1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to employment; establishing worker safety requirements;proposing coding 
1.3 	for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 182.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. [182.6526] WAREHOUSE DISTRIBUTION WORKER SAFETY.
1.6 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) The terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings 
1.7 	given them.
1.8 	(b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of labor and industry.
1.9 	(c) "Employee" means a nonexempt employee who works at a warehouse distribution 
1.10 	center.
1.11 	(d) "Employee work speed data" means information an employer collects, stores, analyzes, 
1.12 	or interprets relating to an individual employee's or group of employees' pace of work, 
1.13 	including but not limited to quantities of tasks performed, quantities of items or materials 
1.14 	handled or produced, rates or speeds of tasks performed, measurements or metrics of 
1.15 	employee performance in relation to a quota, and time categorized as performing tasks or 
1.16 	not performing tasks.
1.17 	(e) "Employer" means a person who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any 
1.18 	other person, including through the services of a third-party employer, temporary service, 
1.19 	or staffing agency or similar entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or 
1.20 	working conditions of 100 or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center or 
1.21 	1,000 or more employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the state. For 
1.22 	purposes of this paragraph, all employees of an employer's unitary business, as that term is 
2.1 	defined in section 290.17, subdivision 4, shall be counted in determining the number of 
2.2 	employees employed at a single warehouse distribution center or at one or more warehouse 
2.3 	distribution centers in the state.
2.4 	(f) "Warehouse distribution center" means an establishment as defined by any of the 
2.5 	following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes:
2.6 	(1) 493110 for General Warehousing and Storage;
2.7 	(2) 423 for Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods;
2.8 	(3) 424 for Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods;
2.9 	(4) 454110 for Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses; and
2.10 	(5) 492110 for Couriers and Express Delivery Services.
2.11 	(g) "Quota" means a work standard under which:
2.12 	(1) an employee or group of employees is assigned or required to perform at a specified 
2.13 	productivity speed, or perform a quantified number of tasks, or handle or produce a quantified 
2.14 	amount of material, or perform without a certain number of errors or defects, as measured 
2.15 	at the individual or group level within a defined time period; or
2.16 	(2) an employee's actions are categorized between time performing tasks and not 
2.17 	performing tasks, and the employee's failure to complete a task performance standard or 
2.18 	recommendation may have an adverse impact on the employee's continued employment.
2.19 		Subd. 2.Notice required. (a) Each employer shall provide to each employee a written 
2.20 	description of each quota to which the employee is subject and how it is measured, including 
2.21 	the quantified number of tasks to be performed or materials to be produced or handled or 
2.22 	the limit on time categorized as not performing tasks, within the defined time period, and 
2.23 	any potential adverse employment action that could result from failure to meet the quota.
2.24 	(b) The written description must be understandable in plain language and in the 
2.25 	employee's language of preference.
2.26 	(c) The written description must be provided:
2.27 	(1) upon hire or within 30 days of the effective date of this section; and
2.28 	(2) no fewer than two working days prior to the effective date of any modification of 
2.29 	existing quotas.
2.30 	(d) An employer shall not take adverse employment action against an employee for 
2.31 	failure to meet a quota that has not been disclosed to the employee. An employee who 
3.1 	experiences adverse employment action for failure to meet a quota that has not been disclosed 
3.2 	to the employee may bring a civil action to recover any and all damages recoverable at law, 
3.3 	together with costs and disbursements, including reasonable attorney fees, and may receive 
3.4 	injunctive and other equitable relief as determined by a court, including reinstatement with 
3.5 	back pay.
3.6 		Subd. 3.Breaks. An employee shall not be required to meet a quota that prevents 
3.7 	compliance with meal or rest or prayer periods, use of restroom facilities, including 
3.8 	reasonable travel time to and from restroom facilities as provided under section 177.253, 
3.9 	subdivision 1, or occupational health and safety standards under this chapter or Minnesota 
3.10 	Rules, chapter 5205. An employer shall not take adverse employment action against an 
3.11 	employee for failure to meet a quota that does not allow a worker to comply with meal or 
3.12 	rest or prayer periods, or occupational health and safety standards under this chapter.
3.13 		Subd. 4.Work speed data. (a) Employees have the right to request orally or in writing 
3.14 	from any supervisor, and the employer shall provide within 72 hours, a written description 
3.15 	of each quota to which the employee is subject and a copy of the most recent 90 days of the 
3.16 	employee's own personal work speed data. The written description of each quota must meet 
3.17 	the requirements of subdivision 2, paragraph (b), and the employee work speed data must 
3.18 	be provided in a manner understandable to the employee. An employee can make a request 
3.19 	under this paragraph no more than four times per year.
3.20 	(b) If an employer disciplines an employee for failure to meet a quota, the employer 
3.21 	must, at the time of discipline, provide the employee with a written copy of the most recent 
3.22 	90 days of the employee's own personal work speed data. If an employer dismisses an 
3.23 	employee for any reason, they must, at the time of firing, provide the employee with a 
3.24 	written copy of the most recent 90 days of the employee's own personal work speed data. 
3.25 	An employer shall not retaliate against an employee for requesting data under this 
3.26 	subdivision.
3.27 		Subd. 5.High rates of injury. If a particular work site or employer is found to have an 
3.28 	employee incidence rate in a given year, based on data reported to the federal Occupational 
3.29 	Safety and Health Administration, of at least 30 percent higher than that year's average 
3.30 	incidence rate for the relevant NAICS code's nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses 
3.31 	by industry and case types, released by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 
3.32 	commissioner shall open an investigation of violations under this section. The employer 
3.33 	must also hold its safety committee meetings as provided under section 182.676 monthly 
3.34 	until, for two consecutive years, the work site or employer does not have an employee 
4.1 	incidence rate 30 percent higher than the average yearly incidence rate for the relevant 
4.2 	NAICS code.
4.3 		Subd. 6.Enforcement. (a) Subdivision 2, paragraphs (a) to (c), subdivision 4, and 
4.4 	subdivision 5 shall be enforced by the commissioner under sections 182.66, 182.661, and 
4.5 	182.669. A violation of this section is subject to the penalties provided under sections 
4.6 	182.666 and 182.669.
4.7 	(b) This section does not limit the authority of the attorney general, a district attorney, 
4.8 	or a city attorney, either upon their own complaint or the complaint of any person acting 
4.9 	for themselves or the general public, to prosecute actions, either civil or criminal, for 
4.10 	violations of this section, or to enforce the provisions thereof independently and without 
4.11 	specific direction from the commissioner.
4.12 	(c) A current or former employee may bring an action for injunctive relief to obtain 
4.13 	compliance with this section, and may, upon prevailing in the action, recover costs and 
4.14 	reasonable attorney fees in that action.
4.15 	(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent local enforcement of occupational 
4.16 	health and safety standards that are more restrictive than this section.

4.17 	Sec. 2. SEVERABILITY.
 4.18 	If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is 
4.19 	held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act which 
4.20 	can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.