Employers (wherever located) with employees working in Minneapolis – don’t forget that the minimum wage increases today, July 1, 2019, to $11/hr for small businesses and $12.25 for large businesses. Quick Facts – Reminders: Small business = 100 or fewer employees. Large business = more than 100 employees. An “employee” is someone who works at least 2 hours in Minneapolis in a workweek (even if the employer is located elsewhere). Tips/gratuities don’t count towards minimum…

Effective today, Minnesota employers must follow the new so-called “Wage Theft Law” (it is actually just a bunch of amendments to existing law). This is primarily a change in recordkeeping and employee notices, creating an administrative burden likely to cause many in HR to want to raise the white surrender flag. While I’m not a big fan of government model documents, like the FMLA paperwork, this is another document that I do think employers will…

On May 29, 2019, the City of Minneapolis issued a notice stating that it will be enforcing its Sick & Safe Leave Ordinance against non-resident employers (employers located outside of the City, but with employees who perform work in the City), for all hours worked in the City since July 1, 2017.  In a token gesture, the City noted it “may exercise some enforcement discretion during summer 2019” for employers attempting to comply. Recall this…

In the 6th letter of 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Opinion Letter FLSA2019-6, which analyzes whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor. While opinion letters are specific to the employer that has sought the letter, they provide useful insight for all employers. In this opinion letter, the DOL states that it interprets whether someone is an “employee” based on whether the individual, “as a matter of economic reality, follows…

On April 1, 2019, the DOL issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), relating to whether two or more entities are “joint employers” for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  This arrangement becomes significant when determining overtime for an individual who does not work overtime at either employer, but combined, does (and thus, would be owed overtime if it was a single employer).  As important as this is, the rule has not been…

The saga continues!  Businesses required to file an EEO-1 must submit the usual Component 1 data to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by May 31, 2019. However, whether businesses with 100 or more employees must submit Component 2 pay data has been up in the air since 2016 (you can search my blog for the long convoluted history), when the EEOC first proposed revisions to the yearly report to require employers to report…

On March 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The proposed rules will clarify for employers what types of compensation must be included when determining an employee’s “regular rate” in order to determine the overtime rate. This is a conversation I have with various employers weekly and will be welcome guidance. Recall, overtime is time and one-half the “regular rate”.…