The shortage of qualified workers in rural Minnesota has many employers looking for unique ways to attract, train, and keep the right people in important positions.  Many of these solutions include a large, up-front, monetary investment by the employer such as a signing bonus, ...Read More

I learned early on as a staffing agent (my career before law school) that employee/employer relationships are a lot like dating. From the early-on internet stalking (LinkedIn), to the first date (job interview) to being “in a relationship” (“You’re hired!”), parallels exist at every ...Read More

Instead of hiring employees to perform all work on the farm, many pork producers contract with independent contractors to perform certain services.  For example, a pork producer may contract with an independent trucker to transport pigs from a nursery to a finishing barn or ...Read More

It’s no secret that during the 2016 campaign, political candidates harnessed the power of social media more than ever before.  It is also no secret that the President of the United States has continued to use social media as a political forum.  With tech-savvy ...Read More

It’s 10:30 on a Tuesday morning.  You’ve finished the morning Staff Meeting, answered twenty seven emails, checked Facebook and are now sitting down to write some employee reviews.

Then you get it.  A letter from an attorney.  Not your attorney.  An attorney representing the employee ...Read More

Proposed changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime white-collar exemptions have not made headlines in recent months. However, this unfortunately (or fortunately) does not mean the discussion regarding the FLSA exemptions has ended. Earlier this year, the United States Department of Labor ...Read More