HF 1437

3rd Engrossment - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to employment; requiring disclosure to 
  1.3             recruited employees in the food processing industry; 
  1.4             providing penalties; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 181. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [181.635] [RECRUITMENT; FOOD PROCESSING 
  1.8   EMPLOYMENT.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] The definitions in this 
  1.10  subdivision apply to this section. 
  1.11     (a) "Employer" means a person who employs another to 
  1.12  perform a service for hire.  Employer includes any agent or 
  1.13  attorney of an employer who, for money or other valuable 
  1.14  consideration paid or promised to be paid, performs any 
  1.15  recruiting.  
  1.16     (b) "Person" means a corporation, partnership, limited 
  1.17  liability company, limited liability partnership, association, 
  1.18  individual, or group of persons. 
  1.19     (c) "Recruits" means to induce an individual, directly or 
  1.20  through an agent, to relocate to Minnesota to work in food 
  1.21  processing by an offer of employment. 
  1.22     (d) "Food processing" means canning, packing, or otherwise 
  1.23  processing poultry or meat for consumption. 
  1.24     (e) "Terms and conditions of employment" means the 
  1.25  following: 
  2.1      (1) nature of the work to be performed; 
  2.2      (2) wage rate, nature and amount of deductions for tools, 
  2.3   clothing, supplies, or other items; 
  2.4      (3) anticipated hours of work per week, including overtime; 
  2.5      (4) anticipated slow-down or shutdown or if hours of work 
  2.6   per week vary more than 25 percent from clause (3); 
  2.7      (5) duration of the work; 
  2.8      (6) workers' compensation coverage and name, address, and 
  2.9   telephone number of insurer and department of labor and 
  2.10  industry; 
  2.11     (7) employee benefits available, including any health 
  2.12  plans, sick leave, or paid vacation; 
  2.13     (8) transportation and relocation arrangements with 
  2.14  allocation of costs between employer and employee; 
  2.15     (9) availability and description of housing and any costs 
  2.16  to employee associated with housing; and 
  2.17     (10) any other item of value offered, and allocation of 
  2.18  costs of item between employer and employee. 
  2.19     Subd. 2.  [RECRUITING; REQUIRED DISCLOSURE.] An employer 
  2.20  shall provide written disclosure of the terms and conditions of 
  2.21  employment to a person at the time it recruits the person to 
  2.22  relocate to work in the food processing industry.  The 
  2.23  disclosure requirement does not apply to an exempt employee as 
  2.24  defined in United States Code, title 29, section 213(a)(1).  The 
  2.25  disclosure must be written in English and Spanish, dated and 
  2.26  signed by the employer and the person recruited, and maintained 
  2.27  by the employer for two years.  A copy of the signed and 
  2.28  completed disclosure must be delivered immediately to the 
  2.29  recruited person.  The disclosure may not be construed as an 
  2.30  employment contract.  
  2.31     Subd. 3.  [CIVIL ACTION.] A person injured by a violation 
  2.32  of this section has a cause of action for damages for the 
  2.33  greater of $500 per violation or twice their actual damages, 
  2.34  plus costs and reasonable attorney's fees.  A damage award shall 
  2.35  be the greater of $750 or three times actual damages for a 
  2.36  person injured by an intentional violation of this section.  
  3.1      Subd. 4.  [FINE.] The department of labor and industry 
  3.2   shall fine an employer not less than $200 or more than $500 for 
  3.3   each violation of this section. 
  3.4      Subd. 5.  [APPLICABILITY.] A public agency providing 
  3.5   employment services is not an employer under this section. 
  3.6      Subd. 6.  [STANDARD DISCLOSURE FORM.] The department of 
  3.7   labor and industry shall provide a standard form for use at the 
  3.8   employer's option in making the disclosure required in 
  3.9   subdivision 2.  The form shall be available in English and 
  3.10  Spanish.