Minnesota's New Wage Theft Law

As of July 1st, new laws concerning employers and their employees will go into effect. The Wage Theft Law, passed by the Minnesota Legislature, amends labor laws and includes new wage and hour requirements, as well as involves updates to protections and sanctions. 

Included in the amendments are several new requirements for employers concerning notice and recordkeeping. Although there are several circumstances where employers can violate Wage Theft legislation, there are an equal amount of ways to avoid the crime. Some of these methods are: 

• Pay employees for all hours worked; this includes any time required to be at work, including training, preparation time for work, etc. 
• Pay employees for overtime work
• Pay at least the minimum wage
• Refrain from unlawful deductions from employees’ paychecks
• Do not classify employees as independent contractors
• Pay all non-commissioned earnings at least every 31 days and all earned commissions at least every three months
• Do not require employees to share tips 
• Maintain a list of personnel policies—not just those relating to the payment of wages—for each employee, a brief description of the policies, and the dates provided to the employee.
• Obtain employees’ signatures on the notices and retain copies of the notices.
• Provide an updated notice whenever any information on the original notice changes (e.g., if an employee receives additional vacation days, the employee must receive a new notice).

In addition to new employer requirements, effective August 1, 2019, employers will be criminally liable for various wage violations, including failing to pay wages required by law. With the new amendments to Minnesota state law, the potential forms of punishment range from 1-20 years in prison, payment of $3,000-$100,000, or in the case of excessive wages stolen, the violator could be subject to both prison and a heavy fine. 

For more information on the new laws and regulations, contact Froehling Anderson today.