HF 23

2nd Engrossment - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026) Posted on 03/11/2025 08:16am

A bill for an act
relating to employment; providing definitions; modifying whistleblower protections
for public employees; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 181.931, by
adding subdivisions; 181.932, subdivision 1.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 181.931, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 3a. new text end

new text begin Fraud. new text end

new text begin "Fraud" means an intentional or deceptive act, or failure to act, to gain
an unlawful benefit.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 181.931, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 4a. new text end

new text begin Misuse. new text end

new text begin "Misuse" means the improper use of authority or position for personal
gain or to cause harm to others, including the improper use of public resources or programs
contrary to their intended purpose.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 181.931, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 5a. new text end

new text begin Personal gain. new text end

new text begin "Personal gain" means a benefit to a person; a person's spouse,
parent, child, or other legal dependent; or an in-law of the person or the person's child.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 181.932, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Prohibited action.

An employer shall not discharge, discipline, penalize,
interfere with, threaten, restrain, coerce, or otherwise retaliate or discriminate against an
employee regarding the employee's compensation, terms, conditions, location, or privileges
of employment because:

(1) the employee, or a person acting on behalf of an employee, in good faith, reports a
violation, suspected violation, or planned violation of any federal or state law or common
law or rule adopted pursuant to law to an employer or to any governmental body or law
enforcement official;

(2) the employee is requested by a public body or office to participate in an investigation,
hearing, inquiry;

(3) the employee refuses an employer's order to perform an action that the employee
has an objective basis in fact to believe violates any state or federal law or rule or regulation
adopted pursuant to law, and the employee informs the employer that the order is being
refused for that reason;

(4) the employee, in good faith, reports a situation in which the quality of health care
services provided by a health care facility, organization, or health care provider violates a
standard established by federal or state law or a professionally recognized national clinical
or ethical standard and potentially places the public at risk of harm;

(5) a public employee communicates the findings of a scientific or technical study that
the employee, in good faith, believes to be truthful and accurate, including reports to a
governmental body or law enforcement official; or

(6) deleted text begin an employee in the classified service of state government deleted text end new text begin a state employee new text end
communicates information that the employee, in good faith, believes to be truthful and
accurate, and that relates to state deleted text begin services, including the financing of state services deleted text end new text begin programs,
services, or financing, including but not limited to fraud or misuse within state programs,
services, or financing new text end , to:

(i) a legislator or the legislative auditor; deleted text begin or
deleted text end

(ii) a constitutional officer deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ;
new text end

new text begin (iii) an employer;
new text end

new text begin (iv) any governmental body; or
new text end

new text begin (v) a law enforcement official.
new text end

The disclosures protected pursuant to this section do not authorize the disclosure of data
otherwise protected by law.