From time-to-time, I meet (read: they got in trouble or were about to) a new client from out of state that has an issue in Minnesota arise – not because of any willful or intentional wrongdoing, but just because they don’t realize some unique aspects of Minnesota law. So, for those non-Minnesota based Minnesota employers,
Econ 101 & Psych 101: Cut Your Losses – Terminate a Poor Performing Employee
I cannot count the number of times per month a client calls and explains that they want to terminate an employee, and starts the conversation along the lines of, “I know you are going to tell me I should have terminated him/her a long time ago but [fill in the poor excuse here].”. I used
Minnesota Supreme Court Hints That a Settlement Offer May Be Sufficient to Extinguish Liability Under Minnesota Payment of Wages Act
On September 28, 2016, the Minnesota Supreme Court confirmed that the Minnesota Payment of Wages Act does not allow an employer to offset liabilities owed by the employee to the employer when determining whether an employee “recovers” a greater sum of wages than the employer tendered in good faith where there is a dispute concerning
3 Things Terminated Employees Can Demand
There are three demands former Minnesota-based employees can make post-termination that should send all kinds of red flags to an employer. They are often made via email and seem like innocent enough requests. Not so! Fun fact: terminated employees are entitled to demand three things post-termination: (1) a copy of their personnel file; (2) a
Making Deductions and Adjustments to Commissions
In an earlier post regarding payroll deductions, I promised to write about the unique aspects of deductions from a sales employee’s commissions. This topic is always ripe for discussion. Why? Well, good salespersons will make great commissions! They are winners. They don’t like to lose sales – or money. They are usually very aware of what they have sold and the related commission. Accordingly, when they see a deduction on a commission, or a commission less than they expected, naturally their radar goes on high alert. I can’t blame them, this is their bread and butter after all – and this is what drives them; these are folks generally highly motivated by monetary compensation – which is the whole point. They bring in revenue for the business and want to be rewarded accordingly.
There are actually two different aspects to salespersons commissions – with an extremely important distinction between the two. First, when can an employer deduct from commissions owed, due to errors or omissions? Second, when can an employer reduce a salesperson’s commission not due to the salesperson’s errors or omissions? Hopefully I can help clarify. However, for purposes of this post, I should specify that this is all about employed salespersons – not independent contractors. Commission salespersons who are independent contractors have their own prompt payment statute and that would throw us off track here.
Making Deductions From Commissions Due to Errors or Omissions
As I mentioned before, Minnesota law (Minn. Stat. 181.79) treats sales commissions differently when it comes to allowing wage deductions. Indeed, the wage deduction requirements for faulty workmanship, loss, theft, or damages do not apply when an employer has rules related to commissioned salespeople, when the rules are used “for purposes of discipline, by fine or otherwise, in cases where errors or omissions in performing their duties exist”.
Continue Reading Making Deductions and Adjustments to Commissions
Deducting Employee’s Pay for Losses, Theft or Damage
Quite often I will get asked by employers if it is okay to deduct certain items from either an employee’s payroll or a final paycheck. In fact, in almost every termination that I walk a client through, this issue comes up – whether it is an outstanding credit card payment (the trouble employee was reimbursed
The Clock is Ticking: Paying Terminated Employees Within 24 Hours
While Jack Bauer may be by the wayside, Fox Network’s 24 is not going away any faster than an employer’s requirement to pay terminated Minnesota employees within 24 hours. An issue that I frequently get calls about (usually somewhat frantic) is a terminated employee’s demand for payment within 24 hours. Unfortunately, too many employers without
Paying Employees Who Quit and Don’t Turn in Their Time Card – Impossible! *NOT*
As will happen from time-to-time, several employers have called me with the same issue this week, “Do I have to pay an employee who quit and didn’t turn in their time sheet? I have no idea how many hours he worked as I’m in an office in Bloomington and the employee was on a job site!” Now, I know all you super-smart HR professionals (yes, you know who you are because you’re reading this!) know that the FLSA has a record keeping requirement. And I know you know that the employer has to keep records for 3 years of the employee’s time worked. However, this also means that the FLSA (and many state wage and hour laws) require the employer to keep the employee’s time – not the employee!
Yes, I’m talking in circles, but it’ll make sense shortly…
Continue Reading Paying Employees Who Quit and Don’t Turn in Their Time Card – Impossible! *NOT*