Coming close on the heels of the city’s recent implementation of mandatory paid sick and safe time, the Minneapolis City Council has again turned its focus to employment policy. Beginning January 1, 2018, large employers must pay employees a minimum wage of $10 per hour, to rise each July thereafter until it reaches $15 per hour in 2022, at which point it will increase according to inflation. Small employers face a more gradual increase, but are scheduled to reach a rate of $15 per hour in 2024, after which they must pay the same wages as large employers.
Business size within the ordinance is based upon number of employees: “large business” means all employers who employ 100 or more employees, while “small business” means all employers who employ fewer than 100 employees. All persons performing work for the employer on a full-time, part-time, joint, or temporary basis will be counted regardless of whether they perform work within the city.
Although Minneapolis agreed to limit its enforcement of Sick and Safe Time to employers located within the city, the Municipal Minimum Wage Ordinance will cover employees for all hours worked within the city, regardless of their employer’s location. According to the city’s information page, this will keep the city’s minimum wage ordinance “consistent with State law,” which requires that workers be paid the state minimum wage for all work performed within the state. It is possible, though, that this aspect of the law will undergo some changes as the city implements rules for the ordinance’s implementation.
Remaining consistent with state law, Minneapolis will allow a training wage of not less than 85% of the minimum wage to be paid to employees under the age of 20 during the first 90 days of employment. Unlike the state minimum wage, however, Minneapolis does not define a youth minimum wage for employees under 18. While Minnesota’s minimum wage law does not allow for the use of a tip credit, many Minneapolis restaurateurs were hoping that the city’s minimum wage would allow for one to soften the blow. The final ordinance, however, explicitly bars employers from crediting gratuities towards the payment of the minimum wage.
Employers will be required to create and maintain wage records for three years from the date of the hours worked. They will also be required to post a notice in the workplace which informs employees of their rights under the minimum wage ordinance. The notice must be posted in English, and in any language spoken by at least 5% of the employees at the workplace or job site. As the ordinance moves forward, we will keep you posted on your mandatory posting requirements.