1st Engrossment - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 03/15/2010 01:19pm
A bill for an act
relating to employment; modifying benefits; amending Minnesota Statutes 2008,
section 181.58.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 181.58, is amended to read:
For the purposes of this section the word "employer"
includes every person, firm, partnership, corporation, the state of Minnesota, all political
subdivisions, and all municipal corporations.
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"Domestic partners" means two persons who:
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(1) are the same sex;
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(2) are adults and mentally competent to enter into legally binding contracts;
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(3) have assumed responsibility for each other's basic common welfare, financial
obligations, and well-being;
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(4) share a common domicile and primary residence with each other on a permanent
basis;
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(5) have a committed interdependent relationship with each other, intend to continue
that relationship indefinitely, and do not have this type of relationship with any other
person;
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(6) are not married to another person and have not entered into a domestic
partnership arrangement with another person that is currently in effect; and
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(7) are not related by blood or adoption so that a marriage between them would be
prohibited under section 517.03, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (2) or (3).
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If, at the time of the death of any person, an employer
is indebted to the person for work, labor, or services performed, and no personal
representative of the person's estate has been appointed, such employer shall, upon the
request of the surviving spousenew text begin or domestic partnernew text end , forthwith pay this indebtedness,
in such an amount as may be due, not exceeding the sum of $10,000, to the surviving
spousenew text begin or domestic partnernew text end . The employer may in the same manner provide for payment
to the surviving spousenew text begin or domestic partnernew text end of accumulated credits under the vacation or
overtime plan or system maintained by the employer. The employer shall require proof
of claimant's relationship to decedent by affidavit, and require claimant to acknowledge
receipt of such payment in writing. Any payments made by the employer pursuant
to the provisions of this section shall operate as a full and complete discharge of the
employer's indebtedness to the extent of the payment, and no employer shall thereafter be
liable therefor to the decedent's estate or the decedent's personal representative thereafter
appointed. Any amounts so received by a spousenew text begin or domestic partnernew text end shall be considered
in diminution of the allowance to the spousenew text begin or domestic partnernew text end under section 524.2-403.
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An employee must provide the name, address, and telephone
number of a domestic partner to the employer prior to any payment under this section.
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