Minnesota's New Wage Disclosure Law: What Employers Should Know

May 22, 2015  |  Bradley Kletscher

Employers should be aware of Minnesota’s new wage disclosure law. The question sometimes arises whether an employer can require their employees not to discuss their wages with other employees. Minnesota now has a law that provides that an employer cannot require an employee not to disclose their wages. The new law codified at Minn.Stat. 181.172 provides in part:
“(a) An employer shall not:
(1) require nondisclosure by an employee of his or her wages as a condition of employment;
(2) require an employee to sign a waiver or other document which purports to deny an employee the right to disclose the employee’s wages; or
(3) take any adverse employment action against an employee for disclosing the employee’s own wages or discussing another employee’s wages which have been disclosed voluntarily.
. . .
(c) An employer that provides an employee handbook to its employees must include in the handbook notice of employee rights and remedies under this section.
(d) An employer may not retaliate against an employee for asserting rights or remedies under this section.”
Minn.Stat. 181.172 (2014). One important element of this new employment law is the requirement that if an employer provides an employee handbook, the employer must include in the handbook a notice of the employee’s rights and remedies under Minn.Stat. 181.172. As a result, Employer’s should do an addendum to their employee handbooks to include that information to make sure they are complying with this new law.
If you have questions about this new law and issues surrounding it, please contact one of our experienced Employment Law Attorneys today.