Minnesota Wage Payment Laws | MN Employment Labor Law

Frequency of Wage Payments

Most employers must pay employees on regularly scheduled paydays at least one (1) time every 31 days and all commissions earned at least one (1) time every three (3) months. Employers must pay new employees on the first regular payday if the wages are earned during the first half or a 31-day pay period. MN Statute 181:101

All public service corporations (e.g. utilities) doing business within Minnesota must pay employees wages earned at least twice per month (semimonthly) and within fifteen (15) days of the date of such payment. MN Statute 181:08

Manner of Wage Payments

An employer may pay wages by

cash;
check on banks convertible into cash on demand at full face value;
direct deposit to the employee’s choice of demand deposit account, except for instances when the employee has objected in writing to payment by direct deposit; or
with voluntary written consent of the employee, an electronic fund transfer to a payroll card account which permits the employee, at least once per pay check, to withdraw the entire amount of net wages due without deduction and that meets all of the requirements of MN Statute 177.255.

MN Statute 177.23

Direct Deposit

An employer can pay employees by direct deposit, so long as the employee has not objected in writing to payment by direct deposit. MN Statute 177.23

Payroll Card

An employer may pay an employee by payroll card if the following requirements are met.

the employee consents in writing, a copy of which must be provided to the employee, to be paid by payroll card that
- states the terms and conditions of the payroll card
- the legal requirements
- complete itemized list of all the fees that may be deducted from the employee’s payroll card account by the employer or card issuer
- third parties may assess transaction fees in addition to the fee assess by the employer’s payroll card issuer or issuers
the employee is permitted to to withdraw the entire amount of wages due
- at least once per pay check and
- without deduction
the entire amount of wages due must be available on payday and after
the employer may not condition an employee’s hire or continued employment on consenting to be paid by payroll card
the employer may not charge an employee initiation, participation, loading, or other fees to receive wages by payroll card account
the employer must provide the employee when requested verbally or in writing one free transaction history each month that includes all deposits, withdrawals, deductions, or charges by any entity from or to the employee’s payroll card account
the payroll card is not linked to any form of credit including, but not limited to, a loan against future pay or a cash advance on future pay
the employer or issuer may not deduct any amounts in the employee’s payroll card account inactivity or dormancy
the employer may not deduct fees from the employee’s wages that are imposed by the employer or issuer that were not disclosed to the employee
if the employee requires to discontinue being paid by payroll card in favor of a different payment method, the employer must change begin paying the employee through the new method within 14 days of the request
unless the employee consents in writing, information generated by the employee’s possession or use of a payroll card or payroll card account may only be used to process transactions and administer the payroll card and the payroll card account

MN Statute 177.255

Payment upon Separation from Employment

Employees who are fired, discharged, terminated, or laid off

When an employer discharges or lays off an employee, the employer must pay the employee all wages due within 24 hours of the employee’s demand for payment. MN Statute 181:13 If the employee was entrusted with the collection, disbursement, or handling of money or property of the employer, the employer may take ten (10) calendar days after the separation from employment to audit and adjust the accounts of the employee before the employee’s wages or commissions are paid. MN Statute 181.14

Employees who quit or resign

When an employee quits, the employer must pay the employee all wages due by the next regularly scheduled payday. If the next regularly scheduled payday is less than five (5) days after the employee quits, the employer may pay the employee on the second regularly schedule payday after the employee quits or within 20 days, whichever is sooner.

If the employee was entrusted with the collection, disbursement, or handling of money or property of the employer, the employer may take ten calendar days after the separation from employment to audit and adjust the accounts of the employee before the employee’s wages or commissions are paid. MN Statute 181.14

Employees who are suspended or resigns due to a labor dispute (strike)

Minnesota does not have a law specifically addressing the payment of wages to an employee who leaves employment due to a labor dispute, however, to ensure compliance with known laws, an employer should pay employees all wages due by the next regularly scheduled payday.

If the next regularly scheduled payday is less than five days after the employee quits, the employer may pay the employee on the second regularly schedule payday after the employee quits or within 20 days, whichever is sooner. MN Statute 181.14

Employees engaged in transitory labor

When an employee’s transitory employment ends, either by the completion of the work, termination, or resignation, an employer must pay wages to the employee within 24 hours.

If wages are not paid at that time, the employer is required to pay the employee’s reasonable expenses of remaining in the camp or elsewhere away from home while awaiting the arrival of payment of wages or earnings.

If an employer has not paid an employee their wages within two (2) business days after the end of employment, the employer is required to pay the employee two (2) times the average amount of the employee’s daily earnings from the time of the end of the employment until the payment has been made in full.

Transitory employment includes work the construction, paving, repair, or maintenance of roads or highways, sewers or ditches, clearing land, or the production of forest products or any other work that requires an employee to change the employee’s place of abode while performing the service required by the employment. MN Statute 181.11

Wages in Dispute

If there is a dispute between the employer and the employee as to the amount of wages due upon separation from employment, the employer must timely pay the undisputed portion of the amount due. MN Statute 181.14

Deductions from Wages

An employer may not deduct or withhold any part of an employee’s wages for the following reasons unless the employee has voluntarily consented to the deduction after the following events have occurred or have been held liable in court for the loss or indebtedness:

cash shortages,
lost or stolen property,
damage to property,
any other claimed indebtedness running from employee to employer.

MN Statute 181:79; MN Admin. Rules 5200.0090

An employer may enter into a written contract with an employee wherein the employee authorizes the employer to make payroll deductions for the purpose of paying:

union dues,
premiums of any life insurance,
hospitalization and surgical insurance,
group accident and health insurance,
group term life insurance,
group annuities or contributions to credit unions or a community chest fund, a local arts council, a local science council or a local arts and science council, or Minnesota benefit association, a federally or state registered political action committee, or
participation in any employee stock purchase plan or savings plan for periods longer than 60 days, including gopher state bonds.

MN Statute 181:06

Uniforms, Tools, and Other Equipment Necessary for Employment

An employer may make the following deductions from an employee’s wages, so long as the employee’s effective wage rate does not fall below minimum wage:

purchased or rented uniforms or specially designed clothing required by the employer, by the nature of the employment, or by statute as a condition of employment, which is not generally appropriate for use except in that employment, not to exceed $50;
purchased or rented equipment used in employment, except tools of a trade, a motor vehicle, or any other equipment which may be used outside the employment, not to exceed $50;
consumable supplies required in the course of that employment;
travel expenses in the course of employment except those incurred in traveling to and from the employee’s residence and place of employment.

An employer must reimburse an employee for the full amount of any of the items listed when the employee is separated from employment. The employer may be required to return the uniform, equipment, or other items.

MN Statute 177:24

Pre-hire Medical, Physical, or Drug Tests

An employer may not require an employee or applicant to pay the cost of a medical examination or the cost of furnishing any records required by the employer as a condition of employment, except certificates of attending physicians in connection with the administration of an employee’s pension and disability benefit plan or citizenship papers or birth records. MN Statute 181:61

Notice of Wage Reduction

Minnesota does not have any laws addressing when or how an employer may reduce an employee’s wages or whether an employer must provide employees notice prior to instituting a wage reduction.

Statement of Wages (Pay Stub)

An employer must provide each employee at the end of each pay period, an earnings statement, either in writing or by electronic means, covering that pay period. The earnings statement must include:

the name of the employee;
the hourly rate of pay and basis thereof, including whether the employee is paid by hour, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission, or other method;
allowances, if any, claimed pursuant to permitted meals and lodging;
the total number of hours worked by the employee unless exempt from state minimum wage laws;
the total amount of gross pay earned by the employee during that period;
a list of deductions made from the employee’s pay;
the net amount of pay after all deductions are made;
the date on which the pay period ends;
the legal name of the employer and the operating name of the employer if different from the legal name;
the physical address of the employer’s main office or principal place of business, and a mailing address if different; and
the telephone number of the employer.

An employer who chooses to provide an earnings statement by electronic means must provide employees access to an employer-owned computer during an employee’s regular working hours to review and print earnings statements.

An employer must provide earnings statements to an employee in writing, rather than by electronic means, if the employer has received at least 24 hours notice from an employee that the employee would like to receive earnings statements in written form. Once an employer has received notice from an employee that the employee would like to receive earnings statements in written form, the employer must comply with that request on an ongoing basis.

MN Statute 181:032

Record Keeping Requirements

An employer must make and keep a record, for at least three (3) years, of:

name, address, Social Security number and occupation;
rate of pay, deductions (taxes, insurance, union dues, other) and the amount paid each pay period;
the hours worked each day and each workweek by the employee, including for all employees paid at piece rate, the number of pieces completed at each piece rate;
a list of the personnel policies provided to the employee, including the date the policies were given to the employee and a brief description of the policies;
a copy of the notice provided to each employee as required by section 181.032, paragraph (d), including any written changes to the notice under section 181.032, paragraph (f);
other information the commissioner finds necessary and appropriate to enforce sections 177.21 to 177.435.

MN Statute 177:30

An employer must maintain, for at least three (3) years, complete and accurate records relating to migrant workers, including:

the names of the migrant employees,
the daily hours worked by each employee,
the rate of pay for each employee, and
the wages paid each pay period to each employee.

MN Statute 181.88

Notice Requirements

Minnesota labor laws require employers to provide each employee at the start of employment a written notice containing the following information:

the rate or rates of pay and basis thereof, including whether the employee is paid by the hour, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission, or other method, and the specific application of any additional rates
allowances, if any, claimed pursuant to permitted meals and lodging
paid vacation, sick time, or other paid time-off accruals and terms of use
the employee’s employment status and whether the employee is exempt from minimum wage, overtime, and other provisions of chapter 177, and on what basis
a list of deductions that may be made from the employee’s pay
the number of days in the pay period, the regularly scheduled pay day, and the pay day on which the employee will receive the first payment of wages earned
the legal name of the employer and the operating name of the employer if different from the legal name
the physical address of the employer’s main office or principal place of business, and a mailing address if different
the telephone number of the employer.

MN Statute 181.032