New Information Requirements for Minneapolis. In addition to written notice of all of the
information required by the Minnesota Wage Theft Law, which we have discussed in
prior posts (“Minnesota’s New Wage Theft Law: Are You
Prepared?” “Minneapolis Wants a Piece of the Wage Theft
Pie,” and “Do Your Employees Know When TheirCommissions and Bonuses are ‘Earned’? Dealing with Minnesota’s New Wage TheftStatute”), the new Minneapolis ordinance will require employers to
provide written notice of the following information on a pre-hire basis:
- Covered employee’s rights under the Minneapolis Sick and Safe Ordinance and the employer’s related time off policy, including (1) the method of accrual (e.g., the rate at which time off is accrued per pay period or, if applicable front-loaded); (2) the date upon which the employee is first entitled to use accrued sick and safe time (e.g., no later than 90 days following his/her start date), and (3) the date upon which the employer’s year for the purpose of sick and safe time accrual begins and ends (i.e., the “benefit year”).
- The employer’s policy on tips and a statement that tip sharing is voluntary under Minnesota state law, if the employee will be subject to tipping.
- The overtime policy applicable to the employee’s position, if any, including the rate or rates of pay and when they apply. An employer’s best practice will be to comply with this requirement by stating that, when overtime is earned under the employer’s policy, it is paid at “one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay” rather than stating a dollar figure given that the “regular rate of pay” may not be the same as an employee’s base hourly rate.
- The employment start date.
Compliance by Reference to Collective Bargaining Agreements or
Handbooks. The city ordinance expressly states that the required pre-hire
notice may provide the required information by explicit reference to a section
of an employee handbook, collective bargaining agreement, or similar document. With
respect to the Minnesota Wage Theft law, the Minnesota Department of Labor and
Industry has similarly indicated that, in some
circumstances, cross-references to contracts, policies or similar documents may
satisfy the state law notice requirements, but the state law itself does not
include such a provision.
Employee Acknowledgment. Employees must sign the pre-hire notice
to acknowledge its receipt. Electronic signatures are acceptable. Thereafter, any
change to the information contained in the pre-hire notice requires additional
written notice to the employee prior to the date the change takes effect.
Earnings statements. Earning
statements at the end of each pay period must include, in addition to all
information required by the state Wage Theft Notice law, accrued Sick and Safe Time
hours.
Recordkeeping. As with the state Wage Theft law, employers must
keep a copy of the signed notice, or record of electronic signature, for as
long as the employee is employed plus three years.
Retaliation. Retaliation is prohibited against an employee for
exercising any right under the ordinance.
Effective Date Differs from State Law. Current employees are covered by the ordinance as of its effective
date of January 1, 2020. This differs from the state Wage Theft law, which does
not require notice to individuals employed on or before June 30, 2019, unless
and until a change is made in the information required to be provided in the
statutory notice. In contrast, under the Minneapolis law, any individual
employed on January 1, 2020, who has not previously received written notice of all
required information including notice of the employee’s rights under the Minneapolis
Sick and Safe Time Ordinance (which may incorporate
the employer's sick leave, paid time off, or other time off policy) must be
provided with the written information required in a pre-hire notice no later
than the first full pay period of 2020.
Notice Timing for Non-Minneapolis Employers. Although the
ordinance applies to all employees who work at least 80 hours in a year in
Minneapolis, it is unclear when in the employment cycle employers outside of
Minneapolis must satisfy the notice requirements. It is not clear if an employer
not located in the city may wait to give the required notice until it determines
that an employee has or will hit the annual 80 hour threshold or whether the
employer must anticipate this possibility and give the notice on a pre-hire
basis or the January 1, 2020, date for current employees. As a matter of best
practice, employers may want to consider proactively supplementing their
state-required wage theft notices with the additional Minneapolis information
and including a field on their earning statements for the sick and safe time
data that will be required in Minneapolis.
Remedies. The city’s ordinance provides that, in the event of a
violation, an employer may be liable for a variety of consequences. An employer
may be required to post notice of its violation in the workplace, the city may
periodically publish a list of violators, and may share information about
violations among city departments and licensing agencies. Further, the city may
order the employer to provide any form of “appropriate relief” for compliance
failures, including but not limited to: reinstatement of a terminated employee;
compensatory damages incurred by an employee; liquidated damages up to $1,000
per violation, reimbursement to the city of costs it incurs investigating the
violation; and various civil fines up to $2,000 for specific violations. The city
of Minneapolis is maintaining a website at which businesses and individuals can
obtain more information: http://minimumwage.minneapolismn.gov/wagetheft.html.
Compliance Assistance. The employment lawyers at Gray Plant Mooty are up to speed and
ready to consult with employers on wage theft compliance issues under both the
state and city laws.
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