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HF 36

1st Engrossment - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 02/02/2023 07:30pm

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.
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A bill for an act
relating to employment; establishing worker safety requirements; appropriating
money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 182.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [182.6526] WAREHOUSE DISTRIBUTION WORKER SAFETY.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) The terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings
given them.
new text end

new text begin (b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of labor and industry.
new text end

new text begin (c) "Employee" means a nonexempt employee who works at a warehouse distribution
center.
new text end

new text begin (d) "Work speed data" means information an employer collects, stores, analyzes, or
interprets relating to an individual employee's or group of employees' pace of work, including
but not limited to quantities of tasks performed, quantities of items or materials handled or
produced, rates or speeds of tasks performed, measurements or metrics of employee
performance in relation to a quota, and time categorized as performing tasks or not
performing tasks.
new text end

new text begin (e) "Employer" means a person who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any
other person, including through the services of a third-party employer, temporary service,
or staffing agency or similar entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or
working conditions of 100 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. For
purposes of this paragraph, all employees of an employer's unitary business, as that term is
defined in section 290.17, subdivision 4, shall be counted in determining the number of
employees employed at a single warehouse distribution center or at one or more warehouse
distribution centers in the state.
new text end

new text begin (f) "Warehouse distribution center" means an establishment as defined by any of the
following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes:
new text end

new text begin (1) 493110 for General Warehousing and Storage;
new text end

new text begin (2) 423 for Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods;
new text end

new text begin (3) 424 for Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods;
new text end

new text begin (4) 454110 for Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses; and
new text end

new text begin (5) 492110 for Couriers and Express Delivery Services.
new text end

new text begin (g) "Quota" means a work standard under which:
new text end

new text begin (1) 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; or
new text end

new text begin (2) an employee's actions are categorized between time performing tasks and not
performing tasks, and the employee's failure to complete a task performance standard or
recommendation may have an adverse impact on the employee's continued employment.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Written description required. new text end

new text begin (a) Each employer shall 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.
new text end

new text begin (b) The written description must be understandable in plain language and in the
employee's language of preference.
new text end

new text begin (c) The written description must be provided:
new text end

new text begin (1) upon hire or within 30 days of the effective date of this section; and
new text end

new text begin (2) no fewer than two working days prior to the effective date of any modification of
existing quotas.
new text end

new text begin (d) An employer shall not take adverse employment action against an employee for
failure to meet a quota that has not been disclosed to the employee.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Breaks. new text end

new text begin An employee shall not be required to meet a quota that prevents
compliance with meal or rest or prayer periods, use of restroom facilities, including
reasonable travel time to and from restroom facilities as provided under section 177.253,
subdivision 1, or occupational health and safety standards under this chapter or Minnesota
Rules, chapter 5205. An employer shall not take adverse employment action against an
employee for failure to meet a quota that does not allow a worker to comply with meal or
rest or prayer periods, or occupational health and safety standards under this chapter.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Work speed data. new text end

new text begin (a) Employees have the right to request orally or in writing
from any supervisor, and the employer shall provide within 72 hours: (1) a written description
of each quota to which the employee is subject; (2) a copy of the most recent 90 days of the
employee's own personal work speed data; and (3) a copy of the prior six months of
aggregated work speed data for similar employees at the same work site.
new text end

new text begin The written description of each quota must meet the requirements of subdivision 2, paragraph
(b), and the work speed data must be provided in a manner understandable to the employee.
An employee may make a request under this paragraph no more than four times per year.
new text end

new text begin (b) If an employer disciplines an employee for failure to meet a quota, the employer
must, at the time of discipline, provide the employee with a written copy of the most recent
90 days of the employee's own personal work speed data. If an employer dismisses an
employee for any reason, they must, at the time of firing, provide the employee with a
written copy of the most recent 90 days of the employee's own personal work speed data.
An employer shall not retaliate against an employee for requesting data under this
subdivision.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin High rates of injury. new text end

new text begin 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 code's nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses
by industry and case types, released by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the
commissioner shall open an investigation of violations under this section. The employer
must also hold its safety committee meetings as provided under section 182.676 monthly
until, for two consecutive years, the work site or employer does not have an employee
incidence rate 30 percent higher than the average yearly incidence rate for the relevant
NAICS code.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Enforcement. new text end

new text begin (a) Subdivision 2, paragraphs (a) to (c), subdivision 4, and
subdivision 5 shall be enforced by the commissioner under sections 182.66, 182.661, and
182.669. A violation of this section is subject to the penalties provided under sections
182.666 and 182.669.
new text end

new text begin (b) A current or former employee aggrieved by a violation of this section may bring a
civil cause of action for damages and injunctive relief to obtain compliance with this section,
may receive other equitable relief as determined by a court, including reinstatement with
back pay, and may, upon prevailing in the action, recover costs and reasonable attorney
fees in that action. A cause of action under this section must be commenced within one year
of the date of injury.
new text end

new text begin (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent local enforcement of occupational
health and safety standards that are more restrictive than this section.
new text end

Sec. 2. new text begin SEVERABILITY.
new text end

new text begin If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is
held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act which
can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
new text end

Sec. 3. new text begin APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin $240,000 in fiscal year 2024 and $218,000 in fiscal year 2025 are appropriated from the
workers' compensation fund to the commissioner of labor and industry for enforcement and
other duties regarding warehouse distribution workers safety under Minnesota Statutes,
section 182.6526.
new text end