On April 6, 2022, Minnesota’s Supreme Court in Lori Dowling Hanson v. State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources affirmed the lower courts’ summary dismissal of a Minnesota Whistleblower Act (“MWA”) claim brought by a former Department of Natural Resources (“DNR”) employee Lori Dowling Hanson (“Hanson”). The case left unanswered the fate of McDonnell Douglas in MWA claims.
On August 14, 2017, Hanson, a DNR regional director, attended a work-related conference, staying at a hotel on an Indian Reservation in her region. At times during the day, she heard a crying baby in a neighboring hotel room and became concerned. Hanson reported her concern to the hotel. Shortly after, she talked to two men in the hallway who she believed were “johns or pimps.”
Hotel security arrived, calling 911 to report Hanson’s concerns. As an officer from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”) was dispatched to the hotel, hotel security entered the neighboring room and talked to its occupants—a woman, three children, and a teething infant. Hotel security confirmed the room occupants were safe and secure.
Hanson insisted on talking with law enforcement and called 911 herself. She identified herself as a “state official,” asked for “safe escort,” and stated she was “barricaded” inside because she “stumbled upon” a prostitution ring. She demanded state law enforcement, not BIA, respond to the hotel to provide her a “safe exit.”
Thereafter, hotel management asked Hanson to leave. She became...
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