Legal Question in Business Law in Minnesota

Re: Employee discrimination

In Minnesota, employment manuals or handbooks can be considered as binding contracts under certain circumstances. For the handbook to be considered a contract, four requirements are necessary: (1) the manual must be definite and specific, and not merely a general statement of policy; (2) the handbook must be communicated to the employee; (3) the employee must accept the offer; and (4) there must be consideration.

The third and fourth elements are usually fairly easy to satisfy, since if the employee continues working after receiving the manual both acceptance and consideration will be implied. The first and second elements -- a specific and definite offer and communication of that offer to the employee -- have been the subject of considerable litigation. The facts you give don't give me enough to come to any conclusions on this.

The issue of "at-will employment" may or may not come into play; obviously, if the employment handbook is considered to be a contractual document that will limit your ability to fire at will. Similarly, the at-will employment doctrine obviously won't allow you to fire someone for impermissible reasons, such as the age discrimination alleged in this complaint.

Sorry I can't be more specific. I should point out that there is some possibility that all or part of the lawsuit, including the cost of defense, may be covered by your liability insurance. You should contact your insurance agent and talk to him/her. In the meantime, you should contact the plaintiff�s attorney and ask for an extension to answer (don't talk about anything else) so you can find counsel and see what your insurance company says or does. If the case is in Federal court, assuming the plaintiff is agreeable to an extension a stipulation for an extension will have to be filed with the court; if it's a state case, you can simply follow up with a letter to plaintiff�s attorney confirming the agreement to an extension.

In any event, good luck to you and if there is anything else I can do, please let me know. If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to send me an e-mail.

Sincerely, Vince King

Standard disclaimer: The comments above are based on limited facts and should not be considered legal advice. We do not have an attorney-client relationship.