Busines Law

www.theHRSpecialist.com January 2018 • Minnesota Employment Law 5

Essentia Healthcare fires 50 staff for refusing flu shots Over the objections of three unions, Duluth’s Essentia Healthcare fired 50 employees in November when they refused to get influenza vaccinations.

Citing the risk to patients at its 15 hospitals and 75 clinics, Essentia required employees to get vaccinated or provide documentation substan- tiating medical or religious objec- tions to the inoculations. Employees suffering from documented vaccine allergies or a history of Guillain- Barre Syndrome could opt out of the vaccine.

The United Steelworkers, which represents some Essentia employees, unsuccessfully sought an injunction against the firings in federal court. The Minnesota Nurses Association and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 65 filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board. Those complaints are still pending.

Essentia’s patient safety officer, Dr.

Rajesh Prabhu, stated that flu vaccines lower the risk of illness 40% to 60%. He dismissed claims that the inactive virus in the vaccine can sicken those who get the shot and that a vaccine that is only par- tially effective should not be mandatory.

Note: When implementing a mandatory vaccination policy, an employer must show a compelling reason for the policy and allow legiti- mate medical and religious objec- tions. Time—and the NLRB—will tell whether Essentia met those standards.

Is Green & White Taxi biased against people of color? Twin Cities-based Green & White Taxi must defend against allegations by current and former drivers that the company only sends white drivers on its most lucrative jobs.

According to a complaint filed with the Minnesota Human Rights Commission, the company’s most lucrative paying fares are corporate accounts with the Canadian Pacific Railroad and the Red Cross. Green & White transports railroad crews to worksites, rides that are longer and pay more than typical taxi rides. The Red Cross contracts with Green & White to transport blood and tissue samples to hospitals, runs that also pay more than normal taxi fares.

The complaint alleges those fares go exclusively to white drivers, even though most Green & White drivers are not white.

Note: Both state and federal law bars employers from basing work assign- ments on race. Base prize assignments on ability and availability, not race.

Former Shakopee school chief charged with embezzlement The former superintendent of the Shakopee Public Schools faces felony charges that he paid for more than $73,600 in personal expenses using the school district’s credit card.

A joint investigation by the Shakopee Police Department and the FBI allegedly found evidence that he used public funds to purchase sports memorabilia, first-class airfare, concert tickets and a video game system. In all, the former superintendent faces 20 felony charges, including six counts of theft by swindle, 13 counts of em - bezzlement of public funds and one count of possession of stolen property, plus one misdemeanor count of receiv- ing stolen property. In November, he turned himself into authorities in Scott County ahead of his arraignment.

Under fire for a $4.5 million budget shortfall he blamed on “human error,” the superintendent resigned last June.

In the News ...

Some of those employees might work for you!

Individuals can submit initial inqui- ries to the EEOC and request intake interviews by visiting the EEOC Public Portal at publicportal.eeoc.gov/portal/ .

Once the charge is filed, individuals can use the portal to provide contact information, agree to mediate the charge, upload documents to a charge file, receive documents and messages related to the charge from the EEOC and check on the status of a charge .

The new system does not permit employees to directly file discrimina- tion charges . That’s still up to the EEOC . However, all new charges (and those filed since Jan . 1, 2016) may be updated through the portal .

Note: Here’s more evidence that, despite the Trump administration’s pro-business reputation, the EEOC is continuing to advocate for employees .

EEOC’s new charge portal (Cont. from page 1)

DOL rule would allow widespread tip-pooling The U .S . Department of Labor has proposed a controversial new rule that it says would give employers more options for sharing tips among more employees . Under the proposed rule, employers would be allowed to collect tips earned by front-of- house staff such as waiters and bartenders and redistribute them as they see fit .

According to a DOL statement, the rule is designed to facilitate sharing tips with employees who do not traditionally receive direct tips, such as restaurant cooks and dishwashers . The statement said the rule would help decrease wage disparities between tipped and nontipped workers .

It would nullify a 2011 rule that banned tip pools . Enacted by the Obama administration, that rule has been repeatedly challenged in court .

The DOL’s proposal would only apply where employers pay a full minimum wage and do not take a tip credit . The proposal would not affect current rules appli- cable to employers that claim a tip credit under the Fair Labor Standards Act .

Critics immediately blasted the proposed rule, saying it would allow employers to confiscate tips with no guarantee they would be passed along to other workers .

Online resource Learn more about the proposed rule at www.dol.gov/WHD/ flsa/tipcreditnprm.htm . Public comments are being accepted through Jan . 3, 2018 .

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