Intergovernmental Misclassification Enforcement and Education Partnership

During the 2024 legislative session, a new Intergovernmental Misclassification Enforcement and Education Partnership was created to allow the five Minnesota government agencies tasked with investigating misclassification fraud to share reported worker violations of the law and related data to better coordinate investigations. The partnership was signed into law May 24, 2024.

Employee misclassification is the practice by an employer of not properly classifying workers as employees.

Partnership entities

These Intergovernmental Misclassification Enforcement and Education Partnership entities, which have jurisdiction over employee misclassification in Minnesota, are the:

1. Department of Labor and Industry;

2. Department of Revenue;

3. Department of Employment and Economic Development;

4. Department of Commerce; and

5. attorney general in the attorney general's enforcement capacity under Minnesota Statutes 177.45 and 181.1721.

Coordination, collaboration and information sharing

Each of the five partnership entities:

• shall communicate with other entities to help detect and investigate instances of employee misclassification;

• may request from, provide to or receive from the other partnership entities data necessary for the purpose of detecting and investigating employee misclassification, unless prohibited by federal law; and

• may collaborate with one another when investigating employee misclassification, unless prohibited by federal law.

Collaboration includes, but is not limited to, referrals, strategic enforcement and joint investigations by two or more partnership entities.

Employee misclassification prevention

The Intergovernmental Misclassification Enforcement and Education Partnership will work to prevent employers from misclassifying workers, because employee misclassification allows an employer to illegally evade obligations under state labor, employment and tax laws, including, but not limited to, the laws governing minimum wage, overtime, unemployment insurance, paid family medical leave, earned sick and safe time, workers' compensation insurance, temporary disability insurance, the payment of wages and payroll taxes.

Filing a complaint

To file a complaint about employee misclassification with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, contact the Labor Standards Division at 651-284-5075 or dli.laborstandards@state.mn.us.