Minnesota Expands Nursing Mothers Pregnancy Accommodations
September 21, 2021 | Scott M. Lepak
By Scott Lepak and Claire Schmitz The 2021 Minnesota legislature amended the nursing mother statute to provide broader protections and clarifications. The law states: (a) An employer must provide reasonable break times each day to an employee who needs to express breast milk for her infant child during the twelve months following the birth of the child. The break times must, if possible, run concurrently with any break times already provided to the employee. An employer is not required to provide break times under this section if to do so would unduly disrupt the operations of the employer. An employer shall not reduce an employee’s compensation for time used for the purpose of expressing milk. 2021 Minn. Laws Ch. 10, Art. 3, § 3 (S.F. No. 9). There are some areas of note in this amended law: The employer “must provide reasonable break times.” This implies that multiple breaks per day must be allowed. The prior law referenced a break time that was not plural. These breaks must be “reasonable.” Though “reasonable” was not defined in the original law (1998) or in the 2021 amendment, there is some authority suggesting that the average time it takes for a woman to pump her breasts is 15-20 minutes. With cleaning and putting away equipment, these…
Read MoreManaging Data Privacy in the Post-Pandemic Era
September 16, 2021 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.
COVID-19 has changed the way we live, work, shop, and socialize on a global scale. In the early weeks of the pandemic, people transformed their homes into virtual offices, workspaces, and classrooms among concerns for the health and safety of everyone. As a result, this “new normal” started to infringe upon our personal privacy as new tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other videoconferencing platforms became standard operating procedure. However, the pandemic did not slow down technological advancement or the pace of regulation affecting data privacy and security. Read our blog as we discuss managing data privacy as we continue to manage this pandemic. What is, or will be, our new normal? Whatever it is, data privacy concerns will remain. Changes to the Regulatory Landscape In January 2020, the state of California implemented legislation geared towards greater protection of consumer data. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ushered in changes to the way businesses collect, process, and distribute private information as consumer demand for greater privacy protections increased. The affect of the new legislation was widespread, prompting many companies like Microsoft and Uber to alter their business practices to comply with the new law. In fact, the CCPA has served as a blueprint for other states to draft and adopt their own laws;…
Read MoreJason C. Brown, Attorney at Law, Joins Barna, Guzy & Steffen’s Family Law Department Bringing 20 Years of Experience
September 2, 2021 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.
Attorney Jason C. Brown has joined the firm as a shareholder with more than 20 years of experience. Over the span of his career, he has represented a wide variety of clients seeking to resolve important family matters. Many of his cases have involved complex custody disputes, alimony claims, and high net worth individuals, including several divorces in which the value of the marital estate exceeded ten million dollars. Every client, no matter their background, is important to Jason. Joining the law firm of Barna, Guzy and Steffen will give Jason the opportunity to streamline his practice while offering clients access to the broad scope of legal services offered by the firm. Jason has been recognized as a family law Super Lawyer (2015, 2016, 2020, 2021) and has served as a court-appointed early neutral evaluator for Anoka, Hennepin, Sherburne, and Wright County from 2015-present. His Minnesota Family Law Blog was also honored as a “Top 25” by the Minnesota State Bar Association in 2011. Jason will continue to focus his practice on all facets of family law including divorce, custody, prenuptial agreements, adoption, grandparent rights, and mediation. Barna, Guzy and Steffen, Ltd. has a long-standing tradition of helping clients with their legal needs, serving generations of clients in the north metro. “BGS is a…
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