November 2011 - The Wiley Law Office, PCThe Wiley Law Office, PC

Meet Attorney Greg Wiley

Attorney Greg Wiley, Esq., is admitted to practice law in state courts in Minnesota and Illinois, and in numerous federal courts. Wiley is a passionate advocate for his clients, and he has earned an outstanding reputation for the highest quality of legal representation. He is oft-recognized as a Rising Star by Minnesota Lawyer in the area of labor and employment law. In 2012, Wiley was awarded the national Pacesetter Award for innovation in labor law, and the Award of Excellence in Civil Law by the public law section of the Minnesota State Bar Association for demonstrating extraordinary leadership, initiative, and innovation in the performance of his duties in representing his public law clients. Mr. Wiley represented corporate management nationwide while at Littler Mendelson, the largest labor and employment law firm in the country. Mr. Wiley currently runs his own advising, litigation, investigation, mediation, and training practice, and serves as General Counsel to the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office. He represents corporations, local businesses, municipalities, and individuals in the Twin Cities metro area of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and in other parts of Minnesota. He has office space in Edina, Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, and Woodbury. Mr. Wiley stays current on legal trends and developments. Subscribe to his RSS, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook feeds to stay abreast of legal developments.

Contact the Wiley Law Offices

Senior Associate Ben Reber Joins the Firm The Wiley Law Office is proud to announce that Ben Reber has joined The Wiley Law Office as Senior Associate. He looks forward to working with you as established and appreciated clients of the firm and helping with all of your business and employment needs.

Ben is joining the firm following three years as an independent contractor for the firm, and eight-and-a-half years as a Labor Relations Specialist for the City of Saint Paul. During his time with the City and as a contractor, he focused his efforts on representing management in all facets of the employer/employee relationship, including hiring, on-boarding, employee relations, grievance processing, workplace accommodations, veterans’ preference, discrimination and harassment investigations, policy development, contract negotiation and interpretation, and employee training.

Ben has been quite active in the Minnesota public labor and employment community, as a participant and presenter for the Minnesota Public Employer Labor Relations Association, and earned his Certified Labor Relations Professional (CLRP) certificate from the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association in 2017.

Ben is also an experienced trainer, having conducted over 40 training seminars for the City of St. Paul during his time as a Labor Relations Specialist, covering topics ranging from employee discipline to Diversity and Inclusion.

Ben has a wealth of experience that he is excited to add to the services provided by the firm, and is devoted to bringing the same high quality service that you’ve come accustomed to as a client of the Wiley Law Office. Contact Ben for advice or just to welcome him to the firm. He can be reached at 651-373-8388, or e-mailed at Benjamin.Reber@wiley-law.com.

The Wiley Law Office, PC office space in Edina, Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, and Woodbury. The firm stays current on legal trends and developments. Subscribe to its RSS, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook feeds to stay abreast of legal developments. Thank you, and have a great day at work.

“Mr. Wiley went above and beyond my expectations in his consultation with me. He gave me great feedback for my hearing and prepared me so I had a successful outcome. He does thorough research, thinks of all the angles, and is very professional in his presentation. I highly recommend his services.”

-Cathy T., Client

September 12, 2019

Labeling Administrative Leave – Not Discipline, but not Categorically Excluded from Constituting Adverse Employment Action

At the Wiley Law Office, we’ve blogged about arbitration awards that found employees had not suffered any form of discipline when being placed on administrative investigatory leave. However, when an employer places an employee on administrative leave following an employee’s report of potentially illegal activity, it is possible a court could find that action to constitute an adverse employment action. This concept was discussed in a recent Minnesota Court of […]

September 5, 2019

Court of Appeals Affirms Arbitrator’s Decision in City of Duluth Case, Closes the Book on Public Policy Chapter

For the last few years, starting with the Court of Appeals decision in City of Richfield v. LELS, the possibility of having an arbitrator’s decision overturned as violative of public policy actually seemed attainable. However, with the Supreme Court’s overturning of City of Richfield last year and the Court of Appeals latest decision in City of Duluth v. Duluth Police Union, Local No. 807, the window for appeal of an […]

August 30, 2019

ABM Part II: Can An Arbitrator Rule on an Employer’s Application of an Ordinance?

Last week, we discussed an arbitration award between ABM Industries and SEIU, where an arbitrator ruled that not only did the St. Paul and Minneapolis ordinances apply to an employer outside the two cities, but that the employer was not abiding by the terms of the ordinance. As we alluded to in that article, the award was ripe for appeal to district court, and on June 27, 2019, the U.S. District […]

August 23, 2019

Union Grieves Employer’s Failure to Implement Terms and Sick and Safe Ordinances and Wins

Many employers struggled with the Sick and Safe Leave ordinances created by the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. At their most basic, the ordinances provide for sick and “safety” (for victims of abuse or stalking) leave to be accrued by employees working within the boundaries of St. Paul and Minneapolis. One problem encountered by employers was the difficulty of administration for employers with workers in multiple jurisdictions. This was […]

August 16, 2019

The Wiley Law Office Hits MPELRA’s Summer Conference!

As summer draws to a close, the Wiley Law Office is making its annual pilgrimage to attend the MPELRA Summer Conference! This year, we’re taking in a wealth of knowledge from a diverse cast of arbitrators from across the country, talking past practice, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and of course, the ever-looming PERB! If you’re up at the conference, make sure to stop us and talk for a while – we’re […]

November 17, 2011

Does your employee classification pass the smell test?

More than ever, employers struggle with employee classification issues: are workers employees or independent contractors? And now, the State of Minnesota and the IRS have started a new initiative to more aggressively audit employers about employee classification, so an improper classification can have significant consequences in the form of increased taxes, penalties and fees. Employers often mistakenly believe that the label they attach to a worker is controlling, but the […]

November 14, 2011

Another Victory by Attorney Greg Wiley

Recently, a Minnesota District Court upheld attorney Greg Wiley’s argument that a Last Chance Agreement precluded a union employee from seeking arbitration to challenge his termination from employment. Employers use Last Change Agreements (“LCAs”) to allow employees that have made mistakes or have had performance issues a second chance, and the agreements provide that the employees may stay employed so long as certain conditions are met. I feel that Last […]

November 10, 2011

Defamation claims are alive and well in Minnesota

Clients often shy away from bringing defamation claims because damages can be difficult to prove, and the burden of a trial might actually exacerbate the harm caused by defamatory remarks. But preserving your business’s reputation may be extremely important, and, in some cases absolutely essential. Clients should carefully evaluate whether bringing a defamation claim makes sense under the particular circumstances. A recent Minnesota District Court case shows that, in the […]