Workplace Issues

What Can You Get Paid?
When considering for a job, one of your first questions might be how much it pays. Employers must pay you at least the hourly minimum wage. The table below shows Minnesota's current minimum wages.

$4.90	Training Wage	Wage an employer can pay a new employee under age 20 for the first 90 consecutive days of work.
$5.25	Small Employers	Businesses whose sales are less than $625,000 annually.
$6.15	Large Employers	Businesses whose sales are not less than $625,000 annually.

What Should You Know About Wages and Overtime?
People who work as wait staff may receive BOTH AN HOURLY WAGE AND TIPS. In Minnesota, an employer legally cannot pay you less than the minimum wage and say that you'll make up the difference in tips. Make sure that if you are expected to receive tips, your employer pays you at least the minimum wage.

Minnesota employers must PAY YOU FOR ALL HOURS WORKED. This includes training, rest periods (less than 20 minutes), times when there are no customers and any other time you're required to be at work.

Both youth and adults are eligible for PAID OVERTIME. Small employers are required to pay overtime after 48 hours in a seven-day workweek. Large employers are required to pay overtime after an employee works 40 hours in one week. Employers are required to pay at least one-and-a-half times your regular pay for overtime.

When you leave a job, you receive a FINAL PAYMENT OF WAGES from your employer. If fired, your final wages generally should be paid within 24 hours (unless you're the one who handles the money or property, then the wait is 10 days). Should you voluntarily quit, final wages are due on the usual payday for the last day worked.

How Long Can You Work?
The hours you can work depend on your age. If you're 14-16 years old and work for a small employer, you cannot work the following: before 7 a.m., after 9 p.m., more than 40 hours in a week or more than eight hours in a 24-hour period. However, if you are a newspaper carrier, you're allowed to work before 7 a.m.

If you are 16-17 years old and working for a small employer, you cannot work before 5 a.m. or after 11 p.m., unless you have written permission from a parent or guardian to extend those hours by one half hour.

Rules are different for large employers. If you're under 16 years old and work for a large employer, you cannot work: after 7 p.m., more than three hours per day on a school day or more than 18 hours per week. Youth ages 16-17 working for large employers do not have any special restrictions regarding hours of work.

After you turn 18, you are no longer a minor and can work for as long as and with whatever schedule you and your employer decide.

How About a Break?
All employees are allowed certain breaks while working. You must be allowed to use a restroom every four hours and be provided sufficient time to eat a meal when you are working eight or more hours. These breaks do not have to be paid. But, if your meal break is less than 20 minutes or you're required to eat while working, an employer must pay you for that time.

Where Can't You Work?
Where you work depends mostly on your age. If you're under 18, for instance, you can't serve, dispense or handle liquor. You're also not allowed to work in rooms where liquor is served or consumed. There also are laws about working with hazardous materials or in hazardous settings and there are laws about working with some types of transportation or machinery.

For additional details about specific exclusions for youth under 18, refer to the Minnesota Child Labor Act and Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/181A).

Have More Questions?
For more details about employee rights, visit the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry’s Web site (www.doli.state.mn.us/laborlaw.html) or call 651.284.5005, 1.800.342.5354 or TTY: 651.297.4198. Be sure to ask for Labor Standards.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Youth Rules Web site has employment law and compliance information for teens, parents and employers: www.youthrules.dol.gov.

What Is Workers' Comp?
Workers' compensation is a type of insurance that provides benefits for those who become injured or ill as a result of their job. Workers' compensation "compensates" for medical bills, wages lost or vocational rehabilitation services if you can't return to your job. Your employer's insurance company pays these benefits.

Understanding workers' comp and your rights as an employee is important. Your employer cannot:

1. Take the cost of workers' compensation insurance from your wages.
2. Prevent you from reporting your work-related injury.
3. Threaten you or take action against you for filing a claim for workers' compensation benefits.
4. Pay for your medical expenses and then require you not to report the injury.

It's important to understand regulations in case you're ever injured on the job. Most importantly: Should you ever become injured on the job, don't wait to report your injury. If you wait too long, it's possible your claim can be denied.

After the injury is reported, your employer will fill out a statement and send it to the insurance company. You're entitled to a copy of this report. The insurer will either accept or deny your claim.

Additional Information
If you have any questions about a claim or the workers’ compensation process, visit the Department of Labor and Industry’s Web site (www.doli.state.mn.us/workcomp.html) or call 651.284.5005, 1.800.342.5354 or TTY: 651.297.4198.