Category: Employment Law
Defending Against ADA Lawsuits
October 1, 2018 | Bradley KletscherCoauthored by Bradley A. Kletscher and Tyler W. Eubank Generally. The Americans with Disabilities Act (commonly known as the “ADA”) is a federal law meant to protect persons with disabilities from discrimination. To that end, the ADA requires that businesses open to the public remove architectural barriers where such removal is readily achievable. The Department of Justice has produced the ADA Accessibility Guidelines, voluminous guidance on design specifications covering everything from the height of counters to the placement of braille signage on elevators. The ADA also allows persons affected by discrimination in the form of architectural barriers to seek injunctive relief from courts compelling business owners to make changes to their establishments. [maxbutton id=”1″ ] ADA Abuse. Enter ADA “drive-by” lawsuits. These lawsuits trace a predictable pattern: a disabled person, as defined by the ADA, goes to a business looking for non-compliance with ADA regulations. Due to the vast number of regulations, the business is often found not to be in compliance with ADA regulations; there may be too narrow of an accessibility strip next to a reserved parking space, too steep of a curb cut, too low signage for reserved spaces, too narrow of aisles, too high of a counter, or too high of a grab bar in the restroom. In one…
Read MoreFair Share Agency Fees Struck Down by the United States Supreme Court
June 27, 2018 | Scott M. LepakIn a decision widely expected, the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2018 struck down state laws that compelled public sector union employees to pay “fair share” or “agency” dues. In Janus v. AFSCME, the Supreme Court held that laws compelling these dues from unwilling members violated the First Amendment by requiring employees to, in effect, pay for speech with which they do not agree. The Supreme Court held that unions representing public employees have to fairly represent these employees regardless of whether they were dues paying members. The Supreme Court summarized its view as follows: Neither an agency fee nor any other payment to the union may be deducted from a nonmember’s wages, nor may any other attempt be made to collect such a payment, unless the employee affirmatively consents to pay. What’s next: Laws, including Minnesota Statute Section 179A.06, Subd. 3, that require fair share fees to be taken from an employee’s pay check are unconstitutional. Employers must stop current automatic fair share payment withdrawals from the checks of employees unless and until the employee fills out a form consenting to pay. Employees who opt out of paying dues will still be covered by the collective bargaining agreements. However, unions will likely address the issue of individuals who do not…
Read MoreAttorney Scott Lepak Receives President's Award
June 22, 2018 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd. is pleased to announce that Scott Lepak received the President’s Award from the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association. This award was issued in recognition of Scott’s outstanding service to the National PELRA and his contribution to public sector labor relations. “This award means a lot to me”, Scott said, “The National and Minnesota chapter of PELRA are wonderful organizations”. As the long time editor of the MPELRA newsletter (back when it was printed out and mailed!) and frequent speaker, Scott knows how valuable these organizations are to labor relations professionals in the public sector. In his 30 plus years as a labor lawyer and chief labor negotiator, Scott has seen and been part of the massive changes in this area at both the federal and state levels.
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