Minnesota’s New Wage Theft Law

The Minnesota Legislature passed a new Minnesota Wage Theft Law that is set to take effect on July 1, 2019, with the exception of criminal wage theft and sanction provisions which take effect August 1, 2019. This law provides many new and amended provisions related to documentation, recordkeeping, retaliation, enforcement authority, and criminal sanctions.

Listed below are some of the many requirements and rights addressed in the Wage Theft Law:

  • Mandated written notice to new employees which includes specific items of information regarding status and terms of employment;
  • Mandated written notices of change in terms of employment or compensation to employees before the changes occur;
  • Modification of pay stub content requirements;
  • Additional information to be kept in records and mandated record locations;
  • Penalties for insufficient recordkeeping;
  • Mandated commission payment timing;
  • Creation of a substantive right to payment of commissions and wages;
  • Prohibition on retaliation for asserting rights and protections under MN wage and hour laws;
  • Changes to Commissioner enforcement authority;
  • Penalties for hindering or delaying enforcement actions; and
  • Creation of the crime of “wage theft” for employers with criminal sanctions (including both imprisonment and fines)

There are many components of this new law that affect all Minnesota businesses. If you have questions about this new legislation or would like assistance analyzing the application to your business, please reach out to any of the Blethen Berens employment-law attorneys – Julia Corbett (Julia Ketcham Corbett Bio), Beth Serrill (Beth Serrill Bio), or Kevin Velasquez (Kevin Velasquez Bio) at 507-345-1166.