Minneapolis Wage Theft Act

At a Glance

• The Ordinance will take effect on January 1, 2020
• The Ordinance includes any individual, including temporary and part-time employees, who work at least 80 hours per year within the boundaries of the city 
• Requires employers to provide a pre-hire notice to employees that includes all the information required by the state wage theft law 
• Requires employers to provide Minneapolis Sick & Safe Time (MSST) accrual details to employees on an earnings statement each pay period  
• Please review the information below to learn more about the employer requirements and how to prepare for this Ordinance.

Introduction

On August 8, 2019, the Minneapolis City Council passed the Wage Theft Prevention Ordinance, creating new requirements for Minneapolis employers. The ordinance will take effect on January 1, 2020, and will in part duplicate and expand the recently enacted state wage theft law that went into effect on July 1, 2019.  

Ordinance Coverage

The Ordinance includes any individual, including temporary and part-time employees, who work at least 80 hours per year within the boundaries of the city.  The Ordinance does exclude employees working under certain state employment programs, independent contractors, and casual babysitters. The Department has also made clear that individuals who attend a convention, conference, training, educational class, or similar event in the city, but perform no other work in the city for an employer, are not covered by the Ordinance.

Notice Requirements

The Minneapolis Ordinance requires employers to provide a pre-hire notice to employees that includes all the information required by the state wage theft law with the addition of the following information:

• Date on which the employment is to begin;
• Employee’s rights under the Minneapolis Sick and Safe Time Ordinance, including the date the employee will begin to accrue sick and safe time;
• Employer’s policy regarding gratuities, if applicable; and
• Any overtime policy applicable to the employee’s position, including when overtime is paid and the applicable rate or rates of pay.

The Ordinance allows for provision in the notice if there is clear reference to an employee handbook, collective bargaining agreement (CBA), or similar document. The employer is responsible to direct the employee to those provisions.

Like the state law, the Ordinance requires that the pre-hire notice be signed by the employee and that employees be notified in writing of any change to any of the notice information prior to the change taking effect.  Employers must also keep a record of the date that pre-hire notices were delivered to covered employees. Lastly, covered Minneapolis employees must sign the written notice of any change.

Statement of Earnings

Like the state law, the Ordinance requires that employers provide employees with an earnings statement at the end of each pay period.  The earnings statement must include all the information required by Minnesota state law. Minneapolis has further required that employers include in earnings statements the number of MSST hours accrued and unused by a covered employee. This will pose a considerable challenge for many employers.

How to Prepare

Employers should continue to monitor the Minneapolis DLI website for the wage theft notification that must be provided to new employees after January 1, 2020.

Additionally, employers should review their current check stub configuration; for assistance please work with your account manager or email service@paylocity.com. If additional information is needed on your wage statement, this can be configured by our teams.

Thank you for choosing Paylocity as your Payroll Tax and Human Capital Management partner.

This information is provided as a courtesy, may change and is not intended as legal or tax guidance. Employers with questions or concerns outside the scope of a Payroll Service Provider are encouraged to seek the advice of a qualified CPA, Tax Attorney or Advisor.

Date Posted: August 21, 2019