Minnesota Labor Laws

In 2022, Minnesota’s state minimum wage for any enterprise with annual gross revenues of $500,000 or more is $10.33 per hour. The state minimum wage for any enterprise with annual gross revenues of less than $500,000 is $8.42 per hour.

Minnesota does not have  a tipped minimum wage. Employees must be paid at least the minimum wage per hour, plus any tips the employee might earn.

Your employer must pay one-and-one-half times your regular rate of pay for overtime hours worked. Review the overtime information to learn if your employer is covered by state or federal law.

 

State law requires employers to provide employees with restroom time and sufficient time to eat a meal. If the break is less than 20 minutes in duration, it must be counted as hours worked.

Meal time must be provided to employees who work eight or more consecutive hours. 

The employer can set the hours an employee works, including when a meal or rest break can be taken. For the time to be unpaid, the employee has to be completely relieved of duties for at least 20 minutes.

An employer may not deduct or withhold any part of an employee’s wages for the following reasons, unless the employee has voluntarily consented to the deduction after the following events have occurred or has been held liable in court for the loss or indebtedness:

  • cash shortages,
  • lost or stolen property,
  • damage to property,
  • any other claimed indebtedness running from employee to employer.

An employer may enter into a written contract with an employee wherein the employee authorizes the employer to make payroll deductions for the purpose of paying:

  • union dues,
  • premiums of any life insurance,
  • hospitalization and surgical insurance,
  • group accident and health insurance,
  • group term life insurance,
  • group annuities or contributions to credit unions or a community chest fund, a local arts council, a local science council or a local arts and science council, or Minnesota benefit association, a federally or state registered political action committee, or
  • participation in any employee stock purchase plan or savings plan for periods longer than 60 days, including gopher state bonds.
Duluth, Minnesota

On May 31, 2018, Duluth enacted the Earned Sick and Safe Time Ordinance, which will imposes paid sick leave obligations on employers beginning on January 1, 2020.  The law require employers with five or more employees, which is measured by averaging the number of employees per week during the previous calendar year regardless of whether they work in Duluth, must provide paid sick and safe time (“PSST”) to their Duluth employees. An employee spends more than 50 percent of his or her working time in Duluth or is based in Duluth and does not spend more than 50 percent of working time in another place. The law also requires that employees must accrue PSST at least as fast as one hour of earned PSST for every 50 hours worked, up to 64 hours per year. Employers can limit employees’ use of PSST to 40 hours per year.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

On May 27, 2016 the Minneapolis city council unanimously passed a mandatory paid sick leave ordinance. The ordinance requires employers with more than six employees to provide employees who work more than 80 hours a year with “one (1) hour of sick and safe time for every thirty (30) hours worked up to a maximum of forty-eight (48) hours in a … year.” Employees may use the leave for their own, or a family member’s, needs related to health, domestic abuse, sexual assault, stalking, and school, daycare, and workplace closings. The ordinance also requires employers to track the accrual and use of leave time.

In 2018, Minneapolis amended the ordinance so that sick and safe time would accrue only when an employee works “within the geographic boundaries of the City” and leave time could be used only “when the employee is scheduled to perform work within the geographic boundaries of the City.”

St. Paul, Minnesota

On January 1, 2018 all Saint Paul employers, of an size, with employees working in Saint Paul must provide Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) to their employees. Saint Paul’s Ordinance requires employers to provide earned safe and sick time for workers in Saint Paul. Employees must work at least 80 hours a year in Minneapolis. Employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. This is capped at 48 hours annually, but employees can accrue up to 80 hours of earned sick time because they can carryover from year to the next. Employees can use this time if they are ill, injured, or need to attend to a medical condition for themselves or a family member. Covered family members include “any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.”

The Paul Lelii Employment firm published the following information on their website: 

“The Fair Labor Standards Act and other anti-discrimination statutes provide in general for the defendant employer to pay for an award of attorney’s fees, costs, punitive damages also known as liquidated damages. If you do have a valid claim, the Paul Lelii Law Office will handle the matter on a contingent basis (% percentage basis %).

Employment Law Firms

Bertelson Law Office

4.7/5

We provide our clients with a combination of strong advocacy, extensive experience in employment law, and a commitment to preserving their integrity while pursuing their legal goals. Because we practice exclusively in employment law, we understand that a job is more than just a paycheck. As legal advocates we are aware that employment conflicts can impact employees physically, emotionally, and financially. Bertelson Law Office has successfully represented hundreds of clients with employment law claims through litigation, mediation and arbitration.

Paul Lelii Law Group

 

 

The Paul Lelii Law Office is a Minnesota based Employment Law Office focused on representing clients in worker rights’ lawsuits in Minnesota. The office is currently accepting new clients.

Mr. Lelii is an experienced Minnesota lawyer practicing many areas of the law since 2004. He is focused on matters in the area of employment law, personal injury, and general commercial civil litigation. Mr. Lelii recognizes that every case is different but that most will resolve through Alternative Dispute Resolution processes such as mediation. The Paul Lelii Law Office is offering mediation services in the area of employment law litigation.