piers109uk/MN-Statutes huggingface dataset:
181.55 WRITTEN STATEMENT TO EMPLOYEES BY EMPLOYERS.
When a contract of employment is consummated between an employer and an employee for work to be performed in this state, or for work to be performed in another state for an employer localized in this state, the employer shall give to the employee a written and signed agreement of hire, which shall clearly and plainly state:
(1) the date on which the agreement was entered into;
(2) the date on which the services of the employee are to begin;
(3) the rate of pay per unit of time, or of commission, or by the piece, so that wages due may be readily computed;
(4) the number of hours a day which shall constitute a regular day's work, and whether or not additional hours the employee is required to work shall constitute overtime and be paid for, and, if so, the rate of pay for overtime work; and
(5) a statement of any special responsibility undertaken by the employee, not forbidden by law, which, if not properly performed by the employee, will entitle the employer to make deductions from the wages of the employee, and the terms upon which such deductions may be made.
179.86 PACKINGHOUSE WORKERS BILL OF RIGHTS.
For the purpose of this section, "employer" means an employer in the meatpacking or poultry processing industry.
An employer must furnish its employees with equipment to safely perform their jobs under OSHA standards.
(a) At the start of employment, an employer must provide an explanation in an employee's native language of the employee's rights and duties as an employee both person to person and through written materials that, at a minimum, include:
(1) a complete description of the salary and benefits plans as they relate to the employee;
(2) a job description for the employee's position;
(3) a description of leave policies;
(4) a description of the work hours and work hours policy;
(5) a description of the occupational hazards known to exist for the position; and
(6) when workers' compensation insurance coverage is required by chapter 176, the name of the employer's workers' compensation insurance carrier, the carrier's phone number, and the insurance policy number.
(b) The explanation must also include information on the following employee rights as protected by state or federal law and a description of where additional information about those rights may be obtained:
(1) the right to organize and bargain collectively and refrain from organizing and bargaining collectively;
(2) the right to a safe workplace;
(3) the right to be free from discrimination; and
(4) the right to workers' compensation insurance coverage.
(c) The Department of Labor and Industry shall provide a standard explanation form for use at the employer's option for providing the information required in this subdivision. The form shall be available in English and Spanish and additional languages upon request.
(d) The requirements under this subdivision are in addition to the requirements under section 181.032.
The commissioner of labor and industry in consultation with the commissioner of human rights must develop and implement a strategy to assist employers in providing adequate notice and education to employees of their rights under this section. The commissioner shall assign the duty to implement the strategy to a specific identified position in the department. The position, along with contact information, must be included on printed materials the department prepares and distributes to carry out the commissioner's duties under this section.
An employee injured by a violation of this section has a cause of action for damages for the greater of $1,000 per violation or twice the employee's actual damages, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees. A damage award shall be the greater of $1,400 or three times actual damages for an employee injured by an intentional violation of this section.
The commissioner of labor and industry shall fine an employer not less than $400 or more than $1,000 for each violation of subdivision 3. The fine shall be payable to the employee aggrieved.
181.56 NO STATEMENT GIVEN; BURDEN OF PROOF.
Where no such written agreement is entered into the burden of proof shall be upon the employer to establish the terms of the verbal agreement in case of a dispute with the employee as to its terms.
181.58 SURVIVING SPOUSE PAID WAGES DUE.
For the purposes of this section the word "employer" includes every person, firm, partnership, corporation, the state of Minnesota, all political subdivisions, and all municipal corporations.
If, at the time of the death of any person, an employer is indebted to the person for work, labor, or services performed, and no personal representative of the person's estate has been appointed, such employer shall, upon the request of the surviving spouse, forthwith pay this indebtedness, in such an amount as may be due, not exceeding the sum of $10,000, to the surviving spouse. The employer may in the same manner provide for payment to the surviving spouse of accumulated credits under the vacation or overtime plan or system maintained by the employer. The employer shall require proof of claimant's relationship to decedent by affidavit, and require claimant to acknowledge receipt of such payment in writing. Any payments made by the employer pursuant to the provisions of this section shall operate as a full and complete discharge of the employer's indebtedness to the extent of the payment, and no employer shall thereafter be liable therefor to the decedent's estate or the decedent's personal representative thereafter appointed. Any amounts so received by a spouse shall be considered in diminution of the allowance to the spouse under section 524.2-403.
181.57 APPLICATION OF SECTIONS 181.55 AND 181.56.
Sections 181.55 and 181.56 shall not apply to farm labor, nor to casual employees temporarily employed, nor employers employing less than ten employees.
179.872 WORKER RIGHTS COORDINATOR.
(a) The commissioner must appoint a meatpacking industry worker rights coordinator in the Department of Labor and Industry and provide the coordinator with necessary office space, furniture, equipment, supplies, and assistance.
(b) The commissioner must enforce sections 179.87 to 179.877, including inspecting, reviewing, and recommending improvements to the practices and procedures of meatpacking operations in Minnesota. A meat-processing employer must grant the commissioner full access to all meatpacking operations in this state at any time that meatpacking products are being processed or meat-processing workers are on the job.
(c) No later than December 1 each year, beginning December 1, 2024, the coordinator must submit a report to the governor and the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over labor. The report must include recommendations to promote better treatment of meat-processing workers. The coordinator shall also post the report on the Department of Labor and Industry's website.
179.87 TITLE.
Sections 179.87 to 179.877 may be titled the "Safe Workplaces for Meat and Poultry Processing Workers Act."
179.871 DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of sections 179.87 to 179.877, the terms in this section have the meanings given.
"Authorized employee representative" has the meaning given in section 182.651, subdivision 22.
"Commissioner" means the commissioner of labor and industry or the commissioner's designee.
"Coordinator" means the meatpacking industry worker rights coordinator or the coordinator's designee.
"Meat-processing worker" or "worker" means any individual who a meat-processing employer suffers or permits to work directly in contact with raw meatpacking products in a meatpacking operation, including independent contractors and persons performing work for an employer through a temporary service or staffing agency. Workers in a meatpacking operation who inspect or package meatpacking products and workers who clean, maintain, or sanitize equipment or surfaces are included in the definition of a meat-processing worker. Meat-processing worker does not include a federal, state, or local government inspector.
"Meatpacking operation" or "meat-processing employer" means a meatpacking or poultry processing site with 100 or more employees in Minnesota and a North American Industrial Classification system (NAICS) code of 311611 to 311615, excluding NAICS code 311613. Meatpacking operation or meat-processing employer does not mean a grocery store, butcher shop, meat market, deli, restaurant, or other business preparing meatpacking products for immediate consumption or for sale in a retail establishment or otherwise directly to an end-consumer.
"Meatpacking products" means meat food products and poultry food products as defined in section 31A.02, subdivision 10.
181.59 DISCRIMINATION ON ACCOUNT OF RACE, CREED, OR COLOR PROHIBITED IN CONTRACT.
Every contract for or on behalf of the state of Minnesota, or any county, city, town, township, school, school district, or any other district in the state, for materials, supplies, or construction shall contain provisions by which the contractor agrees:
(1) that, in the hiring of common or skilled labor for the performance of any work under any contract, or any subcontract, no contractor, material supplier, or vendor, shall, by reason of race, creed, or color, discriminate against the person or persons who are citizens of the United States or resident aliens who are qualified and available to perform the work to which the employment relates;
(2) that no contractor, material supplier, or vendor, shall, in any manner, discriminate against, or intimidate, or prevent the employment of any person or persons identified in clause (1) of this section, or on being hired, prevent, or conspire to prevent, the person or persons from the performance of work under any contract on account of race, creed, or color;
(3) that a violation of this section is a misdemeanor; and
(4) that this contract may be canceled or terminated by the state, county, city, town, school board, or any other person authorized to grant the contracts for employment, and all money due, or to become due under the contract, may be forfeited for a second or any subsequent violation of the terms or conditions of this contract.
176.245 RECEIPTS FOR PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION, FILING.
An employer shall promptly file with the division receipts for payment of compensation as may be required by the rules of the division.
The commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry shall periodically check its records to determine whether these receipts have been promptly filed, and if not, shall require the employer to do so. The commissioner may determine the most efficient manner of reviewing or auditing the records filed under this chapter, including using sampling methodology, to determine compliance with this chapter.
179.873 REFUSAL TO WORK UNDER DANGEROUS CONDITIONS.
A meat-processing worker has the right to refuse to work under dangerous conditions in accordance with section 182.654, subdivision 11. Pursuant to section 182.654, subdivision 11, the worker shall continue to receive pay and shall not be subject to discrimination.
181.60 DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of sections 181.60 to 181.62, unless a different meaning is indicated by the context, the terms defined in this section shall have the meanings given them.
"Employer" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, legal representative, trustee, receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, and any common carrier by rail, motor, water, air or express company doing business in or operating within the state.
"Employee" means any person who may be permitted, required, or directed by any employer, as defined in subdivision 2, in consideration of direct or indirect gain or profit, to engage in any employment.
179.877 NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.
(a) Meat-processing employers must provide written information and notifications about employee rights under section 179.86 and sections 179.87 to 179.877 to workers in their language of fluency at least annually. If a worker is unable to understand written information and notifications, the employer must provide such information and notices orally in the worker's language of fluency.
(b) The coordinator must notify covered employers of the provisions of sections 179.87 to 179.877 and any recent updates at least annually.
(c) The coordinator must place information explaining sections 179.87 to 179.877 on the Department of Labor and Industry's website in at least English, Spanish, and any other language that at least ten percent of meat-processing workers communicate in fluently. The coordinator must also make the information accessible to persons with impaired visual acuity.
181.63 SALE OR USE OF SILICATE, SILICA DUST, OR SILICON FLOUR FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.
It shall be unlawful and a misdemeanor in the state of Minnesota to sell or use any materials used in a dry state for dusting the surface of molds to form a separation of the component parts of the mold which contain silicate, silica dust, or silica flour. It shall be the duty of the Department of Labor and Industry to see that the provisions of this section are enforced and to institute proceedings against any employer or other person who shall violate its provisions.
181.61 MEDICAL EXAMINATION; RECORDS, COSTS.
It is unlawful for any employer to require any employee or applicant for employment to pay the cost of a medical examination or the cost of furnishing any records required by the employer as a condition of employment, except certificates of attending physicians in connection with the administration of an employee's pension and disability benefit plan or citizenship papers or birth records.
176.253 INSURER, EMPLOYER, AND THIRD-PARTY ADMINISTRATOR; PERFORMANCE OF ACTS.
(a) The terms used in this section have the meanings given to them in this subdivision.
(b) "Department" has the meaning in section 176.011, subdivision 8b.
(c) "Employer" means an employer as defined in section 176.011, subdivision 10, against whom a workers' compensation claim has been asserted or who is liable for a workers' compensation injury under this chapter. Employer includes:
(1) an employer authorized to self-insure by the Department of Commerce under chapter 79A; and
(2) the state or a political subdivision that is not required to be authorized to self-insure by the commissioner of commerce in order to pay its workers' compensation claims.
(d) "Insurer" means a workers' compensation insurer licensed by the Department of Commerce under section 60A.
(e) "Third-party administrator" means an administrator that is licensed by the Department of Commerce to administer a workers' compensation self-insurance or insurance plan under section 60A.23, subdivision 8, with a contract to act on behalf of an employer or insurer.
Where this chapter requires an employer to perform an act, the insurer of the employer may perform that act. Where the insurer acts on behalf of the employer, the employer is responsible for the authorized acts of the insurer and for any delay, failure, or refusal of the insurer to perform the act. This section does not relieve the employer from any penalty or forfeiture which this chapter imposes on the employer.
A third-party administrator that has an active account in CAMPUS under section 176.2612 may act on behalf of the employer or insurer as provided in the contract between the administrator and the employer or insurer. If the department or commissioner issues an order or assesses a penalty against an employer or insurer, the order or penalty must be served on any administrator acting on behalf of the employer or insurer. A third-party administrator has the authority to act on behalf of the employer or insurer in responding to a commissioner or department inquiry, order or penalty assessment, or paying a penalty, until the insurer or administrator notifies the department in writing that the administrator does not have authority.
181.62 VIOLATIONS.
Any employer who violates any of the provisions of sections 181.60 to 181.62 is guilty of a misdemeanor.
179.875 RETALIATION AGAINST EMPLOYEES AND WHISTLEBLOWERS PROHIBITED.
(a) Pursuant to section 182.669, no meat-processing employer or other person may discharge or discriminate against a worker because the worker has raised a concern about a meatpacking operation's health and safety practices to the employer or otherwise exercised any right authorized under sections 182.65 to 182.674.
(b) No meat-processing employer or other person may attempt to require any worker to sign a contract or other agreement that would limit or prevent the worker from disclosing information about workplace health and safety practices or hazards, or to otherwise abide by a workplace policy that would limit or prevent such disclosures. Any such agreements or policies are hereby void and unenforceable as contrary to the public policy of this state. An employer's attempt to impose such a contract, agreement, or policy shall constitute an adverse action enforceable under section 179.874.
(c) Reporting or threatening to report a meat-processing worker's suspected citizenship or immigration status, or the suspected citizenship or immigration status of a family member of the worker, to a federal, state, or local agency because the worker exercises a right under sections 179.87 to 179.877 constitutes an adverse action for purposes of establishing a violation of that worker's rights. For purposes of this paragraph, "family member" means a spouse, parent, sibling, child, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, cousin, grandparent, or grandchild related by blood, adoption, marriage, or domestic partnership.
181.64 FALSE STATEMENTS AS INDUCEMENT TO ENTERING EMPLOYMENT.
It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, company, corporation, association, or organization of any kind, doing business in this state, directly or through any agent or attorney, to induce, influence, persuade, or engage any person to change from one place to another in this state, or to change from any place in any state, territory, or country to any place in this state, to work in any branch of labor through or by means of knowingly false representations, whether spoken, written, or advertised in printed form, concerning the kind or character of such work, the compensation therefor, the sanitary conditions relating to or surrounding it, or failure to state in any advertisement, proposal, or contract for the employment that there is a strike or lockout at the place of the proposed employment, when in fact such strike or lockout then actually exists in such employment at such place. Any such unlawful acts shall be deemed a false advertisement or misrepresentation for the purposes of this section and section 181.65.
181.645 EXPENSES FOR BACKGROUND CHECKS, TESTING, AND ORIENTATION.
Except as provided by section 123B.03 or as otherwise specifically provided by law, an employer, as defined in section 181.931, or a prospective employer may not require an employee or prospective employee to pay for expenses incurred in criminal or background checks, credit checks, or orientation. An employer or prospective employer may not require an employee or prospective employee to pay for the expenses of training or testing that is required by federal or state law or is required by the employer for the employee to maintain the employee's current position, unless the training or testing is required to obtain or maintain a license, registration, or certification for the employee or prospective employee.
176.261 EMPLOYEE OF COMMISSIONER OF DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY MAY ACT FOR AND ADVISE A PARTY TO A PROCEEDING.
When requested by an employer or an employee or an employee's dependent, the commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry may designate one or more of the division employees to advise that party of rights under this chapter, and as far as possible to assist in adjusting differences between the parties. The person so designated may appear in person in any proceedings under this chapter as the representative or adviser of the party. In such case, the party need not be represented by an attorney at law.
Prior to advising an employee or employer to seek assistance outside of the department, the department must refer employers and employees seeking advice or requesting assistance in resolving a dispute to an attorney or other technical, paraprofessional, or professional Workers' Compensation Division employee, whichever is appropriate.
The department must make efforts to settle problems of employees and employers by contacting third parties, including attorneys, insurers, and health care providers, on behalf of employers and employees and using the department's persuasion to settle issues quickly and cooperatively. The obligation to make efforts to settle problems exists whether or not a formal claim has been filed with the department.
181.65 PENALTIES.
Any person, firm, association, or corporation violating any provision of section 181.64 and this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Any person who shall be influenced, induced, or persuaded to enter or change employment or change a place of employment through or by means of any of the things prohibited in section 181.64, shall have a right of action for the recovery of all damages sustained in consequence of the false or deceptive representations, false advertising, or false pretenses used to induce the person to enter into or change a place of employment, against any person, firm, association, or corporation directly or indirectly causing such damage; and, in addition to all such actual damages such person may have sustained, shall have the right to recover such reasonable attorney fees as the court shall fix, to be taxed as costs in any judgment recovered.
181.66 EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK LAW; DEFINITIONS.
For the purpose of sections 181.66 to 181.71 the terms defined in this section have the meanings given them.
"Employer" means any person employing one or more employees, but does not include the state or any municipal corporation or political subdivision of the state having in force a civil service system based on merit, or the federal government.
"Employee" means an individual who, otherwise than as copartner of the employer or as an independent contractor, renders personal service wholly or partly in this state to an employer who pays or agrees to pay such individual at a fixed rate. However, where services are rendered only partly in this state, an individual is not an employee unless a contract of employment has been entered into, or payments thereunder are ordinarily made or to be made within this state.
"Wages" means all compensation for performance of services by an employee for an employer whether paid by the employer or another person including cash value of all compensation paid in any medium other than cash.
"Rate" with reference to wages means the basis of compensation for services by an employee for an employer and includes compensation based on the time spent in the performance of such services, or on the number of operations accomplished, or on the quantity produced or handled.
"Unpaid wages" means the difference between the wages actually paid to an employee and the wages required under section 181.67 to be paid to such employee.
181.67 WAGE DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEX; PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES INVOLVED IN PROCEEDING.
No employer shall discriminate between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees at a rate less than the rate the employer pays to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions, except where such payment is made pursuant to a seniority system, a merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or a differential based on any other factor other than sex. Provided, that an employer who is paying a wage rate differential in violation of sections 181.66 to 181.71 shall not, in order to comply with the provisions of sections 181.66 to 181.71, reduce the wage rate of any employee.
No employer shall discriminate against any employee in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment because the employee has filed a complaint in a proceeding under sections 181.66 to 181.71, or has testified, or is about to testify, in any investigation or proceedings pursuant to sections 181.66 to 181.71 or in a criminal action pursuant to sections 181.66 to 181.71.
181.68 ACTIONS; LIMITATIONS, DAMAGES, ATTORNEY FEES, PARTIES, COMPROMISES.
Any employee whose compensation is at a rate that is in violation of section 181.67 has a right of action against an employer for the recovery of the amount of the unpaid wages to which the employee is entitled for the one year period preceding the commencement of the action, and an amount up to the amount of these unpaid wages may be levied at the discretion of the court as exemplary damages.
In addition to any judgment awarded to the plaintiff, the court shall allow reasonable attorney fees to be taxed as costs.
The action for the unpaid wages and liquidated damages may be maintained by one or more employees on behalf of themselves or other employees similarly situated.
An agreement for compensation at a rate less than the rate to which an employee is entitled under sections 181.66 to 181.71 is not a defense to any such action.
176.271 INITIATION OF PROCEEDINGS.
Unless otherwise provided by this chapter or by the commissioner, all proceedings under this chapter are initiated by the filing of a written petition on a prescribed form with the department or office. All claim petitions shall include the information required by section 176.291.
[Repealed, 1987 c 332 s 117]
176.251 DUTIES OF COMMISSIONER OF DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY.
The commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry shall actually supervise and require prompt and full compliance with all provisions of this chapter relating to the payment of compensation.
176.275 FILING OF PAPERS; PROOF OF SERVICE.
If a document is required to be filed by this chapter or any rules adopted pursuant to authority granted by this chapter, the filing shall be completed upon acceptance of the document by the agency. Any document that lacks information required by statute or rule, or is not filed in the manner and format required by this chapter, may be rejected. A document rejected for any of these reasons is not considered filed. An agency is not required to maintain, and may destroy, a duplicate of a document that has already been filed. If a workers' compensation identification number has been assigned by the department, it must be substituted for the Social Security number on a document. The commissioner may request additional proof of an injured worker's identity before assigning an identification number.
A notice or other document required to be served or filed at either the department, the office, or the court of appeals which is inadvertently served or filed at the wrong one of these agencies by an unrepresented employee shall be deemed to have been served or filed with the proper agency. The receiving agency shall note the date of receipt of a document and shall forward the documents to the proper agency no later than two working days following receipt.
(a) Whenever a provision of this chapter or rules adopted pursuant to authority granted by this chapter require either a proof of service, an affidavit of service, or a notarized statement on a document, the requirement is satisfied by a document that meets the definition of an affidavit under Rule 15 of the General Rules of Practice for the district courts.
(b) An agency is not required to verify the accuracy of a proof or affidavit of service filed by a party before accepting a document for filing. This does not prevent a party from asserting insufficient or lack of service in a proceeding.
(c) Service on a party's attorney constitutes service on the represented party, unless service on the employee is specifically required by this chapter.
(d) A party is not required to file a proof or affidavit of service of a document on a person when the party uses the agency's electronic system to serve the person.
(e) A party to a claim who uses an agency's electronic system to (1) improperly file a document that is unrelated to the workers' compensation claim in which the document was filed, or (2) send or serve a document on a recipient who is not entitled to receive it under this chapter must, upon discovery or notification of the improper release, promptly notify the recipient, the agency, and the subject whose data was improperly released. The agency whose electronic system was used to send, serve, or file the document is not responsible under section 3.971 and chapter 13 for the improper release, but must promptly correct its files or remove the document from its electronic system upon discovery or notification.
181.724 INTERGOVERNMENTAL MISCLASSIFICATION ENFORCEMENT AND EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP ACT.
This section and section 181.725 may be cited as the "Intergovernmental Misclassification Enforcement and Education Partnership Act."
It is the policy of the state of Minnesota to prevent employers from misclassifying workers, because employee misclassification allows an employer to illegally evade obligations under state labor, employment, and tax laws, including but not limited to the laws governing minimum wage, overtime, unemployment insurance, paid family medical leave, earned sick and safe time, workers' compensation insurance, temporary disability insurance, the payment of wages, and payroll taxes.
(a) For the purposes of this section and section 181.725, the following terms have the meanings given, unless the language or context clearly indicates that a different meaning is intended.
(b) "Partnership entity" means one of the following governmental entities with jurisdiction over employee misclassification in Minnesota:
(1) the Department of Labor and Industry;
(2) the Department of Revenue;
(3) the Department of Employment and Economic Development;
(4) the Department of Commerce; and
(5) the attorney general in the attorney general's enforcement capacity under sections 177.45 and 181.1721.
(c) "Employee misclassification" means the practice by an employer of not properly classifying workers as employees.
For purposes of this section, a partnership entity:
(1) shall communicate with other entities to help detect and investigate instances of employee misclassification;
(2) may request from, provide to, or receive from the other partnership entities data necessary for the purpose of detecting and investigating employee misclassification, unless prohibited by federal law; and
(3) may collaborate with one another when investigating employee misclassification, unless prohibited by federal law. Collaboration includes but is not limited to referrals, strategic enforcement, and joint investigations by two or more partnership entities.
181.71 CITATION.
Sections 181.66 to 181.71 may be cited as the Equal Pay for Equal Work Law.
181.721 CONSTRUCTION BID EQUITY.
A successful bidder on a project must provide coverage for workers' compensation and unemployment benefits for its employees required under chapters 176 and 268, respectively, and other state and federal laws.
Employee status shall be determined using the same tests and in the same manner as employee status is determined under the applicable workers' compensation and unemployment insurance program laws and rules.
This section applies to any nonresidential project for the construction, repair, remodeling, alteration, conversion, modernization, improvement, rehabilitation, replacement, or renovation of a building or structure.
A person injured by a violation of subdivision 1 may bring an action for damages against the violator. There is a rebuttable presumption that a losing bidder on a project on which a violation of subdivision 1 has occurred has suffered damages in an amount equal to the profit it projected to make on its bid. The court may award attorney fees, costs, and disbursements to a party recovering under this subdivision.
In addition to any other penalties provided by law for the failure to obtain required workers' compensation coverage or the failure to make unemployment benefits contributions, a person violating subdivision 1 is guilty of a misdemeanor.
176.281 ORDERS, DECISIONS, AND AWARDS; FILING; SERVICE.
(a) When the commissioner or compensation judge or Office of Administrative Hearings or the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals has issued correspondence, a notice, order, decision, award, or other disposition or outcome of a dispute, or an amendment to an order, decision, or award, it shall be filed immediately with the commissioner.
(b) The agencies' systems must be configured so that transmission of data and documents described in paragraph (a) and section 176.2611, subdivision 5, paragraph (b), are immediately transmitted between the Office of Administrative Hearings case management system and CAMPUS using application programming interfaces.
(c) If the commissioner, compensation judge, Office of Administrative Hearings, or Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals has rendered a final order, decision, or award, or amendment thereto, the commissioner or the Office of Administrative Hearings or the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals shall immediately serve a copy upon every party in interest, together with a notification of the date the order was filed.
(d) On all orders, decisions, awards, and other documents, the commissioner or compensation judge or Office of Administrative Hearings or the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals may digitize the signatures of all officials, including judges, for the use of electronic data interchange and clerical automation. These signatures shall have the same legal authority of an original signature, provided that proper security is used to safeguard the use of the digitized signatures and each digitized signature has been certified by the division, department, office, or court of appeals before its use, in accordance with rules adopted by that agency or court.
176.295 NONRESIDENT EMPLOYERS; FOREIGN CORPORATION.
Where a petitioner, an employee, or an employee's dependent cannot serve a petition for compensation or other notice on an employer because the employer is a nonresident or a foreign corporation, the petitioner may file an affidavit with the chief administrative law judge stating that the petitioner is unable to effectuate service.
When a petitioner has filed an affidavit of inability to effectuate service pursuant to subdivision 1 with the chief administrative law judge, the petitioner may also file a complaint against the employer in district court. The complaint must be filed in the county in which the employee resided at the time of the injury or death. The complaint shall be commenced and pursued in the same manner as other civil actions in district court. The complaint shall state that a petition for compensation has been filed with the office, and shall be accompanied by a verified copy of the affidavit of inability to effectuate service. The complaint shall also state the facts upon which the right to compensation or other relief is based.
The remedies of attachment and garnishment are available to the petitioner in the district court action. Service of summons may be made by publication.
Where the employer makes a general appearance in the district court action and files a bond or security approved by the commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry, or where an insurer appears generally in the action and assumes liability for any award which may be rendered against the employer, the district court shall dismiss the action.
181.73 MIGRANT LABOR; HEALTH INSURANCE.
Any person, association, organization, or other group employing five or more persons, full time, part time or otherwise, who come within the definition of recruited migrant laborers as hereafter defined and who are employed or are recruited to be employed in the processing of agricultural produce other than as field labor, shall provide at its expense health care insurance during the period of employment or for illness or injury incurred while employed. Such health care insurance shall be in accordance with such rules as the commissioner of labor and industry may prescribe by rule for each such recruited migrant laborer who is not a resident of Minnesota and who does not have health care insurance meeting the requirements of the rules promulgated by the commissioner of labor and industry.
No such insurance need be purchased for any employee performing exclusively agricultural labor as defined by section 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
For the purposes of this section, a recruited migrant laborer is a migrant laborer who is offered some type of housing or transportation expense by an employer as an inducement to employment or anticipated employment.
181.70 VIOLATIONS.
A violation of sections 181.66 to 181.71 is a misdemeanor.
181.74 FAILURE OF EMPLOYER TO PAY BENEFITS OR WAGE SUPPLEMENTS, PENALTY.
Any employer required under the provisions of an agreement to which the employer is a party to pay or provide benefits or wage supplements to employees or to a third party or fund for the benefit of employees, and who refuses to pay the amount or amounts necessary to provide such benefits or furnish such supplements within 30 days after such payments are required to be made under law or under agreement, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. If such employer is a corporation, any officer who intentionally violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor. The institution of bankruptcy proceedings according to law shall be a defense to any criminal action under this section.
As used in this section, the term "benefits or wage supplements" includes, but is not limited to, reimbursement for expenses; health, welfare, and retirement benefits; and vacation, separation or holiday pay.
176.291 DISPUTES; PETITIONS; PROCEDURE.
(a) Where there is a dispute as to a question of law or fact in connection with a claim for compensation, a party may serve on all other parties and file a petition with the office stating the matter in dispute. The petition shall be on a form prescribed by the commissioner and shall be signed by the petitioner.
(b) The petition shall also state and include, where applicable:
(1) names and residence or business address of parties;
(2) facts relating to the employment at the time of injury, including amount of wages received;
(3) extent and character of each injury;
(4) notice to or knowledge by employer of injury;
(5) copies of written medical reports or medical records supporting each claim asserted;
(6) copies of other information in support of the claim;
(7) names and addresses of all known witnesses intended to be called in support of each injury and claim;
(8) the desired location of any hearing and estimated time needed to present evidence at the hearing;
(9) any requests for a prehearing or settlement conference;
(10) a list of all known third parties, including the Departments of Human Services and Employment and Economic Development, who may have paid any medical bills or other benefits to the employee for the injuries or disease alleged in the petition or for the time the employee was unable to work due to the injuries or disease, together with a listing of the amounts paid by each;
(11) the nature and extent of each claim; and
(12) a request for an expedited hearing which must include an attached affidavit of significant financial hardship which complies with the requirements of section 176.341, subdivision 6.
(c) Incomplete petitions may be stricken or dismissed from the calendar as provided by section 176.305, subdivision 4. Within 14 days of a request by a party, an employee who has filed a claim petition pursuant to section 176.271 or this section shall furnish a list of physicians and health care providers from whom the employee has received treatment for the same or a similar condition as well as authorizations to release relevant information, data, and records to the requester. The petition may be stricken from the calendar upon motion of a party for failure to timely provide the required list of health care providers or authorizations.
181.75 POLYGRAPH TESTS OF EMPLOYEES OR PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYEES PROHIBITED.
No employer or agent thereof shall directly or indirectly solicit or require a polygraph, voice stress analysis, or any test purporting to test the honesty of any employee or prospective employee. No person shall sell to or interpret for an employer or the employer's agent a test that the person knows has been solicited or required by an employer or agent to test the honesty of an employee or prospective employee. An employer or agent or any person knowingly selling, administering, or interpreting tests in violation of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor. If an employee requests a polygraph test any employer or agent administering the test shall inform the employee that taking the test is voluntary.
The Department of Labor and Industry shall investigate suspected violations of this section. The department may refer any evidence available concerning violations of this section to the county attorney of the appropriate county, who may with or without such reference, institute the appropriate criminal proceedings under this section.
In addition to the penalties provided by law for violation of this section, specifically and generally, whether or not injunctive relief is otherwise provided by law, the courts of this state are vested with jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of this section and to require the payment of civil penalties. Whenever it shall appear to the satisfaction of the attorney general that this section has been or is being violated, the attorney general shall be entitled, on behalf of the state, to sue for and have injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction against any such violation or threatened violation without abridging other penalties provided by law.
In addition to the remedies otherwise provided by law, any person injured by a violation of this section may bring a civil action to recover any and all damages recoverable at law, together with costs and disbursements, including costs of investigation and reasonable attorney's fees, and receive other equitable relief as determined by the court. The court may, as appropriate, enter a consent judgment or decree without a finding of illegality.
176.301 DETERMINATION OF ISSUES.
When a workers' compensation issue is present in the district court action, the court may try the action itself without a jury, or refer the matter to the chief administrative law judge for assignment to a compensation judge. The compensation judge shall report findings and decisions to the district court. The court may approve or disapprove such decision in the same manner as it approves or disapproves the report of a referee. The court shall enter judgment upon such decision.
An appeal lies from the judgment of the district court as in other cases.
181.78 AGREEMENTS; TERMS RELATING TO INVENTIONS.
Any provision in an employment agreement which provides that an employee shall assign or offer to assign any of the employee's rights in an invention to the employer shall not apply to an invention for which no equipment, supplies, facility or trade secret information of the employer was used and which was developed entirely on the employee's own time, and (1) which does not relate (a) directly to the business of the employer or (b) to the employer's actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development, or (2) which does not result from any work performed by the employee for the employer. Any provision which purports to apply to such an invention is to that extent against the public policy of this state and is to that extent void and unenforceable.
No employer shall require a provision made void and unenforceable by subdivision 1 as a condition of employment or continuing employment.
If an employment agreement entered into after August 1, 1977 contains a provision requiring the employee to assign or offer to assign any of the employee's rights in any invention to an employer, the employer must also, at the time the agreement is made, provide a written notification to the employee that the agreement does not apply to an invention for which no equipment, supplies, facility or trade secret information of the employer was used and which was developed entirely on the employee's own time, and (1) which does not relate (a) directly to the business of the employer or (b) to the employer's actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development, or (2) which does not result from any work performed by the employee for the employer.
176.307 COMPENSATION JUDGES; BLOCK SYSTEM.
The chief administrative law judge may assign workers' compensation cases to compensation judges using a block system type of assignment that, among other things, ensures that a case will remain with the same judge from commencement to conclusion, except that the judge must be removed from the case when:
(1) a party exercises a legal right to do so;
(2) the judge is incapacitated or is otherwise unable to hold a hearing; or
(3) assignment of a different judge is required by section 176.106, subdivision 7; 176.238, subdivision 6; or 176.305, subdivision 1a, or the Minnesota Code of Judicial Conduct.
The block system shall be the preferred means of assigning cases, but it may be supplemented by other systems of case assignment to ensure that cases are timely decided.
181.79 WAGES DEDUCTIONS FOR FAULTY WORKMANSHIP, LOSS, THEFT, OR DAMAGE.
(a) No employer shall make any deduction, directly or indirectly, from the wages due or earned by any employee, who is not an independent contractor, for lost or stolen property, damage to property, or to recover any other claimed indebtedness running from employee to employer, unless the employee, after the loss has occurred or the claimed indebtedness has arisen, voluntarily authorizes the employer in writing to make the deduction or unless the employee is held liable in a court of competent jurisdiction for the loss or indebtedness. Such authorization shall not be admissible as evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding. Any authorization for a deduction shall set forth the amount to be deducted from the employee's wages during each pay period.
(b) A deduction may not be in excess of the amount established by law as subject to garnishment or execution on wages.
(c) Any agreement entered into between an employer and an employee contrary to this section shall be void. This section shall not apply to the following:
(1) in cases where a contrary provision in a collective bargaining agreement exists;
(2) any rules established by an employer for employees who are commissioned salespeople, where the rules are used for purposes of discipline, by fine or otherwise, in cases where errors or omissions in performing their duties exist; or
(3) in cases where an employee, prior to making a purchase or loan from the employer, voluntarily authorizes in writing that the cost of the purchase or loan shall be deducted from the employee's wages, at regular intervals or upon termination of employment.
An employer who violates the provisions of this section shall be liable in a civil action brought by the employee for twice the amount of the deduction or credit taken.
176.311 REASSIGNMENT OF PETITION FOR HEARING.
Where a petition is heard before a compensation judge, at any time before an award or order has been made in such proceeding, the chief administrative law judge may reassign the petition for hearing before another compensation judge.