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Email: mkrakow@fredlaw.com
Office: 612.492.7164
Assistant: Catherine Haugen, 612.492.7825
Mary provides employers practical, common-sense advice and training, from what to do with applicant background checks, to chronic absenteeism and leaves of absence, employee bad behavior and performance reviews, employee terminations and everything in-between.
Mary is a seasoned employment lawyer with extensive experience in disability accommodation, FMLA and other leaves of absence, discrimination and harassment prevention, retaliation and whistleblowing issues, classification of independent contractors, hiring and firing, performance improvement strategies, discipline methods to avoid legal claims, employee handbooks and policies, overtime and other wage compliance, layoffs and workforce reductions, drug and alcohol testing, and federal and state affirmative action planning and compliance. She also drafts employment agreements, and non-competition and confidentiality agreements.
Mary defends employers on federal and state agency claims before the EEOC, Minnesota Department of Human Rights, the OFCCP, and the state and federal DOL.
Mary skillfully advises employers of all types and sizes including, for example, healthcare clinics, hospitals and other healthcare providers, banks and financial service organizations, manufacturers, IT and other consultant groups, food service providers and property management companies.
Mary frequently trains executives, managers and supervisors on all areas of employment legal compliance.
As an employer, do I need to give preference to a qualified applicant with a disability over other qualified applicants?
If an employee tells the employer that she needs an accommodation for a medical condition, what should an employer do?
What are some examples of when an employer could be held liable for religious harassment in the workplace?
Does an employer violate any law if they ask an applicant whether she is pregnant or intends to become pregnant?
What does an employer need to know with regard to accommodation for an employee who is pregnant?
November 23, 2016
By Mary M. Krakow, Anne M. Radolinski & Eli K. Best
Yesterday, a federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction that will, for the time being, prevent the United States Department of Labor (DOL) from enforcing its highly-anticipated and controversial revisions to the “white collar” overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
November 3, 2016
By Mary M. Krakow and Anne M. Radolinski
The two lawsuits filed in Texas federal court to enjoin implementation of the Department of Labor’s new salary requirements for exempt employees have not yet been decided. This means that the effective date of these new salary requirements is just around the corner. Are you ready?
September 1, 2016
By Mary M. Krakow & Debra J. Linder
Banks and other employers may need to update their policies, practices and agreements due to recently enacted employment and benefits requirements, including the following:
May 16, 2016
By Mary M. Krakow & Ashley R. Thronson
Under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA), an employee has one year to file a legal claim with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights or a court for alleged unlawful employment discrimination. That year, however, does not count the time the parties voluntarily engage in a dispute resolution process. See Minn. Stat. § 363A.28, subd. 3. Until recently, many believed that only formal dispute resolution processes, such as mediation or arbitration, qualified for tolling (suspending) the one-year statute of limitations (SOL) period. However, a recent Minnesota Court of Appeals case found that even an employer’s internal investigation can toll the running of the SOL if the underlying complaint involves alleged unlawful discrimination.
February 2, 2016
By Anne M. Radolinski, Mary M. Krakow & Nena M. Lenz
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued on Friday, January 29, 2016, proposed revisions to the Employer Information Report (EEO-1) to require covered employers to report aggregate workforce compensation data. The EEOC indicates that the compensation data will assist the EEOC and other agencies in “identifying possible pay discrimination and will assist employers in promoting equal pay in their workplaces.”
September 1, 2015
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that the federal Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) March 24, 2010, Administrator’s Interpretation that mortgage loan officers typically must be paid as nonexempt employees under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is enforceable. This means that, unless an exception applies, mortgage (and other) loan officers must, like all nonexempt employees, keep a time record of all time worked, receive no less than minimum wage for every hour worked, and be paid overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a work week.
July 1, 2015
By Krista A.P. Hatcher, Mary M. Krakow, Anne M. Radolinski & Karen G. Schanfield
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued long-awaited proposed revisions to its “white collar” regulations, which exempt certain employees from overtime pay under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The proposal would raise the minimum salary required to qualify for the exemption to $50,440 per year. In an op-ed published in the Huffington Post on Monday, President Obama announced that the changes are intended to “extend overtime protections to nearly 5 million workers in 2016[.]”
September 3, 2014
Banks, like all employers, must keep up with the ever-changing federal and state employment laws and requirements. Several important changes that banks must not miss have taken effect or will take effect soon.
April 22, 2014
Minnesota’s new minimum wage already is causing employers to ask many questions before its first effective date of August 1, 2014. Key questions include – What is the new minimum wage? Does it apply to my employees? and, How do I know whether to use the federal or the Minnesota minimum if they differ?
