With the March 21, 2014 deadline for committee action less than 2 weeks away, the Minnesota Legislature will hold hearings this week on 3 employment-related bills. If the bills do not receive a favorable action by the committee by the March 21 deadline, they would face additional committee hurdles before having a chance at passing.
Be mindful that, in additional to needing a favorable ruling from the committee by March 21, these bills must also be passed by a majority of the Minnesota House and Senate and receive the Governor’s signature before becoming law. Provided below is a summary of the 3 bills that will receive a committee hearing this week:
- Amendments to Nursing Mothers Break (S.F. No. 2000 / H.F. No. 2259) – This bill would amend Minn. Stat. § 181.939 to enlarge the employer’s obligation to provide a separate space for nursing mothers to express milk. Specifically, according to the amendments contained in the bill, employers would be required to provide nursing mothers with a room or other location, “other than a bathroom or a toilet stall, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public and that includes access to an electrical outlet, where the employee can express her milk in privacy.” The bill would also make a violation of the law requiring break time for nursing mothers a violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which would permit private lawsuits to be used as a means of enforcement and would permit the recovery of attorneys’ fees.
- Pay Equity Standards for Certain State Contractors (H.F. No 2373) – This bill provides that all state agencies and private employers that have a contract with the state in excess of $500,000 (and at least 40 full-time employees) must have their pay practices approved by the Commissioner of Human Rights. Specifically, the employer must be able to show to the Commissioner that it has “equitable compensation relationships” as defined by Minn. Stat. § 471.991, which means that the compensation for female-dominated classes is not consistently below the compensation for male-dominated classes of comparable work value. A similar requirement was imposed on Minnesota municipalities in the 1980s, and this bill would extend these administrative burdens to all state agencies and certain private employers that contract with the state.
- Amendments to Independent Contractor Registration Requirement (H.F. No. 2198 / S.F. No. 2065) – This bill would amend Minn. Stat. § 181.723, which provides that individuals performing work in the commercial or residential construction industry must first obtain an “independent contractor exemption certificate” in order to avoid being considered “employees” of the “person for whom the individual performs services.” Nevertheless, because of a “glitch” in the statutory framework, the Minnesota Court of Appeals held in Nelson v. Levy, 796 N.W.2d 336 (Minn. Ct. App. 2011) that individuals performing work through a separate legal entity (LLC, etc.) were not required to obtain an exemption certificate pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 181.723. As a result, many individuals in the industry simply formed separate legal entities to avoid obtaining an exemption certificate. The bill attempts to “fix” the glitch by making clear that either the individual or the separate legal entity must obtain an exemption certificate in order for the individual to be considered an independent contractor (and not an employees of the “person for whom the individual performs services”).
Bottom Line
While each of these bills still has a long way to go before becoming law, they appear to have some degree of momentum in the legislature. Thus, we will keep these bills on our radar and suggest that if you have particular concerns about these bills, you may want to consider contacting your state representative to voice your concerns.
We will continue to monitor these and other employment-related legislation that is being debated at the Minnesota Legislature.