Minnesota Court Extends Time to File Whistleblower Claims: Employment Law Manual Updated

Authors: Marta Moakley and Melissa Boyce, XpertHR Legal Editors

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has extended the time in which to file a whistleblower claim under the Minnesota Whistleblower Act (MWA) from two to six years. In Ford v. Minneapolis Public Schools, an employee had appealed a lower court's decision to dismiss her case because the claim was subject to a two-year statute of limitations. Because the Minnesota Supreme Court had previously ruled that statutory claims (such as those based on the MWA's reporting provisions) were subject to a six-year statute of limitations, the employee argued successfully before the Court of Appeals for the extension.

As a result of this decision, the Minnesota Employee Discipline and Employer Liability sections of the Employment Law Manual have been updated.