to Jesse Ventura of $1.8 million dollars against the “American Sniper” Chris Kyle’s estate. Jesse Ventura filed a defamation, misappropriation and unjust enrichment claim alleging Kyle fabricated a story about Ventura and a fight that allegedly occurred in October of 2006. Ventura claimed he was defamed by Chris Kyle in television and radio interviews. Kyle asserted Ventura said “he hates America,” the SEALs “were killing men and women and children and murdering,” and the SEALs “deserve to lose a few.” Numerous witnesses were called to testify at... Read More
Nationwide Injunction Stops Implementation of New Overtime Rule
Earlier this year the Department of Labor issued a rule that would automatically extend overtime pay eligibility to salaried workers earning less than $913 per week or $47,476 per year, regardless of the workers’ job duties. The new rule regarding eligibility for overtime pay was to go into effect on December 1, 2016. On November 22, 2016, a United States District Court judge in Texas issued a temporary injunction prohibiting the new rule from going into effect. The injunction applies nationwide. It is not known if the ruling will be appealed. Even if it is appealed a decision on the... Read More
Cell Phones & Driving Accidents
According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, each year 1 in 4 automobile crashes is due to distracted driving, resulting in at least 70 deaths and 350 serious injuries. Experts estimate the numbers are vastly underestimated and under-reported due to law enforcement’s challenge in determining distraction as a crash factor. It is illegal for drivers to read, compose, and/or send text messages or e-mails, or access the internet on a wireless device while the vehicle is in motion or part of traffic, including stopped in traffic or at a traffic light. Minn. Stat. § 169.475 For teen drivers under... Read More
Minnesota Employees Must Be Given Time Off for Voting
Election Day is right around the corner. The Attorneys at Farrish Johnson Law Office want to remind everyone – employees and employers alike – that Minnesota law requires employers to give their employees reasonable time off for voting. Any employee who is eligible to vote has the right to be absent from work for the time necessary to go to the polling place, cast a ballot, and return to work, without penalty and without deduction from salary or wages because of the absence. In other words, the employee may vote during the work day without being required to “punch out.” ... Read More
Wells Fargo and Arbitration Clauses
Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson wants Wells Fargo to let customers sue the bank to resolve disputes over accounts opened without consumer authorization. That means Wells Fargo will have to forgo enforcing the mandatory arbitration clause included in its consumer contracts. Earlier this month regulators fined Wells Fargo $185 million for opening checking and credit card accounts on behalf of customers who had no idea that was happening. Over a five-year period some 2 million credit cards and deposit accounts were opened that were not authorized by the bank’s customers. While Wells Fargo has promised to make restitution, the bigger... Read More