Minnesota HF5104: Definition of employee under the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act modified and whistle blower protections modified to explicitly include incarcerated people, Public Employee Labor Relations Act and Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 modified to include incarcerated persons, and inmates in state correctional institutions reclassified as employees.

What the bill says

A bill for an act relating to corrections; modifying the definition of employee under the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act and whistleblower protections to explicitly include incarcerated people; modifying the Public Employee Labor Relations Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 to include incarcerated persons; reclassifying inmates in state correctional institutions as employees; requiring a report; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 177.23, subdivision 7; 179A.03, subdivision 14; 181.931, subdivision 2; 182.651, subdivision 9; 241.27, subdivision 1; 243.23…

From the introduced text, May 4, 2026:

A bill for an act relating to corrections; modifying the definition of employee under the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act and whistleblower protections to explicitly include incarcerated people; modifying the Public Employee Labor Relations Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 to include incarcerated persons; reclassifying inmates in state correctional institutions as employees; requiring a report; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 177.23, subdivision 7; 179A.03, subdivision 14; 181.931, subdivision 2; 182.651, subdivision 9; 241.27, subdivision 1; 243.23; 243.88, subdivision 2; 363A.03, subdivision 15. Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 177.23, subdivision 7, is amended to read: Subd. 7. Employee. new text begin [ADDED: (a) ] new text end "Employee" means any individual employed by an employer but does not include: (1) two or fewer specified individuals employed at any given time in agriculture on a farming unit or operation who are paid a salary; (2) any individual employed in agriculture on a farming unit or operation who is paid a salary greater than the individual would be paid if the individual worked 48 hours at the state minimum wage plus 17 hours at 1-1/2 times the state minimum wage per week; (3) an individual under 18 who is employed in agriculture on a farm to perform services other than corn detasseling or hand field work when one …