Most Minnesota employers want to comply with the law and correctly pay their employees for the work they perform. When an employer fails to pay its workers all wages earned, their workers may report a wage-theft violation to the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). The DLI is committed to assisting employers that want to pay their workers correctly. Below are some compliance tips to avoid committing wage theft.
Pay your employees the applicable state minimum wage. Minnesota's 2019 minimum-wage rates are $9.86 an hour for large employers and $8.04 an hour for small employers. For additional details about the state's
minimum-wage rates, visit www.dli.mn.gov/business/employment-practices/minimum-wage-minnesota. New rates take effect Jan. 1 each year. Employers operating in Minneapolis or St. Paul should understand the requirements of the minimum-wage ordinances in those cities.
Pay your employees for all hours worked. Employees must be paid for employer-required training and for time needed to prepare to perform work, such as restocking supplies and performing safety checks. If you require employees to meet at a centralized location before driving to a worksite, pay the employee for the drive-time from the location to the worksite. Employers cannot require employees to remain at work and "punch in" only when it gets busy, "punching out" when business gets slow.
Pay your hourly employees for overtime. Federal law requires most hourly employees to receive overtime after working 40 hours in a workweek. Some employees are exempt from this requirement, but still need to be paid overtime after 48 hours in a workweek under Minnesota law.
Pay your employees at least every 31 days, on a regularly scheduled payday that they are notified of in advance.
Do not misclassify employees as independent contractors. Such misclassification not only adversely impacts employees, it also creates a competitive disadvantage for employers that comply with state laws related to workers' compensation, unemployment insurance and tax withholding.
Do not take unlawful deductions from your employees' paychecks. Deductions that generally cannot be made include: property loss or damage; cash shortages; and tool or uniform expenses.
Resources
Visit DLI's Employment Practices webpage at www.dli.mn.gov/business/employment-practices for information about child labor, minimum wage, nursing mother accommodations, overtime, parental leave, payroll recordkeeping and tip regulations, plus other important labor standards issues.
Contact DLI if you have any questions. DLI's Labor Standards is available from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 651-284-5075 and dli.laborstandards@state.mn.us.
Invite Labor Standards to meet with your company or business association. They meet with businesses, nonprofits and others to explain Minnesota labor standards law.
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