Court Anderson and Ben Hamborg received this honor for representing two minority shareholders in a shareholder dispute that culminated in December 2020 in a multimillion-dollar whistleblower award from the SEC. The award was more than $7 million, which represents one of the largest SEC whistleblower awards in the history of Minnesota. 

Melissa Nilsson was nominated by a client for her pro bono efforts in a difficult and stressful family law case. With over 15 years of family law experience, Melissa is the calm eye of the storm providing clients with empathy and unwavering confidence to navigate very overwhelming situations. She greatly deserves this honor for her dedication to her clients. 

Annually, Minnesota Lawyer honors top attorneys throughout Minnesota for their notable achievements and leadership in the profession. 2021 honorees will be featured in an upcoming edition of the publication and celebrated at a formal event in February.

On July 1, 2019, Minnesota will 1) start requiring employers to provide written wage-related information to employees, 2) change existing law governing when employees must be paid and the penalty for failing to pay wages and commission owed, as well as 3) implement a variety of record-keeping obligations. This new law creates enhanced civil penalties and for the first time imposes significant criminal penalties for some violations.

Both employers and employees are encouraged to become informed about these changes and how they may affect their rights. This article highlights a few of the key changes that will impact employers and employees as the deadline approaches.

Wage Notices to Employees
a. New Employees
Under the newly enacted statutes, at the start of employment, Minnesota employers must now provide their new employees with a written wage notice that includes the following information:

1) the rate or rates of pay and basis thereof, including whether the employee is paid by the hour, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission, or other method, and the specific application of any additional rates;

2) allowances, if any, that may be claimed for permitted meals and lodging;

3) paid vacation, sick time, or other paid time-off accruals and terms of use;

4) the employee’s employment status and whether the employee is exempt from minimum wage, overtime, and other provisions of [the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act], and on what basis;

5) a list of deductions that may be made from the employee’s pay;

6) the number of days in the pay period, the regularly scheduled payday, and the payday on which the employee will receive the first payment of wages earned;

7) the legal name of the employer and the operating name of the employer if different;

8) the physical address of the employer’s main office or principal place of business, and a mailing address if different; and

9) the telephone number of the employer.

The wage notice need not be provided in any specific format, as long as all the required information is included. The Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) has provided an example of an Employee Wage Notice, which employers may elect to use. Employers must keep a copy of the notice signed by the employee acknowledging receipt.

b. Current Employees
Under the new law, Minnesota employers are not required to provide wage notices to current employees when the law goes into effect. However, employers will need to provide compliant wage notices to current employees when they intend to change any of the information that must otherwise be included in a wage notice under the statute, as described above. Even though employers are not required to immediately provide new wage notices to their current employees, the DLI has “strongly” encouraged employers to do so.

Earning Statements
After July 1, 2019, employers should also be careful to ensure that earning statements provided to their employees include the following new information: 1) the rate, basis, and method of pay; 2) any allowances for meals and lodging; 3) the physical address of the employer or principal place of business, and 4) a telephone number of the employer. The earnings statement should explain why the employee is being paid at the rate shown in the statement. However, earning statements are not required to state whether the employee is “exempt” or “non-exempt” from minimum wage, overtime, or other provisions of the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act.

Timing and Payment of Wages
The newly amended Wage Theft Statute now expressly includes “salary, earnings, and gratuities” within the types of wages that must be paid at least every 31 days. The law further requires that “all commissions earned by an employee” must be paid at least once every three months. Moreover, in the past, employers withholding wages were able to rely on a 15-day cap on the damage penalty for failing to pay wages following an employee’s demand. With the recent changes, that is no longer the case. Now, there is no limit on the penalty that can be imposed.

Recordkeeping
With changes made to Minnesota’s general employer recordkeeping statute, employers must now maintain “a list of the personnel policies provided to the employee, including the date the policies were given to the employee and a brief description of the policies.”  In addition, employers must keep their records in a manner readily available for inspection within 72 hours of demand. Failure to properly keep records could result in civil penalties. The statute allows for a $1,000 fine against an employer for each failure to maintain records, and up to a $5,000 fine for each repeated failure.

Criminal Wage Theft
The most significant change imposed by the Minnesota Wage Theft Statute is the potential imposition of criminal penalties, which will go into effect on August 1, 2019. Under the new law, criminal wage theft now occurs when an employer, “with an intent to defraud,” does any of the following:

1) fails to pay an employee all wages, salary, gratuities, earnings, or commissions at the employee’s rate or rates of pay or at the rate or rates required by law, including any applicable statute, regulation, rule, ordinance, government resolution or policy, contract, or other legal authority, whichever rate of pay is greater;

2) directly or indirectly causes any employee to give a receipt for wages for a greater amount than that actually paid to the employee for services rendered;

3) directly or indirectly demands or receives from any employee any rebate or refund from the wages owed the employee under contract of employment with the employer; or

4) makes or attempts to make it appear in any manner that the wages paid to any employee were greater than the amount actually paid to the employee.

The definition of an “employer” under the criminal theft provisions is exceedingly broad, and there may be hefty consequences for any employer who violates these provisions. In particular, criminal wage theft in excess of $35,000 may include imprisonment of up to 20 years and up to a $100,000 fine. The minimum penalty, which only requires $500 in stolen employee wages over a six-month period, is up to one-year imprisonment and a $3,000 fine.

Given the potential criminal implications, employers should take extra care to understand and follow the new wage-theft laws, so that they do not inadvertently end up in violation. Unlike their criminal counterpart, all other provisions of the new law will take effect on July 1st, and the penalties for noncompliance with these provisions do not require intent.

These are just some of the key changes to Minnesota’s Wage Theft Statute that will impact employers and employees. Given the approaching deadlines, employers should become informed on the new law to ensure their practices are in compliance when the statutory changes take effect.

Henson Efron can advise you on the steps to take to ensure compliance and on ways to protect your rights as an employer or employee. Contact us for more information.

The purpose of this article is merely to provide general information and should not be construed as legal advice.

This article was co-authored by law clerk, Alex Henson.

The resulting data shows that companies are enamored with smaller firms primarily because they provide better client service. Of the 71% of respondents that outsource the majority of work to smaller firms, 63% do so partly because of the client service factor. Of course, good client service encompasses a variety of different practices. Interviewees frequently mentioned that in addition to possessing specific areas of expertise that larger firms do not, lawyers at smaller firms are much more likely to go the extra mile to serve their clients.

Data collected also noted that even when the company had a large in-house team, they were equally as enthusiastic to work with small and medium sized firms. In line with the overall results, 70% of companies with large legal teams preferred the relationship with smaller firms. A higher level of innovation delivered by the smaller firms was the motivation given for doing so. That combined with the agility and client service aspects set smaller firms apart.

The study was done by Globality, a consulting firm that helps small and midsize businesses become players in the global economy and media outlet, The Lawyer.

Read the complete survey results here.

Link to full article

Minnesota Business magazine takes a closer look at cybersecurity and IP protection with “Protect Those Designs! Enjoying the fruits of your creativity requires legal safeguards of your intellectual property”

Excerpts from the article

Copyrights protect “fixed expressions,” says J.R. Maddox, corporate and intellectual property (IP) attorney at Minneapolis-based Henson Efron. That includes websites, manuals, tutorials, catalogues. Copyrights cover only the specific expression: your own words. They don’t cover ideas themselves.

Due diligence & cost-effectiveness

Innovators must follow this golden rule: Do your due diligence, and do it early.

Jennie Clarke, a business law attorney at Henson Efron, says one client invested thousands in an ambitious branding initiative for its new product line, only to discover that someone else was practicing the same trademark. The wasted effort (and risk of an infringement suit) could have been prevented with better due diligence.

Lisa is a member of Henson Efron’s Management Committee and has served on the 4^th DEC since 2007. She is a Fellow, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, listed in The Best Lawyers in America® Family Law and selected for the Minnesota top 50 women attorneys as well as the top 100 overall Minnesota Super Lawyers®. Lisa has substantial experience in cases involving complex financial issues including business valuation, executive compensation, intellectual property, and non-marital property.  She helps families create effective parenting plans and assists clients in creating premarital and postnuptial agreements that address long-term financial settlement.

Agenda:
-Recent developments in estate planning and tax law
-Practice tips
-IRS audit practice overview
-US Supreme Court
-Net Investment Income Tax
-Non-profit board service
-Changing world views on trusts
-Disability planning
-Insurance planning mistakes to avoid

Thursday, October 8, 2015
8:15 a.m. Registration and breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Seminar
Sheraton Minneapolis West (Minnetonka)

Two CPE credits*

Click here to register

(If six or more accountants from the same firm register and you prefer to host the delivery of the seminar at your offices, please inquire about available dates.)

How the default rules have changed

• Partnership principles apply
• One person, one vote vs. voting by capital amount
• Equal share of profits and losses vs. sharing based on capital amounts

Why written operating agreements will be crucial

• Evidence of oral agreements or course of dealing may be examined. Protect your clients with a written agreement.

Traps for the unwary

• How existing LLCs will be treated under the new Act
• Helping clients avoid litigation by understanding the ownership and governance relationships under the new law
• Why LLC owners should update their documents before January 1, 2018

Standards of the revised fiduciary duties provisions

*Henson Efron, P.A. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its www.learningmarket.org.

Super Lawyers Magazine named more than half of Henson Efron attorneys to the 2014 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists for the state of Minnesota.  In addition, family law attorney Alan C. Eidsness was recognized in the top 10 of the overall Minnesota Super Lawyers list, a distinction he has received seven times since 2005.  Family law attorney Lisa T. Spencer was selected in the top 50 women attorneys list as well as the top 100 overall. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and litigation attorney Joseph T. Dixon, Jr. was listed in the top 100 overall for the third time.

The 13 Henson Efron attorneys selected to the 2014 Minnesota Super Lawyers list are:

• Christopher J. Burns – Estate Planning, Trust and Probate
• Joseph T. Dixon, Jr. – ADR (Top 100 Overall)
• Alan C. Eidsness – Family Law (Top Ten Overall)
• William F. Forsyth – Family Law
• Kathryn A. Graves – Family Law
• Stephen L. Hopkins – Tax Law
• Scott A. Neilson – General Litigation
• Melissa J. Nilsson – Family Law
• David Bradley Olsen – Business Litigation
• Clark D. Opdahl – Business and Corporate Law
• Bruce C. Recher – Business Litigation
• Lisa T. Spencer – Family Law (Top 50 Women and Top 100 Overall)
• Stuart T. Williams – Business Litigation

The four Henson Efron attorneys selected to the 2014 Minnesota Rising Star list are:

• Court J. Anderson – Business Litigation
• John N. Bisanz, Jr. – Business Litigation
• Jaime Driggs – Family Law
• Amy E. Papenhausen – Estate Planning, Trust and Probate

Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a patented multiphase selection process in which peer nomination and evaluations are combined with third party research.  Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement.  Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis.