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On July 29, 2020, the Minnesota Supreme Court released Peterson v. Western National, expanding the scope of what can be first-party bad faith in Minnesota. In the case, Peterson claimed the $250,000 limits of her underinsured motorist (“UIM”) coverage, alleging that a whiplash injury from a motor vehicle accident caused severe headaches that required quarterly Botox injections (a relatively novel treatment). Western National’s last offer before trial was $50,000. A jury awarded Peterson damages over $1.4 million. After trial, Peterson amended her complaint to allege bad faith against Western National. The bad-faith claim was tried to the district court judge who awarded $100,000 in costs and $97,940.50 in attorney fees. Western National appealed.

On August 3, a New York federal district court judge injected a great deal of uncertainty into COVID-19 paid-leave law. The Honorable Judge Paul Oetkein of the Southern District of New York vacated four Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) regulations in the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Final Rule. The court order impacts regulations that govern the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLAEA”) and Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSLA”).

On Thursday July 30th, 2020, amid a spike in coronavirus cases, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a Public Health Emergency and issued an Emergency Order requiring individuals to wear face coverings when indoors, or in an enclosed space, and not in a private residence––with some exceptions. The order is effective at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, August 1, 2020, and will expire on September 28, 2020 or by a subsequent superseding order. Noncompliance with the order could land you a fine of $200.00.

Per Governor's Executive Order 20-81, on July 25, 2020, Minnesotans are required to wear a face covering in all public indoor spaces and businesses––subject to certain exceptions. Governor Walz explains this decision is inline with the CDC’s explanation that face coverings are most effective when worn by all individuals in a public setting. This “face mask mandate” will remain in effect until the legislature deems the peacetime emergency over.

Arthur Chapman is proud of the 18 attorneys selected as Super Lawyers® or Rising Stars® for 2020. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The patented selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

In accordance with Executive Order 20-74, issued by Governor Tim Walz under the Peacetime Emergency, the construction industry and other essential services are required to create and implement a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan by June 29, 2020. On June 15 and June 25, 2020, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (“MDLI”) released updates that drastically changed what was previously required to be in all Preparedness Plans. In the words of the Minnesota Associated General Contractors (“AGC”), the June updates have been a, “180-degree change from how the industry has been operating for the last 10 weeks.”

The EEOC has clarified that while employers may test, or require the testing, of employees for COVID-19 using accurate testing methodologies, they may not require employees to take COVID-19 antibody tests. Read more on this update, here. Arthur Chapman also has a COVID-19 Task Force with additional news and resources.

On Monday, June 15, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which, among other things, prohibits discrimination on the basis of “sex”, forbids employers from discriminating based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on construction projects – from social distancing and other safety requirements to total project shutdowns. Arthur Chapman law firm and David Pattillo & Associates hosted a webinar to discuss the effects of COVID-19 on your construction projects, and potential delay and cost increase claims that could result.

Today, Governor Tim Walz issued Executive Order 20-74, which requires critical sector businesses to prepare and implement a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan by June 29, 2020. State agencies will be providing updated guidance to assist in the preparation of these plans by June 15, 2020. The new guidance will be posted to https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/index.html.

Governor Tim Walz issued Executive Order 20-74, which allows for the opening of restaurant dining rooms, gyms, indoor entertainment venues and other businesses and permits the expansion of service by some businesses that were already permitted to open – all subject to restrictions intended to restrain the spread of the novel coronavirus. The order takes effect on June 10, 2020.

In a decision handed down on June 3, 2020, the Minnesota Supreme Court abolished the common-law prohibition against champerty. Champerty is an agreement to divide litigation proceeds between the owner of the litigated claim and an unrelated party with no bona fide interest in the claim who funds the litigation in whole or in part.

Effective today, OSHA is rescinding its prior COVID-19-related enforcement memorandum, and replacing it with a new one: “Revised Enforcement Guidance for Recording Cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).” Under the prior memorandum, issued April 10, 2020, employers generally did not need to record employee COVID-19 cases, unless the employer was in one of three areas: healthcare, emergency response, and correctional institutions. For all other employers, COVID-19 was presumptively not “work-related”— and thus not recordable. That presumption could be overcome by objective evidence, reasonably available to the employer.

Earlier today, Minneapolis Mayor Frey issued Emergency Regulation No. 2020-12. The Order orders every person over the age of two to wear a “mask or cloth face covering in accordance with CDC guidance when in indoor spaces of public accommodation,” if the person can “medically tolerate” it. The covering must cover the person’s “nose and mouth.”

On May 4, 2020 the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) announced new Treatment Parameters for work-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The authors of this article had the privilege of representing Kraus-Anderson Construction Company ("KA") through the five-year Village Lofts litigation (2015-2020), which recently concluded with a decisive win for the construction industry at the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Today, Governor Walz issued Executive Order 20-40, allowing non-critical industrial, manufacturing, and office-based businesses to re-open on April 27, 2020, subject to the following conditions:

On April 15, 2020, Wisconsin Governor Evers signed into law a comprehensive bill related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill is effective April 17, 2020. The bill impacts numerous areas of law, including worker’s compensation. The new statutory provision provides a presumption that, where an injury to a “first responder” is found to be caused by COVID-19, the injury is presumed to be caused by the employment. The intent of the law is to ensure that first responders who contract COVID-19 have the advantage of a presumption that the condition was contracted at work. Below are some general FAQs to provide insight into this new statute:

OSHA Makes COVID-19 Presumptively Not “Work Related” For Most Employers (And Their Duty to Record) COVID-19 is an OSHA recordable illness if, among other things, it is "work related." But how is an employer to figure out whether an employee got COVID-19 from work (as opposed to the grocery store, a family member, etc.)? Resolving that quandary, last Friday, OSHA essentially declared that COVID-19 is presumptively not work related for the purpose of OSHA recording rules (except for health-care, emergency-responder, and corrections workers). Enforcement Guidance for Recording Cases of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). That presumption can be overcome by objective evidence of work relatedness, reasonably available to the employer.

Today, Governor Tim Walz signed into law an unprecedented temporary amendment to Minnesota's Workers’ Compensation Act. The new law was enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and follows similar legislation in several other states. The intent of the law is to ensure that employees in certain designated employment classifications, who contract COVID-19, have the advantage of a presumption that the condition was contracted at work. This temporary amendment involves a change to the definition of occupational disease under Minn. Stat §176.011, subd. 15. Below are some general FAQs to provide insight in to this new statute: