Minnesota Lawyer

Home to a highly competitive medical device industry as well as other Fortune 500 companies, Minnesota has its fair share of employee noncompete agreements.

Some cases need to be litigated, but mediation is important because many companies want to do the right thing, Sheila Engelmeier believes. Those that don’t, go to court.

"Employment cases are civil rights cases.” They involve discrimination, retaliation and harassment in the workplace.

Representing employers is a way to create a law practice that is balanced between the human element of the profession and being a self-described “law nerd,” according to Minneapolis lawyer Jenny Gassman-Pines, of Greene Espel.

In 2020, the United States Supreme court said that LGBTQ employees are protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act from sex discrimination. To many it was an unexpected and lauded decision.

Age discrimination, sometimes under the guise of COVID-19, is a trend, according to employment lawyer Clayton Halunen. He sees employers replacing boomer-aged employees with younger people.

Veterans and police officers who lose their jobs or have other adverse consequences deserve the protections of the law and of due process, said attorney Joseph Kelly.

Melissa Muro LaMere of Maslon, who represents clients in employment disputes and in business-to-business disputes, said that three issues marked the last year for her. The first, of course, is “all things COVID,” she said.

Teachers have been working remotely and making countless accommodations to educate children during the pandemic, many becoming ill themselves.

Minneapolis attorney J. Ashwin Madia has been out of the courtroom for two years and cannot wait to get back.