One month after the State of Minnesota’s Wage Theft Statute went into effect, the Minneapolis City Council has unanimously adopted its own Wage Theft Ordinance. The ordinance—which goes into effect on January 1, 2020—applies to employees who work at least 80 hours per year in the city. It requires employers to provide wage notices and earnings statements to such employees and to comply with posting and recordkeeping requirements to avoid investigations, enforcement actions, and penalties that could amount to thousands of dollars per violation. The ordinance also incorporates state overtime and rest and meal break provisions into municipal law, allowing the city to investigate potential violations and enforce these laws. “This is sweeping legislation for Minneapolis employers,” said Nicole Dailo, Nilan Johnson Lewis employment attorney. “While the ordinance parallels the recently passed state law in some respects, it creates several new obligations and enforcement measures that businesses of all kinds and sizes must be mindful of.” Dailo notes that employers will likely need to provide wage notices prior to a Minneapolis employee’s start date whereas the state-mandated wage notice can be supplied on the worker’s first day. Additionally, Dailo states that the Minneapolis wage notice must include information that is not required in the state wage notice, such as (1) the employee’s rights under the Minneapolis Sick and Safe Time (SST) Ordinance; (2) the employer’s gratuity policy; and (3) the employer’s overtime policy. “Minnesota employers have been scrambling to come into compliance with the state wage theft statute, but if they have employees in Minneapolis, they’ll need to ensure that their wage notices and earnings statements comply with the Ordinance by the new year.”
