Serving Clients In Carver County And Throughout The Greater Minneapolis – Saint Paul Region

Minnesota county faces racial discrimination claims

On Behalf of | Sep 19, 2022 | Workplace Discrimination |

A county government in Minnesota is facing claims that it unlawfully passed over a qualified candidate for a promotion in favor of other applicants who were white.

According to news reports, the Olmstead County employee who filed the claim remains on the county’s payroll. However, she is saying that she has been passed over for several jobs which she applied for and for which she had the necessary qualifications. She indicated that those who ultimately got the jobs she wanted were white.

She also said that she received an unfavorable transfer of job duties after raising her concerns.

There is some dispute in the case about how far back the employee can look to raise her claims. The county has argued that some of her claims are untimely since she first raised them in 2019 with an administrative agency.

In response, she has argued that the county recently retaliated against her because she complained about her mistreatment to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2019.

This court case illustrates important points to Minnesota employers and workers

Although this employment discrimination case is still in its early stages, Minneapolis employers and employees alike can learn from some important takeaways.

Employees need to remember that there are strict time limits and rules that apply to filing discrimination claims.

In particular, before suing in court, the employee may have to bring their claim before the correct state or federal administrative agency and do so within legal time limits.

Once they do so, they may have only a limited time to file a lawsuit once they hear back from the administrative agency.

For their part, employers need to remember that employees can make discrimination claims after being passed over for a promotion or favorable job assignment.

Employers to make sure that when deciding which workers to promote, they have objective and legal bases for their decisions.

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