DLI may require “any other information” necessary to enforce prevailing wage and wage and hour laws.
Timing of wage payments (Minn. Stat. § 181.101) • Wages (salary, earnings, gratuities) must be paid at least once every 31 days . • Earned commissions must be paid at least every three months on a regular payday. DLI may order employers to pay wages/commissions owed, liquidated damages, compensatory damages, and civil penalties for repeated or willful violations (Minn. Stat. § 177.27, subd. 2). DLI can assess: • Up to $5,000 per repeated failure to keep, maintain, or produce required records. • Daily penalties when wages are not timely paid, based on the employee’s average daily wages or a fraction of commissions owed. Criminal wage theft (Minn. Stat. § 609.52) Minnesota’s criminal code now defines certain nonpayment practices as “ wage theft ,” including: • Failing to pay agreed wages, earnings, or commissions. • Causing an employee to give a receipt for more than was actually paid. • Demanding rebates or refunds of wages not actually owed. • Attempting to show greater payment than actually made. Criminal penalties vary by amount and can include: • Fines up to $100,000 and imprisonment up to 20 years for the largest amounts, with lower thresholds carrying reduced penalties. • Aggregation of unpaid wages over a six month period for charging purposes. Anti retaliation (Minn. Stat. § 181.03) Employers may not retaliate against employees for asserting rights under Minnesota wage and hour laws or for cooperating with investigations. Civil penalties of $700–$3,000 per violation may
be imposed, in addition to other remedies. Retainage (Minn. Stat. §§ 15.72, 337.10)
2019 amendments changed retainage rules on both public and private construction projects, including caps and timelines for release of retainage. Because retainage requirements are technical and project specific, employers and contractors should consult DLI or legal counsel for current details.
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