Top Five Minnesota Employment Law Changes
The top five Minnesota employment law changes from the 2023 legislative session are: 1) recreational marijuana; 2) the revisions to the Minnesota Human Rights Act; 3) the banning of non-compete agreements; 4) a statewide paid sick and safe leave law; and 5) the expanded laws regarding pregnancy accommodations, nursing mothers and lactating employees. An honorable mention is the paid family and medical leave which is not effective until January 1, 2026. Here are some of the highlights:
Recreational Marijuana: An employer will be prohibited from discrimination against employees for the off duty lawful use of marijuana. In addition, employers will no longer be able to test for marijuana unless required by state/federal law or for certain defined positions. Effective August 1, 2023.
Minnesota Human Rights Act (“ACT”): Businesses and employers are now prohibited from discriminating against raced-based natural hair textures and styles. In addition, the Act’s definition of sexual orientation was amended to separate out gender identity and separately prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. Effective now.
Non-Compete Agreements: Noncompete agreements with employees or independent contractors are prohibited commencing on July 1, 2023, which is not retroactive (meaning it does not apply to agreements effective prior to July 1, 2023). Nonsolicitation and confidentiality agreements are still allowed. In addition, noncompete agreements during the sale of a business and in anticipation of a business dissolution are still allowed under certain circumstances. However, the law now allows a court to award to an employee is enforcing their rights under this law their reasonable attorneys’ fees. Another significant change is that employees who reside and work in Minnesota cannot be required to go outside of Minnesota to adjudicate their claim arising in Minnesota and Minnesota law governs the agreements if the controversy arose in Minnesota.
Paid Sick and Safe Leave Law: All Minnesota employers with at least one employee commencing January 1, 2024 must provide a minimum of 48 hours per year of paid sick and safe leave to eligible employees. There are record-keeping and notice requirements that employers need to be aware of and follow.
Pregnancy Accommodations, Nursing Mothers and Lactating Employees: Effective July 1, 2023, there are expanded protections for employees. Now there are no limitations for reasonable paid breaks to express milk for the first year following childbirth and employers are no longer allowed to decline breaks if doing so “would unduly disrupt the operations of the employer.” Certain pregnancy accommodations are automatically allowed without providing supporting documentation and there is an expanded list of potential reasonable accommodations under the law.
Spangler and de Stefano, PLLP assists business owners with respect to most employment matters.
The material contained herein is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to create or constitute an attorney-client relationship between Spangler and de Stefano, PLLP and the reader. The information contained herein is not offered as legal advice and should not be construed as legal advice.