Top Rated Employment Attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota Experience
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I think of my experience in employment law this way. I think I’ve owned my own business for almost six years. That has tons of insight. I’ve lived through a business winding down. That provided tons of insight. I’ve been in the working world for almost 40 years. I started working in a bakery when I was 12 or 13, so that provides insight. And what’s unique about us is that we’re on all sides of the employment equation. We’re helping folks when they leave their place of employment, individuals. We’re helping individuals when they go into their next job. We’re helping individuals try to figure out what their rights are while they’re at employers working. We’re helping employers try to optimize their workplace. We’re helping employers try to avoid lawsuits. We’re helping employers when they’re in lawsuits.
And I do a lot of mediations. So, I sit in a room like this and try to ask folks to compromise on their problems. I do between 30 and 50 of those a year. My colleagues and I also do a lot of neutral work, is what I call it, that mediation gig is a neutral thing. Training is really neutral, you’re just trying to help folks. But also investigations. Someone has a problem at work and they want someone from the outside to come in and take a peak and say, “What’s really going on here?” without taking a side, we do a lot of that work. So, I think that’s kind of what my life’s work has been.
Minneapolis and St. Cloud employment law attorney Sheila Engelmeier reflects on her experience practicing employment law. She explained that she viewed her experience in employment law as being shaped by nearly six years of owning her own business, which provided her with significant insight. She also shared that experiencing the process of a business winding down and spending nearly 40 years in the workforce, beginning with a job in a bakery at the age of 12 or 13, further broadened her understanding of workplace dynamics. According to her, these experiences have given her a practical perspective on the challenges faced by both employees and employers.
She emphasized that what makes their work unique is their involvement in every aspect of the employment relationship. They assist individuals who are leaving their jobs, transitioning to new employment, and understanding their rights while working for employers. At the same time, they help employers improve their workplaces, prevent legal disputes, and represent them when litigation becomes necessary.
She also explained that she conducts a large number of mediations each year, typically between 30 and 50, where she encourages individuals to reach compromises and resolve workplace conflicts. In addition to mediation, she and her colleagues perform what she described as neutral work, including workplace training and independent investigations in which they objectively examine workplace concerns without taking sides. She concluded that helping individuals and organizations through mediation, training, and impartial investigations has become the central focus of her life’s work.
