1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to employment; establishing worker safety requirements; appropriating
1.3 money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 182.
1.4BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.5 Section 1. [182.6526] WAREHOUSE DISTRIBUTION WORKER SAFETY.
1.6 Subdivision 1.Definitions.(a) The terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings
1.7given them.
1.8 (b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of labor and industry.
1.9 (c) "Employee" means a nonexempt employee who works at a warehouse distribution
1.10center except for the purposes of subdivisions 2, 3, and 4, "employee" means a nonexempt
1.11employee performing warehouse work occurring on the property of a warehouse distribution
1.12center, and does not include a nonexempt employee performing solely manufacturing,
1.13administrative, sales, accounting, human resources, or driving work at a warehouse
1.14distribution center.
1.15 (d) "Work speed data" means information an employer collects, stores, analyzes, or
1.16interprets relating to an individual employee's or group of employees' pace of work, including
1.17but not limited to quantities of tasks performed, quantities of items or materials handled or
1.18produced, rates or speeds of tasks performed, measurements or metrics of employee
1.19performance in relation to a quota, and time categorized as performing tasks or not
1.20performing tasks."Work speed data" does not include itemized earnings statements pursuant
1.21to chapter 181, except for any content of those records that includes work speed data as
1.22defined in this paragraph.
1Section 1.
S0058-2 2nd EngrossmentSF58 REVISOR SS
SENATE
STATE OF MINNESOTA
S.F. No. 58NINETY-THIRD SESSION
(SENATE AUTHORS: MURPHY, Mohamed, Port, McEwen and Abeler)
OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE
Introduction and first reading10801/09/2023
Referred to Labor
Author added Abeler20901/17/2023
Comm report: To pass as amended and re-refer to Judiciary and Public Safety322a01/23/2023
Comm report: To pass and re-referred to Labor123903/02/2023
Comm report: To pass as amended and re-refer to Finance03/15/2023 2.1 (e) "Employer" means a person who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any
2.2other person, including through the services of a third-party employer, temporary service,
2.3or staffing agency or similar entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or
2.4working conditions of 250 or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center or
2.51,000 or more employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the state. For
2.6purposes of this paragraph, all employees of an employer's unitary business, as that term is
2.7defined in section 290.17, subdivision 4, shall be counted in determining the number of
2.8employees employed at a single warehouse distribution center or at one or more warehouse
2.9distribution centers in the state.
2.10 (f) "Nonexempt employee" means an employee as defined in section 177.23, subdivision
2.117.
2.12 (g) "Warehouse distribution center" means an establishment as defined by any of the
2.13following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes:
2.14 (1) 493110 for General Warehousing and Storage;
2.15 (2) 423 for Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods;
2.16 (3) 424 for Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods;
2.17 (4) 454110 for Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses; and
2.18 (5) 492110 for Couriers and Express Delivery Services.
2.19 (h) "Quota" means a work standard under which:
2.20 (1) an employee or group of employees is assigned or required to perform at a specified
2.21productivity speed, or perform a quantified number of tasks, or handle or produce a quantified
2.22amount of material, or perform without a certain number of errors or defects, as measured
2.23at the individual or group level within a defined time period; or
2.24 (2) an employee's actions are categorized between time performing tasks and not
2.25performing tasks, and the employee's failure to complete a task performance standard or
2.26recommendation may have an adverse impact on the employee's continued employment.
2.27 Subd. 2.Written description required.(a) Each employer shall provide to each
2.28employee a written description of each quota to which the employee is subject and how it
2.29is measured, including the quantified number of tasks to be performed or materials to be
2.30produced or handled or the limit on time categorized as not performing tasks, within the
2.31defined time period, and any potential adverse employment action that could result from
2.32failure to meet the quota.
2Section 1.
S0058-2 2nd EngrossmentSF58 REVISOR SS 3.1 (b) The written description must be understandable in plain language and in the
3.2employee's language of preference.
3.3 (c) The written description must be provided:
3.4 (1) upon hire or within 30 days of the effective date of this section; and
3.5 (2) no fewer than two working days prior to the effective date of any modification of
3.6existing quotas.
3.7 (d) An employer shall not take adverse employment action against an employee for
3.8failure to meet a quota that has not been disclosed to the employee.
3.9 Subd. 3.Breaks.An employee shall not be required to meet a quota that prevents
3.10compliance with meal or rest or prayer periods, use of restroom facilities, including
3.11reasonable travel time to and from restroom facilities as provided under section 177.253,
3.12subdivision 1, or occupational health and safety standards under this chapter or Minnesota
3.13Rules, chapter 5205. An employer shall not take adverse employment action against an
3.14employee for failure to meet a quota that does not allow a worker to comply with meal or
3.15rest or prayer periods, or occupational health and safety standards under this chapter.
3.16 Subd. 4.Work speed data.(a) Employees have the right to request orally or in writing
3.17from any supervisor, and the employer shall provide within 72 hours: (1) a written description
3.18of each quota to which the employee is subject; (2) a copy of the most recent 90 days of the
3.19employee's own personal work speed data; and (3) a copy of the prior six months of
3.20aggregated work speed data for similar employees at the same work site.
3.21The written description of each quota must meet the requirements of subdivision 2, paragraph
3.22(b), and the work speed data must be provided in a manner understandable to the employee.
3.23An employee may make a request under this paragraph no more than four times per year.
3.24 (b) If an employer disciplines an employee for failure to meet a quota, the employer
3.25must, at the time of discipline, provide the employee with a written copy of the most recent
3.2690 days of the employee's own personal work speed data. If an employer dismisses an
3.27employee for any reason, they must, at the time of firing, provide the employee with a
3.28written copy of the most recent 90 days of the employee's own personal work speed data.
3.29An employer shall not retaliate against an employee for requesting data under this
3.30subdivision.
3.31 Subd. 5.High rates of injury.If a particular work site or employer is found to have an
3.32employee incidence rate in a given year, based on data reported to the federal Occupational
3.33Safety and Health Administration, of at least 30 percent higher than that year's average
3Section 1.
S0058-2 2nd EngrossmentSF58 REVISOR SS 4.1incidence rate for the relevant NAICS code's nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses
4.2by industry and case types, released by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the
4.3commissioner shall open an investigation of violations under this section. The employer
4.4must also hold its safety committee meetings as provided under section 182.676 monthly
4.5until, for two consecutive years, the work site or employer does not have an employee
4.6incidence rate 30 percent higher than the average yearly incidence rate for the relevant
4.7NAICS code.
4.8 Subd. 6.Enforcement.(a) Subdivision 2, paragraphs (a) to (c), subdivision 4, and
4.9subdivision 5 shall be enforced by the commissioner under sections 182.66, 182.661, and
4.10182.669. A violation of this section is subject to the penalties provided under sections
4.11182.666 and 182.669.
4.12 (b) A current or former employee aggrieved by a violation of this section may bring a
4.13civil cause of action for damages and injunctive relief to obtain compliance with this section,
4.14may receive other equitable relief as determined by a court, including reinstatement with
4.15back pay, and may, upon prevailing in the action, recover costs and reasonable attorney
4.16fees in that action. A cause of action under this section must be commenced within one year
4.17of the date of the violation.
4.18 (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent local enforcement of occupational
4.19health and safety standards that are more restrictive than this section.
4.20 Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.
4.21 $240,000 in fiscal year 2024 and $218,000 in fiscal year 2025 are appropriated from the
4.22workers' compensation fund to the commissioner of labor and industry for enforcement and
4.23other duties regarding warehouse distribution workers safety under Minnesota Statutes,
4.24section 182.6526.
4Sec. 2.
S0058-2 2nd EngrossmentSF58 REVISOR SS