by Just before midnight May 19, 2024, the Minnesota state legislature passed the final new laws for this session. The new and amended laws included several that impact Minnesota employers. The following are some of the changes that have been made to state law:
- Employers are required to maintain health insurance coverage under group insurance plans for employees and their dependents during the employee’s pregnancy or parenting leave “as if the employee was not on leave.” Previously, Minnesota employers could shift the full cost of benefits to the employer during the leave period. Under the law change, the employee is still responsible for the employee premium for the insurance.
- Pay transparency comes to Minnesota, effective January 1, 2025. Employers with 30 or more employees in one or more Minnesota job sites must provide a good faith estimate of the minimum and maximum salary or hourly pay range in ads or postings intended to recruit applicants for a specific position. The employer may list a fixed pay rate where a range is unavailable or not used. The posting should also include a general description of health, retirement, other benefits, and other compensation.
- As of July 1, 2024, businesses that perform work for a customer may not prohibit their customers from soliciting or hiring the business’ employees or independent contractors. Such businesses, referred to in the law as “service providers,” may not have contracts or agreements with their customers that restrict or in any way prohibit the customer from soliciting or hiring the service provider’s employees or independent contractors. It does not apply to workers who perform professional business consulting for computer software development and related services who have gone to the service provider with the intent of being hired by the customer at a later date.
- Liability for classifying a worker as an independent contractor when the worker meets the definition of employee under state unemployment or worker compensation law is expanded to include possible individual liability for an “owner, partner, principal, member, officer, or agent” of the employer. Individuals who knowingly or repeatedly misclassify employees or fail to include qualifying individuals as employees in reports to the state may be sued along with the employer for misclassification. Penalties now covering both the employer and individuals have been increased.
Other laws relevant to the employment relationship were also changed. These include Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) law and the state’s Human Rights Act. ESST was amended to clarify some of the language of the 2023 version of the law and to give employers additional flexibility in some areas. The definition of ‘disability’ in the Human Rights Act was amended. It was also clarified that unlawful harassment under the statute is not limited to sexual harassment but includes harassment based on any protected characteristic.
As of the date of this publication, the state website has not been fully updated with information on the new laws. Watch http://www.mn.gov as the state adds information on the law changes in upcoming weeks.
