MarijuanaLegalizationThe discussion around marijuana legalization in Minnesota is picking up at the Legislature. In fact, the Legislature has launched a ‘“Be Heard on Cannabis’ Community Conversation” tour that will be coming to Saint Peter the evening of November 20. It will be critical that the voice of employers is heard in this process – particularly around the sort of workplace regulations that would be necessary to include in any legalization scenario to ensure safe and productive workplaces. I’d invite you to participate in this forum to lend your thoughts and expertise to this process. Full event details are below.

The following is a guest blog post authored by Diane Dobitz and Briana Baker who are members of the Mankato Indigenous Peoples Day Committee. Their post is a continuation of Scot Zellmer’s post “On Being A Successful Business in an Ever Changing World” and speaks to the importance of commemorating Indigenous Peoples Day on October 14th, 2019.

Are you part of a Greater Mankato member business and have an interest in writing a guest blog for us? Send 500-800 words to [email protected] or reach out to Greater Mankato Growth with further questions.

The following article was submitted by Sean Dahlman from Greater Mankato Growth member business, Pantheon Computers. It is about cyber security and how it relates specifically to the healthcare sector.
Are you part of a Greater Mankato member business and have an interest in writing a guest blog for us? Send 500-800 words to [email protected] or reach out to Greater Mankato Growth with further questions.

wage theft.jpgIn May 2019, the Legislature passed a new Minnesota Wage Theft Law to create additional protections for workers and add criminal penalties for employers. Wage theft occurs when an employer avoids paying or fails to pay wages earned by its employees. GMG published a blog highlighting these new requirements here.For additional information, you can also attend an overview presentation on Minnesota's new Wage Theft Law hosted by The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) on October 16. More details on this event are below.

DOL SealThe following is a guest blog courtesy of Blethen|Berens.The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced a final rule making more American workers eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The current salary thresholds were set in 2004. Previously, in 2016, the DOL announced a final rule, significantly increasing the overtime thresholds for the “white collar” exemptions, which was to be effective December 1 of that year. This proposed change was halted by the Courts before it took effect. Then, after a change in White House administration, in July, 2017, the Department of Labor abandoned the proposed final rule from 2016 and started over with a new process of reviewing and proposing changes to the overtime rules. The resulting final rule, which will go into effect on January 1, 2020, provides an increased threshold salary for the white collar exemptions, but the increase is much lower than the previously proposed rule from 2016.
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