Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Office of the Revisor of Statutes

245A.06 Correction order and fines.

Subdivision 1. Contents of correction orders or fines. (a) If the commissioner finds that the applicant or license holder has failed to comply with an applicable law or rule and this failure does not imminently endanger the health, safety, or rights of the persons served by the program, the commissioner may issue a correction order to or impose a fine on the applicant or license holder. The correction order or fine must state:

(1) the conditions that constitute a violation of the law or rule;

(2) the specific law or rule violated;

(3) the time allowed to correct each violation; and

(4) if a fine is imposed, the amount of the fine.

(b) Nothing in this section prohibits the commissioner from proposing a sanction as specified in section 245A.07, prior to issuing a correction order or fine.

Subd. 2. Reconsideration of correction orders. If the applicant or license holder believes that the contents of the commissioner's correction order are in error, the applicant or license holder may ask the department of human services to reconsider the parts of the correction order that are alleged to be in error. The request for reconsideration must be in writing and received by the commissioner within 20 calendar days after receipt of the correction order by the applicant or license holder, and:

(1) specify the parts of the correction order that are alleged to be in error;

(2) explain why they are in error; and

(3) include documentation to support the allegation of error.

A request for reconsideration does not stay any provisions or requirements of the correction order. The commissioner's disposition of a request for reconsideration is final and not subject to appeal under chapter 14.

Subd. 3. Failure to comply. If the commissioner finds that the applicant or license holder has not corrected the violations specified in the correction order, the commissioner may impose a fine. If a fine was imposed and the violation was not corrected, the commissioner may impose an additional fine. This section does not prohibit the commissioner from seeking a court order, denying an application, or suspending, revoking, or making conditional the license in addition to imposing a fine.

Subd. 4. Notice of fine; reconsideration of fine. A license holder who is ordered to pay a fine must be notified of the order by certified mail. The notice must be mailed to the address shown on the application or the last known address of the license holder. The notice must state the reasons the fine was ordered and must inform the license holder of the responsibility for payment of fines in subdivision 7 and the right to request reconsideration of the fine. The license holder may request reconsideration of the order to forfeit a fine by notifying the commissioner by certified mail within 20 calendar days after receiving the order. A timely request for reconsideration shall stay forfeiture of the fine until the commissioner issues a decision on the request for reconsideration. The request for reconsideration must be in writing and:

(1) specify the parts of the violation that are alleged to be in error;

(2) explain why they are in error;

(3) include documentation to support the allegation of error; and

(4) any other information relevant to the fine or the amount of the fine.

The commissioner's disposition of a request for reconsideration is final and not subject to appeal under chapter 14.

Subd. 5. Forfeiture of fines. The license holder shall pay the fines assessed on or before the payment date specified in the commissioner's order. If the license holder fails to fully comply with the order, the commissioner shall issue a second fine or suspend the license until the license holder complies. If the license holder receives state funds, the state, county, or municipal agencies or departments responsible for administering the funds shall withhold payments and recover any payments made while the license is suspended for failure to pay a fine.

Subd. 5a. Accrual of fines. A license holder shall promptly notify the commissioner of human services, in writing, when a violation specified in an order to forfeit is corrected. If upon reinspection the commissioner determines that a violation has not been corrected as indicated by the order to forfeit, the commissioner may issue a second fine. The commissioner shall notify the license holder by certified mail that a second fine has been assessed. The license holder may request reconsideration of the second fine under the provisions of subdivision 4.

Subd. 6. Amount of fines. Fines shall be assessed as follows:

(1) the license holder shall forfeit $1,000 for each occurrence of violation of law or rule prohibiting the maltreatment of children or the maltreatment of vulnerable adults, including but not limited to corporal punishment, illegal or unauthorized use of physical, mechanical, or chemical restraints, and illegal or unauthorized use of aversive or deprivation procedures;

(2) the license holder shall forfeit $200 for each occurrence of a violation of law or rule governing matters of health, safety, or supervision, including but not limited to the provision of adequate staff to child or adult ratios; and

(3) the license holder shall forfeit $100 for each occurrence of a violation of law or rule other than those included in clauses (1) and (2).

For the purposes of this section, "occurrence" means each violation identified in the commissioner's forfeiture order.

Subd. 7. Responsibility for payment of fines. When a fine has been assessed, the license holder may not avoid payment by closing, selling, or otherwise transferring the licensed program to a third party. In such an event, the license holder will be personally liable for payment. In the case of a corporation, each controlling individual is personally and jointly liable for payment.

Fines for child care centers must be assessed according to this section.

HIST: 1987 c 333 s 6; 1989 c 282 art 2 s 77-79; 1993 c 338 s 6; 1995 c 207 art 2 s 11-13; 1997 c 248 s 19-25

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes