Jennifer S. Frank
Jennifer Suich Frank focuses her practice on all facets of employment law, including representation of employees and employers in discrimination, harassment, disability, ADA, FMLA, and wage and hour claims. In addition, she advises employers on compliance, handbooks and policies, privacy, non-competes, hiring, discipline and termination, and she conducts external workplace investigations for employers. Jennifer is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in South Dakota and Minnesota.
Jennifer is a native of New England and obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware in 1988. She went on to work in a variety of human resources and benefits positions in Pennsylvania and Washington D.C., prior to attending law school at William Mitchell College of Law, were she graduated, magna cum laude, in 1997. Prior to joining Lynn Jackson in 2015, Jennifer worked as a senior associate general counsel for a large healthcare system, and was a partner in a large law firm in Minnesota.
Jennifer attended a week-long training for workplace investigations and earned her AWI certificate (AWI-CH). She regularly provides training and presentations on discrimination, harassment, hiring/firing/discipline, disability/ADA and FMLA topics. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and its local chapter, BH SHRM, and is Past President of the Board of Directors for BH SHRM. She is also a member of the South Dakota, Pennington County, and Minnesota Bar Associations. Jennifer currently serves as the Chair of the South Dakota State Bar’s Labor and Employment Law committee.
Jennifer enjoys cooking, reading, hiking and spending time with her husband and two teenage children.
- Negotiation on behalf of employer in a thorny non-compete matter, which resulted in former employer releasing individual from non-compete restrictions, and successfully enabling client to hire its desired candidate
- Quickly navigated a multitude of issues related to COVID-19 on behalf of organizational clients, such as advising on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), drafting relevant policies such as recommended health and hygiene practices in the workplace, training on temperature checking, testing and COVID-19 vaccination issues, how to identify close contacts, drafted remote working arrangement agreements, advised on layoffs and furloughs, and handled unemployment claims related to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
- Successful in achieving a substantial settlement on behalf of long-term casino employee against prominent Deadwood, SD gaming resort, for her Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge of sex/gender discrimination for failure to be promoted, hostile work environment and retaliation.
- Successful victory achieved on behalf of Black Hills hospitality/tourism client, defeating small claims court action by a former worker with a claim for unpaid wages where work was not authorized to be performed and employee status was not demonstrated.
- Successful settlement reached for individual client involving OSHA retaliation claim alleging differential treatment after having reported a COVID-19 safety complaint to OSHA against former health care employer.
- Negotiation of severance agreement on behalf of very long-term employee who was terminated by large South Dakota health care employer for potential age discrimination, resulting in a large severance package awarded.
- Successful resolution of wage and hour matter with Federal Department of Labor/Wage and Hour Investigator, resulting in substantial reduction of back overtime payments allegedly owed to hourly workers by local small business, saving client thousands of dollars.
- Conducted in-depth workplace assessment for local non-profit organization, involving culture/climate assessment, exploration of conflicts and communications issues, and recommendations for organizational improvement.
- Conducted workplace investigation for Rapid City employer, involving allegations of religious discrimination made by a current employee, and provided conclusions and recommendations for resolution of issues.
- Conducted various in-person and virtual workplace trainings, including topics of non-harassment/non-discrimination, Title VII, respectful workplace, anti-bullying, conflict resolution, communication, and COVID-19/FFCRA.
- Participated in mediating a successful settlement of a complex case venued in federal district court in the District of Western South Dakota, for a local school district client defending an action by a former employee with multiple complaints regarding employment and termination of employment.
- William Mitchell College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1997
- University of Delaware, B.A., French; Minor in Business Administration, 1988
- Editor, South Dakota Employment Law Letter, 2015 – 2019
- Contributor, An Employer’s Guide to Employment Law Issues in Minnesota, 1998-2007
- Quoted, “States approve minimum wage, paid leave ballot questions,” Human Resources News, November 10, 2016
- Author, “On the ball? Employee wants to bring her own seat to work,” South Dakota Employment Law Letter, March 2016, and HR Hero Line, August 17, 2016
- Author, “South Dakota employee digging for win against mining company comes up empty-handed,” South Dakota Employment Law Letter, September 2015, and HR.BLR.com, October 23, 2015
- Author, “Employee’s work environment not poisoned by limited third-party offensive conduct,” South Dakota Employment Law Letter, August 2015, and HR.BLR.com, September 18, 2015
- Author, “#MeToo Still Going Strong: EEOC Releases FY 2018 Sexual Harassment Data,” South Dakota State Bar Newsletter, Employment Corner, February 2019
- Author, “Remote Work Arrangements: the Upsides, Downsides and Legal Sides,” South Dakota State Bar Newsletter, Employment Corner, February 2021
- Co-Author, “Workplace Mentoring: Taking Advantage of the Hidden Business Benefits Every Employer Can Use,” Lady Justice – Women Lawyers Section e-Newsletter, Primerus
- South Dakota Bar Association
- Pennington County Bar Association
- South Dakota Bar Association Labor & Employment Committee, Chair (2022-2024)
- South Dakota Bar Association Education Committee
- Black Hills Society for Human Resource Management (BH SHRM) – Board Member; Certification Director (2016-2018); President (2020); Past President (2021 – 2023)
- Minnesota State Bar Association
- Primerus Labor & Employment Practice Group
- Workplace Investigations, AWI-CH
- SHRM-SCP
Contact
Main Office:
Rapid City, SD 57701
Admissions:
- State of South Dakota
- State of Minnesota
- United States District Court for the District of South Dakota
- United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
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