Witness to History: 2007
In 2007 Scouting celebrated its 100th anniversary with worldwide celebrations. All Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts organizations trace their origins back to the work of Robert Baden-Powell, which began in 1907. That same year, Charlotte Farrish and Robert J. Sheran were named among the “Most Influential Lawyers” in the history of the state of Minnesota by Minnesota Law and Politics Magazine. Scouting 100th Anniversary The first Scout Camp opened on August 1, 1907 by founder General Baden-Powell with 20 boys in attendance, located on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, southern England. Exactly 100 years later, approximately 400,000 Scouts took part... Read More
Unemployment Compensation
AN EMPLOYEE IS ELIGIBLE FOR BENEFITS WHEN THE EMPLOYEE PERFORMS 50% OR MORE OF THEIR WORK IN MINNESOTA DURING THE BENEFITS QUARTER. An employer had two employees who performed work for the company in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. The employees were laid off and both applied for unemployment insurance benefits in Minnesota where they resided. The employees provided the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) with detailed records of their hours worked and in which state their services were performed. DEED determined that the employees were eligible for unemployment benefits for the quarters during which they “performed their... Read More
Witness to History: 2015
In 2015 Mankato was named as one of the top 10 “Best Small Cities in America” by NerdWallet. Over 1,300 small cities were evaluated for their economic health, affordability and quality of life. Also in that year, Steve Fink was selected for inclusion on the Minnesota Super Lawyers list, published by Super Lawyers®, a Thomson Reuters business. The list recognizes the top 5% of all lawyers in Minnesota. Best Small City in America The low cost of living, reasonable commutes, educational institutions, and economies boosted by jobs in health care, education, and technology in the Midwest perform well when determining... Read More
Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act
FIRING AN EMPLOYEE FOR REFUSING TO SHARE TIPS EXPOSES THE EMPLOYER TO A WRONGFUL DISCHARGE ACTION AND DAMAGES. An employer told an employee that he needed to share his tips with other employees. The employee refused, and the employer terminated his employment. The employee sued claiming that his employment was terminated in violation of the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act (MFLSA). The trial court ruled that the MFLSA did not contemplate an action for wrongful discharge and that if the Legislature intended for employees to sue for wrongful discharge it would have included that language explicitly in the MFLSA. The... Read More
Non-Compete Agreements
INDEPENDENT CONSIDERATION IS REQUIRED IF A NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENT IS NOT ENTERED INTO AT THE BEGINNING OF OR ANCILLARY TO THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP. A prospective employee applied for a part-time position with a company. The applicant was offered and accepted a full-time job. The employer sent a letter confirming the employee’s acceptance of the position but did not mention that it wanted the employee to sign a non-compete agreement. The employee was not given the non-compete agreement until her first day of work. The employee left several years later to start a competing business, and the employer sued claiming she was... Read More
Witness to History: 1993
In 1993 CERN released its World Wide Web technology into the public domain, donating it to the world. In that year, Farrish Johnson Law Office celebrated its 100th anniversary, having opened in 1893. World Wide Web Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, invented the World Wide Web in 1986. It was originally conceived and developed to meet the demand for automatic information-sharing between scientists in universities and institutes around the world. The first website was dedicated to the World Wide Web project and described the basic features including how to access other people’s... Read More
Witness to History: 1927
In the year of 1927 Charles Lindbergh made the first solo non-stop trans-Atlantic flight, from New York to Paris. The feat won Lindbergh the Orteig Prize and advanced public interest in aviation. In 1927 Charlotte Farrish, the firm’s namesake, won her first case. At the time she was Mankato’s only female attorney and one of the first women to appear before the Blue Earth District Court. Trans-Atlantic Flight On May 21, 1927, American pilot Charles A. Lindbergh, a native of Little Falls, Minnesota, landed at Le Bourget Field in Paris, successfully completing the first solo, non-stop transatlantic flight and the... Read More
Witness to History: 1979
In 1979 Mankato State University, now Minnesota State University, Mankato, consolidated its two campuses into one on their highland campus. Also in 1979, William Partridge, an attorney with Farrish Johnson Law Office, began practicing in Mankato. MSU Consolidates Campuses Mankato State University was first established as the Mankato Normal School on October 7, 1868, operating out of rented quarters at the Methodist Episcopal Church. The school then relocated to quarters in the Shaubut building before establishing itself in the three-story Old Main building, completed in 1870. The school experienced near disaster in 1922 when Old Main was destroyed by fire... Read More
Changes to Calculation of Child Support in Minnesota
As of August 1, 2018, the method for calculating child support in Minnesota has changed. The goal of the change was to eliminate the perceived child support “cliff” that resulted from the parenting expense adjustment. Under the previous child support laws, which were enacted in 2007, child support was calculated based upon an “income shares” model. Under the “income shares” model, both parents’ gross incomes were added together to create a total parental income for determining child support. Each parent was then supposed to pay a percentage of the total child support obligation based upon his or her percentage of... Read More
Witness to History: 2012
This week in 2012 the 30th Summer Olympic Games came to a close in London, England. It was at these games that Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time. That same year, Farrish Johnson Law Office received the Mankato Free Press Media Reader’s Choice Award for Best Lawyer. 30th Summer Olympic Games Formally the Games of the XXX Olympiad and more commonly known as London 2012, the 2012 Summer Olympics was held from July 27th to August 12th, 2012 in London, England. The opening ceremony received acclaim through the world. During the Games, Michael Phelps became the... Read More