City Employees and Off-Duty Conduct Webinar
September 11, 2012 | Scott M. LepakOur attorney, Scott Lepak, presented a free webinar hosted by the League of Minnesota Cities. This webinar titled, “City Employees and Off-Duty Conduct,” took place on Thursday, July 12th. You can view the full webinar here: Click here to download the full transcript (PDF) Click here to download the presentation slides (PDF) Scott Lepak is a frequent lecturer on labor and employment law topics in Minnesota and in this webinar he provides some guidance when off-duty conduct is illegal, unethical, or harms the reputation of the city. It’s often hard to know whether or not the city can discipline for that behavior. Off-duty conduct is a tricky and every-changing area of employment law. There are issues associated with freedom of speech and expectations of privacy that must be waived against the legitimate interest of the city. In this webinar Scott discusses… What is off-duty misconduct? What governs off-duty conduct? Are there limitations on conduct that may be regulated? The National Academy of Arbitrator’s four prong test An alternate four prong test Limitations on regulating off-duty conduct Arbitration Rulings We want to thank the League of Minnesota Cities for granting us permission to publish the webinar here and on our YouTube channel.
Read MoreWhat To Do In Case of a Car Accident
August 21, 2012 | John T. BuchmanIt’s one of those things you don’t like to think about – what to do in case of a car accident – but it’s something you should prepare for so that if an accident does occur, you’re better prepared to deal with the situation. We have put together a simple car accident form that you can download and save to your smartphone or print it out so you can have a copy for your glove compartment. Having this information available could help you know what to do if you are involved in a car accident. Here is the information you’ll find in the form: IN CASE OF A CAR ACCIDENT At the Time of the Auto Accident: Remain calm and call the police. Tell the police officer if you, or anyone involved in the accident was injured. Do not admit fault to anyone at the scene. Try to obtain witness information and license plate numbers if the police cannot make it to the scene. Keep your current insurance card in your vehicle for proof of insurance. Obtain the necessary information from the other driver if applicable (see below). Provide the information necessary to the other driver if applicable (see below). Take photographs of the accident scene or cars involved if possible. After the…
Read MoreProgressive Insurance's Tarnished Image
August 21, 2012 | John T. BuchmanI was just checking the latest news when I came across the following article from CNN Money: Progressive settles with accident victim’s family after tale went viral Progressive Insurance finally paid the victim of a family under its “under-insured” motorist coverage after forcing the victim’s family to go to trial. A young woman was killed when another driver ran a red light. The victim’s brother was offended when his sister’s insurance company, Progressive, actively participated in the negligent driver’s legal defense. The article points out how poorly Progressive handled the case and the resulting public relations nightmare that followed after the victim’s brother posted on the internet an account of what the family had to go through to get Progressive to pay. Unfortunately, this is too common an occurrence, especially before Minnesota recently enacted a “good faith” statute to encourage insurance companies to properly evaluate and pay uninsured and underinsured motorist claims. Too often insurance companies force such claimants to try their cases because they believe they do not face any greater exposure than their policy limits. Minnesota’s new “good faith” statute provides, in some circumstances, the opportunity for such injured parties to recover additional amounts from insurance companies that resort to such tactics. While insurance companies spend millions of dollars representing to…
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