We Shall Overcome.

(Minneapolis; March 7, 2019)—Alice James will join Attorney General Keith Ellison and Department of Human Rights (MDHR) Commissioner Rebecca Lucero in suing a plasma collection company for its discriminatory ban on donations by transgender persons.

In 2011, Ms. James began donating plasma at CSL Plasma locations in Minnesota. For nearly four years, CSL refused to acknowledge Ms. James’ gender identity. In 2015, CSL stopped allowing Ms. James to donate plasma, citing a company policy barring transgender persons from making such donations. That policy violates the Minnesota Human Rights Act. In 2016, Ms. James filed a discrimination complaint with the MDHR. That complaint led to the lawsuit filed this week by the MDHR and Attorney General.

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Just last week, I complained that courts are too often rubber-stamping excessive police force. On cue, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued a great decision today for Minnesotans who care about police accountability.

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Today, presidential nominee Donald Trump said he would resume the practice of giving surplus military-grade equipment to local police departments, which President Obama banned in 2014. Trump said, “I think it’s ridiculous that they’re not” given the equipment.

I spoke with a journalist at the Wisconsin Reporter about the issue in 2014. It probably won’t surprise you that I disagree with Mr. Trump.

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Last week, a Minnesota man was awarded $3.5 million after he was ousted from a family banking business.

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On Monday, June 6, 2016, Madia Law secured a victory at the Minnesota Court of Appeals on behalf of an injured, undocumented worker who was fired after pursuing workers’ compensation benefits.

The case is a win for undocumented workers, as the Defendant argued that such workers are not entitled to the protections of Minnesota anti-reprisal laws.

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Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling affecting the statute of limitations (the period of time in which one is allowed to file a lawsuit for alleged unlawful acts) for constructive discharge claims.

In Green v. Brennan, the plaintiff employee had worked as a postmaster in Colorado. After he was denied a promotion that was given to another employee with less seniority and lesser qualifications, he filed a complaint alleging racial discrimination. He later filed a subsequent complaint of retaliation.

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On Wednesday, Madia Law joined the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Ebeltoft Sickler in requesting that the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota approve a quarter-million dollar settlement and consent decree.

The case, EEOC and Matthew Clark v. American Casing & Equipment, Inc., No. 4:15-CV-66-DLH/CSM (D. N.D.) stems from Madia Law client Matthew Clark’s filing of a charge of discrimination in February 2014, a few weeks after he was fired by American Casing & Equipment, Inc. (“American Casing”). After the EEOC found probable cause to conclude that American Casing engaged in discrimination and retaliation, the EEOC and Mr. Clark filed suit against the company in federal court.

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Madia Law and its website designer, Conroy Consults, have been awarded the Silver Communicator Award of Distinction in the 22nd annual Communicator Awards. Below is a press release summarizing the Awards:

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In a win for employees, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review an award to a class of plaintiffs against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc for denial of rest breaks to hundreds of thousands of employees.

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On March 23, 2016, a three-judge panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals will hold a non-oral hearing in Sanchez v. Dahlke Trailer Sales, Inc., No. 15-1183. The precedent-setting case has enormous implications for undocumented workers who are injured on the job in Minnesota.

Last year, we wrote about two class action lawsuits on behalf of Uber and Lyft drivers who were classified as independent contractors. The drivers, who filed suit in 2013, claimed that the mobile application transportation companies improperly classified them in order to avoid wage and hour laws. Opinions issued by the federal courts in March 2015 represented a temporary win for the drivers–allowing their lawsuits to go forward despite the companies’ attempts to have them thrown out.

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Last week, Madia Law secured a favorable jury verdict in a federal business litigation case involving allegations of trademark infringement. Madia Law’s client, Heimerl & Lammers, is a small Minneapolis personal injury firm.

In January 2014, California-based Mountain Marketing Group and Minnesota-based Krueger Law Firm sued Heimerl & Lammers, alleging that the law firm infringed on their trademark “1-800-INJURED” when it began using “612-INJURED” in the Twin Cities. MMG and Krueger were represented by the law firm Moss & Barnett.

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As civil rights attorneys, we’re often asked our views about subjects that touch on or relate to discrimination but are not necessarily illegal. For example, a friend of mine from high school recently referenced a piece the New York Times ran last week regarding a group of California girls attempting to persuade the Boy Scouts of America (“BSA”) to allow girls to join its membership.

The girls are not making a legal argument, and they probably don’t have one. Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which was meant to prohibit gender discrimination in education, specifically carves out an exception for organizations such as the BSA. Please bear with me for a bit of personal, non-legal commentary, as I think this discussion is nonetheless very much related to our gender discrimination work. (more…)

Workplace safety laws and regulations exist to ensure that employers, particularly those in dangerous industries, keep their employees as safe as possible. An employer’s failure to abide by such laws can and should mean serious consequences. That’s exactly what isn’t happening in North Dakota’s booming oil and gas industry.

Last Week Tonight host John Oliver spent twenty minutes talking about the problem on his show last night:

Since 2006, there has been an average of at least one death every six weeks in North Dakota’s oil fields. Yet, as Oliver explains, the lack of regulation and enforcement in North Dakota, combined with legal loopholes, have given employers little incentives to substantively address the safety epidemic

Madia Law welcomes Cody Blades to our team as an Associate Attorney. Cody joins us after a judicial clerkship at the Minnesota Court of Appeals. In addition to being a phenomenal writer, Cody is tenacious, funny, and deeply passionate. We are thrilled to be working with her.

To help welcome Cody, Madia Law invites our colleagues and clients to a happy hour in downtown Minneapolis on October 22 from 5-8. Please email Josh or Ashwin for further information.

On Thursday, a Miami federal jury ordered Moreno Farms Inc., a produce farming operation in southern Florida, to pay $17.4 million to five former employees who were victims of sexual harassment and retaliation. The award was for $15 million in punitive damages and $2.4 million in compensatory damages.

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In a much-anticipated and long-awaited decision released today, the National Labor Relations Board dodged answering the question of whether college athletes are employees. The ruling, which relates to Northwestern University Football players, was made on jurisdictional grounds. As a result, it leaves open the possibility that other college athletes might be able to unionize.

The unanimous decision can be read here.

Today, in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584 (2015), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a Madia Law victory in Rosenbrahn v. Daugaard, a historic case challenging the constitutionality of South Dakota’s bans on marriage equality for same-sex couples.

On January 12, 2015, the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota entered judgment in favor of six same-sex couples represented by Madia Law, declaring:

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A Virginia police officer has resigned after being accused of using excessive force when responding to a call about a potential hit-and-run. Fredericksburg, VA Police Officer Shaun Jergens was among several who responded to a reported accident on May 4, 2015. Jergens, apparently like the other officers on the scene, assumed that a black man in a stopped car was being noncompliant.

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