Minneapolis Employment Lawyers

Here’s an overview of some key protections for Minneapolis employees that often come up in disputes with their employers. However, you should make sure to discuss any specific concerns with an attorney. They can advise you on your options and help you plan a course of action.

Many workplace disputes involve the wage rights of employees. Minneapolis has enacted a minimum wage ordinance that applies to employers of all sizes. An employer must pay at least this rate for time worked in Minneapolis to an employee who performs at least two hours of work in a calendar week in the city. As of 2025, the Minneapolis minimum wage is $15.97 per hour, and it increases each year. Employers aren’t allowed to count tips received by employees toward the minimum wage. The Labor Standards Enforcement Division in the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights enforces the ordinance.

Minnesota also has a minimum wage law, although it only requires employers to pay $11.13 per hour as of 2025. Meanwhile, employers must pay overtime for all hours worked beyond 48 hours in a seven-day period. The overtime rate is 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate of pay. Certain employees are exempt from the state minimum wage and overtime requirements, such as executive, administrative, or professional employees. The Labor Standards Division in the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry enforces the state wage laws.

Some employees might wonder what counts as hours worked. Minnesota regulations define this term to include training time, call time, cleaning time, waiting time, or any other time when the employee must be on the employer’s premises or involved in performing tasks related to their job, or when the employee must remain on the employer’s premises until work is available. An employee is considered to be working on-call when they’re required to remain on the employer’s premises or so close to them that they can’t use the time for their own purposes. Rest periods lasting less than 20 minutes also count as hours worked.

In addition to city and state laws, a federal law called the Fair Labor Standards Act covers most Minnesota employees. The minimum wage under the FLSA is just $7.25 per hour, which is much less generous. However, the FLSA requires covered employers to pay overtime for hours worked beyond 40 hours in a seven-day period. The overtime rate is the same as the rate under the state law. The Wage and Hour Division in the U.S. Department of Labor enforces the FLSA.

If you work in Minneapolis, you’re protected from discrimination based on having a trait that’s covered by a city, state, or federal anti-discrimination law. Sometimes discrimination involves firing, demoting, or refusing to hire or promote an employee. Other examples include:

• Providing unequal pay for the same work
• Harassment that meets a certain standard
• Withholding employee benefits or training opportunities
• Providing less favorable work assignments

Minneapolis has an anti-discrimination ordinance that applies to employers of all sizes. Protected characteristics include race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, familial status, gender identity, disability, age, marital status, and public assistance recipient status. Amendments that will take effect later in 2025 have added further protected characteristics, including justice-impacted status, housing status, and height and weight. The Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights enforces the ordinance. You have 365 days to file a complaint after experiencing discrimination.

In addition, the Minnesota Human Rights Act also applies to employers of all sizes. Protected characteristics under the state law include race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, marital status, public assistance recipient status, familial status, disability, sexual orientation, age, or membership or activity in a local commission. The Minnesota Department of Human Rights enforces this law. You have one year to report an alleged act of discrimination.

Minneapolis employees also may be covered by federal anti-discrimination laws. One of the most notable laws in this area is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, and religion. However, Title VII applies only to employers with 15 or more employees. The Americans With Disabilities Act prohibits disability discrimination by employers of the same size. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act covers businesses with 20 or more employees and protects employees who are 40 or older. These laws are enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. You have 300 days to file a complaint with the EEOC if a state agency enforces a state anti-discrimination law that covers the same protected characteristic.

Sexual harassment in the workplace is technically considered a type of discrimination if it reaches a certain level. While people often think of men harassing women, protections against sexual harassment apply regardless of the gender and sexual orientation of the perpetrator and the affected employee. In general, there are two main types of sexual harassment: quid pro quo and hostile work environment harassment.

Quid pro quo harassment occurs when a supervisor or manager demands that someone under their authority engage in sexual conduct in exchange for an employment benefit, or in exchange for avoiding a negative employment action. For example, if your boss said that he would approve your request for a raise if you spend the night with him on a business trip, this would be quid pro quo harassment. On the other hand, hostile work environment harassment arises when the unwelcome conduct is so severe or pervasive that it creates a hostile or offensive working environment. This requires considering the environment from the perspective of a reasonable person in the employee’s position.

It’s important to keep in mind that the harassment needs to be severe “or” pervasive, but not both. You might have a claim after one egregious incident or after a series of interactions that might not each be seen as severe.

Sometimes an employee may need to take time away from their job to address an urgent health or family concern. Minneapolis has a sick and safe time ordinance. It covers employees who work for at least 80 hours in a year in Minneapolis for an employer of any size. You must be allowed to accrue sick and safe time at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked, up to at least 48 hours per year. Qualifying reasons for using sick and safe time include treatment, recuperation, or preventative care for a health condition of the employee or a covered family member, as well as certain reasons related to experiencing domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking, among others. (The ordinance technically doesn’t require very small employers to pay employees during leave, but this carveout doesn’t have much practical effect because leave under the largely parallel state law must be paid by all employers.) You can report a violation of the ordinance to the Labor Standards Enforcement Division in the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights.

Minnesota also has an earned sick and safe time law. This resembles the Minneapolis ordinance in many ways. The state law covers employees who are expected to work at least 80 hours in a year for an employer in Minnesota. Employees are entitled to one hour of paid sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked, up to at least 48 hours of accrued time in a year. Qualifying reasons for this leave similarly include an illness, treatment, or preventive care of the employee or a covered family member, as well as certain reasons related to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking, among others. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry enforces this law.

Meanwhile, the state has devised a program called Minnesota Paid Leave. It will launch in 2026, providing paid time off when you’re unable to work because of a serious health condition, you need to care for a family member or a new child, or you need to deal with certain military-related events or personal safety issues. The program will cover employers of all sizes. An employee will be able to take up to 12 weeks of leave in a year for their own health condition, up to 12 weeks for all other reasons, or up to 20 weeks total if they need both categories of leave.

Some Minnesota employees also have protections under a federal law called the Family and Medical Leave Act. It’s enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. However, the FMLA generally only covers businesses with 50 or more employees. An employee must work at a place where the business has 50 or more employees within 75 miles, and they must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and for at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before taking the leave. If they’re eligible, an employee usually can get up to 12 weeks of unpaid but job-protected leave in a 12-month period. Qualifying reasons for FMLA leave include a serious health condition of the employee that prevents them from working, caring for a child, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition, or bonding with a new child who has entered the employee’s family through birth, adoption, or foster care placement. The law also provides leave for certain military-related reasons.

Like almost all states, Minnesota follows a rule called at-will employment. This means that your employer generally can fire you for any reason, or without having a particular reason. You’re also free to leave your job without having a particular reason. However, you should keep in mind that at-will employment has certain exceptions. An employer can’t fire you for a reason prohibited by a particular law. For example, you can’t be fired because you have a trait protected by an anti-discrimination law, because you filed a good-faith complaint of discrimination or harassment, because you pursued workers’ compensation benefits, or because you blew the whistle on illegal conduct at your workplace.

Employment contracts sometimes provide that the employer can fire the employee only for certain reasons. If the employee gets fired for a reason that’s not allowed by the contract, they can bring a wrongful termination claim based on a breach of contract theory. Minnesota courts may recognize “implied contracts” as well, such as some situations involving statements in a personnel handbook. However, these cases are very complex and fact-specific, so you should make sure to consult a lawyer if you’re thinking about bringing this type of claim.

If you’ve been injured or gotten sick on the job, you can probably get workers’ compensation benefits through the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. You don’t need to prove that your employer was responsible for your injury or illness. However, workers’ compensation is generally an employee’s exclusive remedy. They can’t bring a personal injury lawsuit against their employer. This doesn’t prevent them from suing a third party, though, such as a manufacturer of a defective product that caused a job-related injury. Third-party lawsuits can allow an employee to get more compensation than what’s available through the workers’ comp system.

You should report a workplace injury to your supervisor as soon as possible. Workers’ compensation benefits come in three main forms: wage loss benefits, medical benefits, and vocational rehabilitation benefits. Wage loss benefits are further divided into four basic categories:

• Temporary total disability when the employee is unable to work
• Temporary partial disability when the employee can work in a reduced capacity and is thus earning a lower wage than before the injury
• Permanent total disability when the employee will never be able to return to gainful employment
• Permanent partial disability when the employee has suffered an injury that causes a permanent functional loss of use, such as the loss of a limb

There’s a waiting period that starts on the first day of time lost from work and lasts for three calendar days. You won’t get wage loss benefits for the waiting period unless your disability lasts for at least 10 calendar days.

If you’ve lost your job through no fault of your own, or if your employer has greatly reduced your hours, you might be able to get unemployment insurance benefits. Employees who got fired for misconduct won’t be eligible for these benefits. Whether you can get benefits after voluntarily quitting your job depends on your reason for quitting. Further requirements include earning enough wages during what is called your “base period.” You must be able and willing to promptly start working at a suitable job if you get an offer. To continue getting benefits, you must actively seek employment each week.

Minnesota requires a non-payable week before you can start receiving benefits. Your weekly benefit amount normally will be about 50 percent of your average weekly wage, capped at a $914 maximum under state law. You will not be able to get benefits in a week when you work for 32 or more hours, or when your earnings are at least equal to your weekly benefit amount. Benefits are generally available for up to 26 weeks.

According to the Minneapolis Downtown Council, the top 15 employers in downtown Minneapolis in 2024 were:

• Hennepin Healthcare
• Target
• Hennepin County
• Wells Fargo
• Ameriprise
• U.S. Bank
• City of Minneapolis
• Xcel Energy
• SPS Commerce
• RBC Wealth Management
• Thrivent Financial
• Deloitte
• Federal Reserve Bank
• Strategic Education, Inc.
• NMDP

Regardless of the size of your employer, you shouldn’t feel intimidated from asserting your workplace rights. However, you should be aware that the employer is likely to have a legal team on their side. This makes it even more important to hire an attorney of your own to level the playing field.

If you think that a violation of your workplace rights may have occurred, you may want to contact the agency responsible for enforcing the law at issue. Here are some of the key agencies to know:

• Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights: enforces the city minimum wage, anti-discrimination, and sick and safe time laws
• Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry: enforces the state wage law and the earned sick and safe time law
• Minnesota Department of Human Rights: enforces the state anti-discrimination law
• U.S. Department of Labor: enforces the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: enforces federal anti-discrimination laws

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry manages the workers’ compensation system, while the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development supervises the unemployment insurance program.

Justia provides a broad range of free resources that are meant to empower ordinary people by helping them learn about the law. The Employment Law Center in the Justia Legal Guides covers common workplace issues and some of the main legal principles that can govern them.

To get insight on a particular issue that has come up in your workplace, you can use the Justia Ask A Lawyer platform to post a question. Employment lawyers in Minneapolis or other areas of Minnesota might respond with their thoughts. Keep in mind that Justia isn’t a law firm, and an attorney who answers your question on Justia Ask A Lawyer doesn’t become your lawyer or owe you any of the duties associated with the attorney-client relationship.

If you’re ready to move forward with hiring a lawyer, you can look through the listings of attorneys on this page. The Justia Lawyer Directory provides an efficient way to compare your options. You may want to contact a handful of attorneys and discuss your case with each of them before you decide who would be the best fit for you.

You might hesitate about shouldering the cost of an attorney, especially if you have lost your job or are facing other financial burdens. However, it’s usually a smart decision. A lot can hinge on the outcome of an employment dispute, so it doesn’t make sense to cut corners. Your lawyer will be familiar with all the statutes, administrative rules, and court decisions that might affect your case. They can not only craft a polished argument for why the law is on your side but also develop strategies for responding to potential defenses.

Building a case against your employer may involve compiling and reviewing many types of evidence. Your attorney can handle the logistics of this process, allowing you to channel your time and energy toward getting another job or otherwise moving forward from the episode. They can assess the likely value of your claim so that you can set realistic expectations for the outcome. If you get a settlement offer from the employer, your attorney can advise you on the pros and cons of the offer, helping you make a more informed decision about whether to end your case there or proceed further toward trial. Meanwhile, if you still work for the employer and face retaliation, your attorney can help you hold them accountable for this violation as well.

Litigation tends to involve many technical rules and procedures. These can trip up people who are going through the process for the first time. Your attorney will make sure that your case stays on track, while skillfully navigating phases like jury selection and cross-examination of witnesses. They’ll also have a better sense of how to connect with a jury or judge as they present arguments on your behalf.

The process of finding the right advocate for your situation can be daunting. Perhaps you’ll get a recommendation from someone you know, but there’s a good chance that you’ll look for attorneys online as part of the process. The Justia Lawyer Directory allows you to compare a broad range of attorneys in the Minneapolis area and reach out to those who interest you.

You’ll want to work with a lawyer who has experience handling the type of claim that you’re bringing. For example, if your boss kept making improper advances after you told them to stop, you should look for an attorney with a background in sexual harassment cases. If you’re concerned that your employer might not have paid you overtime to which you were entitled, you should find a lawyer who has worked on many wage and hour lawsuits.

The Minnesota State Bar Association imposes certain rules of professional conduct on the attorneys in the state. You should make sure that your attorney doesn’t have a track record of regularly violating these rules. Any professional misconduct could seriously damage your case, even if it seems strong otherwise. That said, one small stumble from a long time ago might not be enough to warrant crossing an attorney off your list. You could simply consider it among other factors in your decision.

Employment attorneys usually post highlights of their results on their websites, as well as information like their education and any awards or other accolades. In addition to exploring these details, you should check out reviews that they’re received from clients. This can help you get a sense of an attorney’s personality and communication style. Endorsements from fellow attorneys might give you confidence that they’re well regarded in the profession, which can make a difference when they’re negotiating with opposing counsel or arguing before a judge.

It’s usually a good idea to set up consultations with several employment attorneys before making your final decision. You can use this meeting to explain your situation and get their overall impressions, while asking questions about how they generally handle cases. Think about not only whether the attorney seems knowledgeable but also whether you relate well to them. A solid rapport is essential to getting the most out of the attorney-client relationship.

1. What does it cost to hire an employment attorney in Minneapolis?

   Many employment lawyers charge hourly fees for their services, so the cost will depend on how much time they spend on your case. If it’s complex or prolonged, the fees are more likely to be higher. However, some of these attorneys represent clients for contingency fees. This means that they won’t get paid unless they get money for you. They’ll take a set percentage of that amount as their fee. In limited situations, you might get an attorney to do a specific task for a flat fee. This allows you to know how much you’ll need to pay at the outset.

2. Does my employer need to give me a meal break?

   An employer in Minnesota must provide meal time to employees who work for eight or more consecutive hours. Likewise, they must give an employee time to use the nearest restroom within each four consecutive hours of work.

3. What should I do if I experience harassment on the job?

   You should check the employee handbook or other documents to find out about the process for reporting the harassment. If you follow those procedures, but the employer doesn’t address the situation to your satisfaction, you should consider filing a complaint with the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, or the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (Make sure not to wait too long, since these agencies impose deadlines for filing complaints.) It also might make sense to consult a lawyer.

4. Does an employer need to accommodate a disability?

   Under the Minnesota Human Rights Act and the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, an employer must provide a reasonable accommodation to a qualified employee with a disability unless this would cause an undue hardship. An undue hardship usually must be a significant burden, rather than a minor inconvenience or expense. The employer needs to engage in a good-faith interactive process with the employee to figure out the accommodation, which might be something like adjusting a work schedule or getting an assistive device. The employer isn’t required to provide the exact accommodation that the employee requests.

5. Does an employer need to provide severance pay when firing an employee?

   There’s no general rule that an employer must offer severance pay. An employment contract or company policy may provide more specific rights. Sometimes an employer may offer severance pay in exchange for releasing any potential legal claims against them. You should consider talking to an attorney before signing off on this type of agreement, especially if you suspect misconduct by the employer involving your termination.