Employment Rights: Labor
Law
Minimum Wage
Overtime
Occupational Safety
Pay Periods
Rest breaks/Lunch breaks
Organizing/Bargaining
Employee Benefits
Family Leave
Minimum
Wage
The minimum wage rate is:
-
$6.15 an hour for large
companies (with $625,000 or more in gross annual sales).
-
$5.25 an hour for small
companies (with less than $625,000 in gross annual sales).
Companies have the option
to pay a training wage of $4.90 an hour for workers under 20 years of age for
the first 90 consecutive days of their employment.
Overtime Work
No law limits the amount of overtime work an employer may require.
However, all "non-exempt" employees must be paid at least one and
one-half times the usual hourly pay for overtime work. Salaried employees
who earn at least $250/week and who perform duties that are executive,
managerial or professional in nature are considered "exempt" employees
and are not covered by overtime law.
Overtime begins after 40 hours of work in a
seven day period for companies under the jurisdiction of federal law, and after
48 hours of work for companies under the jurisdiction of state law. Call
the Minnesota or U.S. Department of Labor if you have a question about which law
governs a specific company.
Occupational
Health and Safety
These laws require employers to provide a workplace free from serious hazards
and to notify employees of any special dangers in their work or at their
workplace.
Pay
Periods
Minnesota law requires employers to establish regular paydays. The longest
interval allowed between pay periods is one month.
Rest
breaks/Lunch breaks
Employees must be allowed adequate time from work to use the rest room within
each four consecutive hours of work. The law also requires employers to
provide an employee working eight or more consecutive hours sufficient time to
eat a meal.
Employers are required to allow mothers who
are breast feeding adequate (unpaid) time to express milk unless such a break
would unduly disrupt the operations of the employer. Employers must also
make a reasonable effort to provide a room for the purpose of expressing milk.
Organizing and Bargaining
The law gives employees the right to form a union and bargain collectively.
Employees also have the right to refrain from organizing activities, except when
a labor agreement requires union membership.
Employee Benefits
There are laws and rules related to benefits such as pensions, insurance and
social security, workers' compensation and unemployment compensation. For more
information contact the agencies listed under Resources.
Family
Leave
Many workers in Minnesota are eligible for unpaid family leave under state or
federal law. These laws guarantee a return to employment after the birth
or adoption of a child. However, workers in small companies (less than 21
full-time employees) are not covered by leave laws. Workers should check with
their employers to see if there is a leave policy. For more detailed
information on the state and federal law, see our Family
Leave legal rights brochure.
Anti-discrimination
Law | Labor
Law | Resources
Last Updated:
Tuesday, 22-Aug-2006 15:50:23 CDT (mmp)
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