Update applicable to:

All employers with 250 or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center or​ 1,000 or more employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the state

What happened?

As part of the omnibus bill (SF3035) that Governor Tim Walz signed last month, the state introduced new requirements for certain employers who employ warehouse workers in the state.

What are the details?

The law adopts sweeping worker safety protections for the warehouse industry, including requiring that warehouse employers provide employees with “written descriptions” regarding quotas, implementing protections for worker breaks, and providing employees with a right to request their work speed data.

Definitions

“Quota” means a work standard under which:​

• An employee or group of employees is assigned or required to perform at a specified​ productivity speed, or perform a quantified number of tasks, or handle or produce a quantified​ amount of material, or perform without a certain number of errors or defects, as measured​ at the individual or group level within a defined time period

• An employee’s actions are categorized and measured between time performing tasks​ and not performing tasks, and the employee’s failure to complete a task performance standard​ may have an adverse impact on the employee’s continued employment

Written descriptions

Employers are required to provide to each​ employee a written description of each quota to which the employee is subject and how it​ is measured, including the quantified number of tasks to be performed or materials to be​ produced or handled or the limit on time categorized as not performing tasks, within the defined time period, and any potential adverse employment action that could result from​ failure to meet the quota. The written description must be provided:​ (1) upon hire or within 30 days of the effective date of this section; and​ (2) no fewer than one working day prior to the effective date of any increase of an​ existing quota and no later than the time of implementation for any decrease of an existing​ quota.​ An employer is prohibited from taking adverse employment action against an employee for​ failure to meet a quota that has not been disclosed to the employee.

High rates of injury

If a particular work site or employer is found to have an​ employee incidence rate in a given year, based on data reported to the federal Occupational​ Safety and Health Administration, of at least 30 percent higher than that year’s average​ incidence rate for the relevant NAICS codes, the commissioner shall open an investigation​ of violations.

The efffective date of these requirements is August 1, 2023.

For more information, please see the links below:

Omnibus Bill: SF3035 (Article 9. Section 1.182.6526; pages 72-75)

What do employers need to do?

Employers should review the above section of the bill to review all the details of the specific provisions of this law and consult legal counsel for assistance with compliance.

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