Minnesota Overtime Laws: An Overview

Overtime pay refers to the compensation given to employees for the additional hours they work in a week or on a single day, provided the hours exceeded the standard 40-hour workweek or 8 hours per day. As a general rule, any employee who works beyond the designated number of hours per day or week is eligible for overtime pay. However, in Minnesota, there are specific requirements and exemptions that apply to overtime laws.

In this article, we will delve into Minnesota’s overtime laws and what employees and employers need to know to ensure compliance. We will also discuss modifications made to Minnesota’s overtime laws, including new developments surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Standard Overtime Pay for Minnesota Employees

Minnesota’s overtime laws follow the federal guidelines set by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in determining who is eligible for overtime pay. According to Minnesota law, all employees who work beyond 40 hours per week should receive 1.5 times their regular hourly pay rate for all the overtime hours worked in that week.

Minnesota’s overtime laws are comparatively more beneficial for employees than in certain neighboring states, such as Wisconsin, which only requires employers to pay overtime pay if a worker has worked more than 40 hours per week and 24 consecutive hours in a day. The only instance where Minnesota’s overtime laws might seem less beneficial is if the employee works over the weekend, as there is no requirement for Sundays to be considered a day of rest in terms of overtime calculation.

Exemptions from Overtime Laws

Although most employees are eligible for overtime pay according to Minnesota law, some employees are exempted from the requirement. Below are a few categories of such employees:

1. Executive, Administrative, and Professional Employees:
These employees are considered to earn more than the minimum wage rate and are mainly salaried workers who have supervisory and highly skilled jobs like managers, directors, and scientists.

2. Computer and Outside Sales Workers:
Computer professionals such as computer system analysts and those who make sales outside the employer’s place of business are not eligible for overtime pay.

3. State and Federal Employees:
Minnesota’s overtime laws do not typically apply to state and federal employees.

In order to qualify for an overtime exemption, certain criteria must be met. For instance, an administrative employee is required to perform office duties that are directly relevant to the management practice of the company, such as payroll management. This is because such employees are not involved directly in production work, do not barter or supply customers, and primarily have white-collar office jobs.

The exemptions from Minnesota’s overtime laws were last updated in 2016 when the Fair Labor Standards Act was amended under the Obama administration. When the amendments were first introduced in 2016 they required employers to pay overtime to salaried employees who earned less than $47,476 per year, which was a significant raise from the prior level of $23,660 per year. However, a coalition of states sued the federal government, arguing that the rate hike was too drastic. In 2017, the new Trump administration rescinded the rulemaking, but a court struck the rescission down in 2019. In early 2020, the Labor Department unveiled new rules requiring overtime pay for salaried employees who earn less than $35,568 per year—an update effective January 1, 2020.

Minnesota employers should be aware that even if an employee meets the requirements for an exemption from overtime pay, they are still required to track the number of hours worked to ensure compliance with minimum-wage laws.

Overtime Pay for COVID-19 Essential Workers

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, essential workers in Minnesota’s healthcare industry have been working longer hours, putting them at higher risk of contracting the virus. For this reason, the Minnesota legislature has passed a new law requiring employers to pay enhanced quarantine wages to certain health care workers during a declared public health emergency.

In Minnesota, quarantine wages are required when an employer has directed the employee to quarantine due to exposure while at work or where the employee has contracted, or been directly exposed to someone who has tested positive for, COVID-19. Under the new law, employees who work in health care fields such as home care nursing, personal care assistance, and assisted living services must receive 120 hours of quarantine pay for a two-week period of quarantine. The enhanced pay rate has been set at one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay.

The new law also outlines situations where quarantine pay is not required. For instance, when the employee can work remotely during their quarantine period or if the employee is already receiving some form of compensation during the quarantine period. The law also requires employers to give written notice to the employee explaining how the quarantine pay works and how they can access it.

Conclusion

Minnesota’s labor laws are designed to protect workers and ensure fair compensation. Employers should be aware of the overtime laws, the exemptions available, and any modifications made to the laws as they are updated. They should also comply with any necessary additional pay rates for their workers during public health emergencies.

Educating employees and monitoring their working hours is crucial for employers to ensure seamless compliance with Minnesota’s overtime laws. Whether it is for the benefit of the employer or the employee, it is essential to adhere to the laws set forth to avoid penalties or legal problems.

What Are the Missouri Overtime Laws?

Common sense in regards to employment would state that no worker should have to work any longer than 40 hours a week. But in the event that a worker does have to….

Understanding the Missouri Overtime Law

It’s a typical part of the employment concept. Yes, there are times when an employee has to work overtime, for a large assortment of reasons.

Thankfully, though, the Missouri overtime law do exist to help balance the scales and make it less of a hassle for employees in terms of time management and also health management.

Here Are the Missouri Overtime Laws

As stated by the Missouri Overtime Laws, ‘overtime pay’ simply pay that’s at least 1 and ½ times the regular wage.

For instance, if an employee works at $8.00 per hour and works two hours overtime, those two hours would be anywhere up to an additional $4 each hour on top of the $8 per hour the employee receives. That’s your basic understanding of the Missouri overtime law.

That’s a pretty decent exchange for the extra hours.

One thing to keep in mind: Missouri overtime laws don’t require the additional pay over an 8-hour shift, which that 8-hour shift is generally standard. Rather, Missouri overtime laws require that overtime be initiated once the 40-hour workweek goes over.

So, in other words, if a worker ends up working 50 hours in one week, that’s 10 hours of overtime.

Something Interesting About the Missouri Overtime Law

Strangely enough, the law Missouri overtime law doesn’t allow any employee to actually deny overtime pay. To be more specific, no employee can actually waive his rights for overtime pay at all. That employee must accept the overtime pay by MO overtime laws.

In addition, it’s a violation of the MO overtime laws if an employer asks an employee to waive that right to overtime pay. However, employees would have to fill out what’s called a ‘wage complaint’ either with a union or the appropriate DA’s office in Missouri.

How the MO Overtime Laws Handle Commisions, Salary, or Piecework

It’s actually a common myth to think that overtime only applies to hourly-rate jobs.

By the MO overtime laws, an employee can actually figure overtime simply by recording weekly hours and dividing that total by the actual weekly paycheck. The result is an actual ‘hourly rate.’ Count the number of hours actually worked above 40, take half of the figured hourly rate and multiply that with the overtime hours calculated.

An employee can actually petition for those overtime hours under MO overtime laws.

This applies to commissions, salary, or piecework. In regards to commissions, an employee simply needs the actual paycheck per week plus a detailed list of hours worked for each week. The formula applies to any of those forms of payment, not just hourly rate.

Keep in mind, though, that an employer does have a right to state in a contract that there would be no overtime paid for the job. If an employee agrees to the job with the full knowledge of what is included in the contract, even if the law does state that the employee is entitled to overtime, the employee won’t receive it based on a legal signed contract.

Where Can I Find More Information on Missouri Labor Law?

Simply visit the county or state web site. You can even check any library for the labor laws and know everything you need to know about labor laws such as overtime pay.