Here at Madia Law, a huge number of the clients we serve are people that have been injured while at work.

In Minnesota, your employer must pay for your care if you are injured at work.  Employers in Minnesota are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance and use that insurance when an employee has been injured on the job.

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First of all – if you’ve just been terminated or laid off from your job and you’re looking for answers – we’re sorry that you’re going through this experience. In our country, we often identify with our jobs as part of who we are: losing a job can feel like losing part of your identity. Especially if you’ve given years of your life to a company, built relationships and friendships with your coworkers, and enjoy the work, losing a job can be devastating. On top of that, you’ve likely got more immediate concerns about how you’re going to pay the bills after losing your job and continue to support yourself and your family. We’re truly and sincerely sorry that you’re dealing with this. And I hope this article can help provide some answers.

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Workplace Fairness Law in Minnesota – the Basics.

Here’s a quick primer on workplace fairness in Minnesota.  Unfortunately, there’s no state or federal law mandating “fairness” at work.  There’s no law saying that employers need to hire good bosses or kind employees, or that employers need to make good business decisions.  So the bad news is that your employer doesn’t have to be “fair” to you.

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Wrongful Termination in Minneapolis

Minnesota is an “at-will” employment state and Minneapolis is an “at will” employment city. That means that your employer can fire you for any reason or no reason at all – even a stupid, incorrect, unfair, or unethical reason – provided that it’s not an illegal reason.

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A Riviera Beach, Florida police officer in now on paid administrative leave after a video recorded on a mobile phone showed him confronting a disabled U.S. Army veteran parked in a parking space reserved for individuals with disabilities. Although the veteran had a properly displayed handicapped parking permit, the police officer confronted him because, according to the officer, the veteran didn’t look disabled. The veteran began recording the incident and says that the officer slapped the phone out of his hand, damaging it. The police department says the incident is being investigated.

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Honeywell is defending itself from a federal disability discrimination and genetic information lawsuit filed by the EEOC. According to the allegations made by the EEOC and the two Minnesota employees, the company demanded that the employees and their family members submit to medical testing or else face monetary penalties.

The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act prohibit adverse employment action on account of disability or genetic information that does not affect an employee’s ability to do their job or require accommodation by the employer that would cause undue hardship. (more…)

Early last month, a federal jury in the Southern District of Iowa awarded a $240 million verdict to 32 mentally disabled men that suffered through years of slave-like employment in a turkey slaughterhouse operated by Henry’s Turkey Service, also known as Hill Country Farms.  Hill Country, a Texas based company, operated the slaughterhouse in Iowa and had been employing mentally disabled men for over four decades.  Hill Country offered room and board in an old schoolhouse without central heat.  Room and board was part of the employment benefits and calculated as earnings on top of the $2 per day salary.  Supervisors that cared for the employees doled out verbal abuse, occasional physical abuse, and manual labor as punishment.  The civil trial uncovered one such instance when an employee was handcuffed to his bed and left screaming and crying.[1]

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On May 7, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) brought (and quickly settled) its very first case under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”).  The complaint alleged that an employer had illegally gathered genetic information during job applicants’ medical exams.

GINA, which went into effect in 2009, prohibits the use of genetic information in making employment decisions.  The Act prohibits, among other things, an employer’s use of the following information:

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In November 2012, Madia Law sued a Twin Cities accounting firm on behalf of a learning disabled accountant. The young accountant, who has suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (“ADHD”) since he was a child, disclosed his disability to his supervisor at the time of his first performance evaluation.

Despite being fully capable of being successful at the job, the young man wanted to be sure his supervisor knew that he thinks, learns, and works in a different way than others, particularly since he noticed a few comments on his evaluation that seemed to signal a concern with the way he processed information and executed tasks. The accountant felt that it would help everyone involved to be aware of his slight disability. But, soon after disclosing his disability and requesting slight accommodation, he was fired.  (more…)

After a two week trial, a Carver County jury awarded Madia law client Dr. Sam Deweese nearly $1.3M in damages from his former clinic.

Dr. Deweese worked as a family practice physician for nearly twenty years at his clinic and earned high praise from his patients.  He devoted his entire working life to the institution, committed himself to a high standard of excellence in his profession, and committed a large capital contribution in order to secure his partnership.  Dr. Deweese alleged that his clinic’s relationship with him changed after he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in summer 2007.

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As published in the Harvard Law & Policy Review, Kevin M. Clermont & Stewart J. Schwab observed that from 1979-2006, plaintiffs bringing employment law matters (discrimination, wrongful termination, etc) in federal court won only 15% of the time. When paired with the observation that plaintiffs in non job-related matters won 51% of the time, that 15% figure is stunning. Questions as to why there is such an imbalance in employment law compared to other areas of law have been the focus of many journalists, lawyers and academics. But for attorneys who represent plaintiffs in employment discrimination cases, there is one key factor worth focusing on: properly preparing a case to survive motions for dismissal, particularly summary judgement motions.

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Dear Friends,

It’s been 3 years since Madia Law opened and I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to represent so many good and decent people going through tough times. I hope and believe that we’ve changed many lives for the better.

Madia Law has taken on slumlords who subjected their tenants to awful living conditions; a municipality that unlawfully forced a police officer to resign after learning of his sexual orientation; a Fortune 100 company that discharged a long time employee in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act; a police department that maced, tased, kicked, and arrested a young man who was doing nothing more than barbecuing with his family; and many more. Through it all, I’ve been humbled to represent some of the bravest and most decent individuals that I’ve ever met.

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Wandersee v. Farmers State Bank (D. Minn. 2012):  A federal district court in Minnesota denied summary judgment to Farmers State Bank in a disability discrimination case under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Minnesota Human Rights Act brought by Karin Wandersee, a longtime employee who suffers from multiple sclerosis.

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“Jill” (name changed for confidentiality) worked at a large corporation for nearly twenty years as a maintenance worker and excelled. However, she injured her back on the job and needed medical attention. Ultimately, her doctor gave her work restrictions stating that she could not lift, push, or pull more than 40 pounds. She continued working at her position, with her restrictions, and continued to excel.

One morning, her employer called her into a meeting and told her that she was terminated because her medical restrictions prevented her from performing the essential functions of her position.

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Congress passed the LLFPA to reverse the Supreme Court’s 2007 holding in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., Inc.    In that case, Justice Alito led a 5-4 majority in concluding that Ledbetter could not sue Goodyear under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for gender based pay discrimination that she had experienced for almost twenty years because she did not file her charge within six months of the original decision (made decades earlier) to pay her less than her male counterparts.

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Dear Friends,

I am excited to inform you that I am starting a new business venture, Madia Law LLC – a dynamic and aggressive law firm that will serve Minnesota individuals and small businesses.

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