2019 Annual Minnesota Public Employers Labor Relations Association Winter Conference

December 18, 2018  |  Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.

BGS Shareholder Scott Lepak will be giving the closing address at the annual Minnesota Public Employers Labor Relations Association Winter Conference in Plymouth MN on February 14, 2019. Scott’s presentation will be ‘Public Safety Update – Could 2018 Have Gotten Any Weirder?’ Scott said that his presentation will cover the various public safety shenanigans from 2018. He said this will include the court decision overturning an arbitration ruling that reinstated a police officer, an arbitration award that overturned a termination for an officer who dragged an individual about 100 feet by the handcuffs and a court ruling that denied the City its ability to restructure a fire department. In his 30+ years of practice representing local government on law enforcement matters, Scott said that this was one of the more unusual years for law enforcement cases. MPELRA members who would like to sign up can do so at https://www.statenpelra.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3539

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BGS Attorney Scott Lepak Participates at Champlin's Heartsafe Community Training

December 12, 2018  |  Scott M. Lepak

BGS Shareholder and Champlin City Attorney Scott Lepak participated in the City of Champlin’s Heartsafe Community CPR training during the November 13, 2018 City Council Meeting. The City of Champlin began its HEARTSafe Initiative to educate the community about Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and increase the survivability of a person who has an SCA. HEARTSafe Champlin is a partnership between the Champlin Police Department, Anoka-Champlin Fire and Allina Health Services to provide training in CPR, access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and instruction in how to use them, as well as an outlet for purchasing these lifesaving devices. This is the third time Scott has been through CPR training. “When I had my first CPR class in high school, we learned the method of alternating chest compressions and mouth to mouth”, Scott said, “the mouth to mouth component always generated the most conversation and reluctance during the training. Now that we are taught to focus on chest compressions, this training is much easier and no longer contains the mouth to mouth element that many people hesitated to do.” Scott had his second training as part of our law firm’s commitment to this program. Scott said, “the AED equipment we have now is very user friendly – even for folks that have not done…

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BGS Attorney Scott Lepak Named Anoka County Bar Association 2018 Attorney of the Year

November 12, 2018  |  Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.

Government and Employment Law Attorney Scott Lepak was named Anoka County Bar Association 2018 Attorney of the Year at the ACBA’s annual Fall Dinner, November 7th. Scott was recognized for his outstanding legal services and support to the community in his 30 year career as an attorney practicing in labor relations and employment matters affecting local government. Throughout his extensive legal career in Anoka County, Scott has provided unparalleled community focused legal service that has affected every citizen in the county during that time. As the chief labor negotiator for Anoka County, Scott has been a trusted advisor to the County on all labor relations matters for over three decades. Scott has also served as the labor and employment counsel for the Anoka County Community Action Program (ACCAP) and its Head Start program for over 30 years. He is the long time labor and employment counsel for the cities of Anoka, Blaine, Columbia Heights and St. Francis. He has also been the St. Francis City Attorney since 2000. During Scott’s tenure as the St. Francis City Attorney, the city doubled in size. In addition to his focused labor and employment practice areas, Scott also represents significant entities within the County as general counsel. Scott has served the citizens in the five cities (Blaine,…

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