Category: Uncategorized
A Future Career in the Legal Field?
February 10, 2022 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.On February 9, 2022 BGS shareholder Carole Clark Isakson spent an afternoon at Osseo Senior High speaking with students interested in careers in law. After 31 years as an attorney, she certainly didn’t run out of examples and stories! Osseo, like many high schools, spends a lot of time working with students on their plans after high school, whether those plans are work, trade school or college. Having surveyed students on their areas of interest, professionals were invited in to speak about nursing, public services, sports, art and music, law, business, construction, manufacturing, engineering, and information technology. Those sessions have taken place throughout the year. Approximately 50 students attended the session on careers in the law, and Isakson was one of three attorneys and a paralegal present to talk to the students. After introductions and a brief opportunity to talk about their particular jobs, the four professionals rotated from table to table to talk in small groups with the students. Carole recapped a few of her favorite moments of the day: Weirdest question? “What kind of car do you drive?” [uhm… Honda Accord] Most thought provoking question? “Did you make any career decisions you regret?” [Actually… no!] Most common question? “What skills do I need to be a good lawyer?” [A good lawyer…
Read MoreBusiness Owners: Think Twice Before Gifting Stock to Employees
September 24, 2021 | Carole Clark Isakson
I receive regular calls from small business owners that want to show appreciation to their hardworking employees by gifting shares in the company. Sometimes, the goal is to incentivize an employee to work harder and in other cases, the employer hopes to keep the employee long-term and feels the gift will help with this. I generally dissuade these owners from share transfers and suggest other ways to bonus employees based on profits. Why? Because an owner of shares, no matter how small, has rights in the company that can cause issues for the well-meaning employer. Minority shareholders in Minnesota have a variety of rights. For instance, minority shareholders in privately held corporations have the right to request and examine the share register, the records of all shareholders, and board proceedings over the past three years. This includes all articles, amendments, bylaws currently in effect, certain financial statements, reports made to shareholders within the last three years, names and business addresses of all directors and principal officers, voting trust agreements, shareholder control agreements, and other types of agreements. While providing these documents may not be difficult, many employers would rather not share this information. When an employee comes to their employer, and owns a share in the company, this information must be provided. In…
Read MoreMinnesota Expands Nursing Mothers Pregnancy Accommodations
September 21, 2021 | Scott M. Lepak
By Scott Lepak and Claire Schmitz The 2021 Minnesota legislature amended the nursing mother statute to provide broader protections and clarifications. The law states: (a) An employer must provide reasonable break times each day to an employee who needs to express breast milk for her infant child during the twelve months following the birth of the child. The break times must, if possible, run concurrently with any break times already provided to the employee. An employer is not required to provide break times under this section if to do so would unduly disrupt the operations of the employer. An employer shall not reduce an employee’s compensation for time used for the purpose of expressing milk. 2021 Minn. Laws Ch. 10, Art. 3, § 3 (S.F. No. 9). There are some areas of note in this amended law: The employer “must provide reasonable break times.” This implies that multiple breaks per day must be allowed. The prior law referenced a break time that was not plural. These breaks must be “reasonable.” Though “reasonable” was not defined in the original law (1998) or in the 2021 amendment, there is some authority suggesting that the average time it takes for a woman to pump her breasts is 15-20 minutes. With cleaning and putting away equipment, these…
Read More