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2024’s new employment laws — and other labor news [1]

['Max Nesterak', 'More From Author', '- January']

Date: 2024-01-05

Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly roundup of labor news in Minnesota. This week: new labor laws take effect; non-union court interpreters plan unprecedented strike; Starbucks baristas in Moorhead look to unionize as do Planned Parenthood workers in Wisconsin; federal authorities seek back wages for Richfield grocery store workers; and Ramsey County prosecutors go after masonry business for tax evasion.

New year, new labor laws

Four new laws that were part of Democrats’ sweeping labor agenda last legislative session took effect this week. As of Jan. 1:

Employers must now provide at least six days of paid sick and safe leave each year for full-time workers. Under the law, employees who work more than 80 hours a year for an employer (and are not independent contractors) accrue one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked, up to at least 48 hours per year. Workers may also use the paid time off if their workplace or family member’s school is closed because of inclement weather or another emergency or if they are dealing with an absence related to domestic abuse.

Minnesota employers are barred from asking job applicants about their current or previous pay in order to set compensation. The law aims to eliminate the gender and racial pay gaps and encourage employers to only consider an applicant’s qualifications and market conditions. The law does not, however, prohibit applicants from voluntarily disclosing their pay history to negotiate higher pay. Twenty-two other states have similar laws.

Meat processing plants with 100 or more workers must have a safe worker program to minimize and prevent repetitive stress injuries. Workers must receive at least eight hours of safety training each year, two hours of which must relate to “ergonomic injury prevention.” Employers must also provide written information about employee rights.

Oil refineries must begin ramping up the share of contract workers who are graduates of a registered apprenticeship program. Union workers at Marathon’s refinery in St. Paul Park advocated for the law, citing the risk of inexperienced contract workers. Starting Jan. 1, 30% of a refinery contractor’s workforce must be “skilled and trained,” increasing to 60% in 2026.

More details on the new laws can be found here.

Court interpreters plan strike

In a rare organized labor protest by non-union independent contractors, Minnesota court interpreters are threatening an indefinite strike starting Monday over lagging pay raises.

Demand for skilled interpreters has soared in recent years, but their wages have been eaten away by inflation. In 1997, certified court interpreters earned $50 an hour. Today, they earn $56 an hour. Language interpreters will receive a 16% boost on Jan. 8 when new pay rates take effect, bringing them to $65 an hour. But interpreters point out that if their 1997 wages kept up with inflation, they’d be earning more than $96 an hour.

Three court certified interpreters spoke to the Reformer on the condition of anonymity for fear of being “blacklisted” by the courts — as independent contractors, they don’t have the same protections from retaliation as employees. They said upwards of 80 interpreters could begin refusing assignments on Jan. 8, threatening to create a pile-up of court cases with non-English speakers.

State Court Administrator Jeff Shorba discouraged interpreters from going forward with the work stoppage on Thursday in an email obtained by the Reformer. He said the courts haven’t been given enough money by the Legislature to pay for raises, but that the Judicial Branch will ask for $1.5 million in additional funding this year. That could increase payment rates to $75 an hour for certified language interpreters.

“A work stoppage would undermine our efforts to present a unified message to the Legislature about the critical need for additional interpreter funding in Minnesota,” he wrote.

Shorba did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Starbucks workers in Moorhead look to unionize

Workers at a Starbucks in Moorhead (3250 US-10 E.) filed for a union election with federal regulators in December in what could become the seventh unionized store in Minnesota. The union, Starbucks Workers United, has been in an organizing slump over the past year as it contends with fierce and often illegal attacks from the company. National Labor Relations Board lawyers have filed more than 100 complaints against Starbucks for labor violations including firing union organizers, closing unionized stores and offering raises and better benefits to non-union workers.

Since launching a national unionization drive two years ago, the union hasn’t won a labor agreement governing wages and benefits at any store. That has left them with few material benefits to attract more workers. Workers United has withdrawn from the past two elections scheduled to take place in Minnesota, with the last successful election held in August 2022 at a Roseville store.

Wisconsin’s Planned Parenthood workers look to unionize

More than 100 Planned Parenthood workers in Wisconsin announced they aim to unionize with the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals and filed for an election with federal labor regulators.

“Workers want to have a voice within the organization and have a seat at the table where decisions are being made about the work that we do,” Andrea Sturgeon, a nurse practitioner, told the Wisconsin Examiner.

More than 400 workers at Planned Parenthood North Central States – covering Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and the Dakotas — voted to unionize with SEIU in July 2022. The union is still negotiating a first labor contract covering wages and benefits and has been waging a public fight against the organization for what it says was unfair termination and discipline of union leaders.

Feds seek back wages for Richfield grocery store workers

The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against the owners of La Vaquita in Richfield last month, and is seeking more than $508,000 in back wages and damages for 51 workers.

The agency says workers at the store’s two locations, operated and partly owned by Mariela Jimenez, were paid an “artificially” low hourly rate to make it look like they were receiving the proper overtime rate. The stores also incorrectly categorized employees as managers to exempt them from overtime, according to the lawsuit.

Stillwater contractor faces tax evasion charges

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office filed 16 charges of tax evasion last month against the owner of a Twin Cities-based masonry business, Todd Konigson, after state and local authorities investigated complaints that he failed to pay workers in a timely manner.

Authorities at the Minnesota Department of Revenue began investigating Konigson and his business, Stillwater Masonry Restoration, as it was performing work on the Triune Masonic Temple in St. Paul. They found that Konigson and his business didn’t report at least $2.5 million in income for tax purposes and $495,000 in wages paid to employees for tax withholdings from 2017 to 2022.

“Tax evasion is a serious matter which we are prepared to meet head-on,” Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a statement. “The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting victims of wage theft and holding bad employers accountable.”

According to the criminal complaint, Konigson often claimed on tax filings that he didn’t have any employees and told state investigators that workers for Stillwater Masonry were independent contractors. Yet, he classified workers as employees to receive a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $60,620 in 2021.

Konigson could not be reached for comment.

Misclassifying workers as independent contractors is a common practice in the non-union construction industry to avoid paying overtime, payroll taxes and workers compensation insurance premiums.

Konigson and his business, Stillwater Masonry, have been sued at least six times in Minnesota in the past decade for failing to pay workers, sub-contractors and vendors; at least three of those lawsuits resulted in a judgment against Konigson or Stillwater Masonry, according to the criminal complaint.

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[1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/01/05/2024s-new-employment-laws-and-other-labor-news/

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