What We Do

Retaliation or reprisal against employees who report discrimination or harassment is illegal under state and federal law, yet it is all too common. The Minnesota Human Rights Act prohibits “any form of intimidation, retaliation, or harassment” against an employee for making a protected report. Minn. Stat. § 363A.15. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and other federal laws also prohibit retaliation. 

As soon as you report discrimination to an employer or outside agency, resist a supervisor’s sexual advance, or engage in similar protected conduct, you may find that your employer treats you with kid gloves or freezes you out of workplace communications. Worse, you may find yourself subject to closer scrutiny at work, or investigated, transferred, suspended, or even terminated as a result. If your employer took actions like these against you in retaliation, they broke the law. If you find yourself in this situation, contact us today. 

When you report your employer’s illegal conduct, either internally or to an outside agency, your employer may decide that you cannot be trusted and take action to retaliate. The Minnesota Whistleblower Act, Minn. Stat. § 181.932, and several federal laws prohibit that type of retaliation. David Schlesinger has deep experience representing numerous whistleblowers. For example, David and a former colleague represented a police officer at trial who blew the whistle on illegal conduct within the department where he worked. At trial, David’s former client won a six-figure verdict. If you believe you are being retaliated against because you blew the whistle on illegal conduct in the workplace, contact us today. 

When you are offered a severance, your employer is typically asking you to sign a release of your employment claims, which would be enforceable regardless of whether you even know you have such a claim, and give up other valuable rights in exchange for a cash payment. Before you sign a severance offer, it is important that you speak to a qualified employment lawyer to evaluate your potential claims, understand what you are giving up, and most importantly, understand what leverage you may have to get a better severance. David Schlesinger regularly reviews and negotiates severance agreements on behalf of employees. If you have questions or concerns about a proposed severance agreement, contact us today. 

Often, an employee finds out that their former employer believes they have violated a non-compete or non-solicitation agreement when they receive an aggressive “cease and desist” letter from a lawyer. If you are being accused of violating a non-compete or non-solicitation agreement, you should retain counsel to understand how best to defend yourself and fight back against what is likely a sophisticated corporate party. David Schlesinger has successfully represented many people who have been accused of violating noncompete or non-solicitation agreements, and he is here to help. Contact us today.

When your employment is threatened, it can be helpful to strategize with an experienced employment lawyer who understands what may be happening to you and what you should do as a result, whether that means fighting back directly, or taking a different approach. For almost twenty years, David has been counseling employees, executives, and professionals who find themselves in difficult situations, and helping to successfully resolve their circumstances.

State and federal civil rights laws protect people from being discriminated against in a variety of contexts: in public places, in business, in the provision of public services. David Schlesinger has deep experience representing individuals whose civil rights have been violated. For example, David has successfully represented transgender people whose civil rights were violated due to their gender identity. If you believe that your civil rights have been violated, contact us today.    

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry estimates that more than eleven million dollars of wages are stolen from Minnesota employees each year. Minnesota law prohibits wage theft and requires employers to pay their employees all of their earned wages, overtime, commissions and bonuses. When employers fail or refuse to do so, they may be liable to their employees for their unpaid wages plus additional penalties, and attorneys’ fees and costs. We have many years of experience fighting for workers whose employers have refused to pay them the money they have earned. 

If you own part of a closely held business in Minnesota, the law affords you substantial rights. When a majority owner terminates your employment in violation of your reasonable expectations or otherwise violates their fiduciary duties of loyalty or care owed to the business or to you as a shareholder, you may have a valuable legal claim. If a court determines that violations of fiduciary duty occurred, or the management of the company is deadlocked, the court has broad discretion to fashion relief to address the situation.

David Schlesinger has significant experience representing employee-shareholders subject to breaches of fiduciary duty. For example, David represented a terminated employee-shareholder as second-chair trial counsel. David’s client won a $750,000 verdict when the court concluded that his employer had terminated him in violation of his reasonable expectation of lifetime employment as a shareholder.

David Schlesinger has represented clients at dozens of mediations, and he is available to help parties resolve their employment disputes by serving as a third party neutral.