Subdivision 1. Prohibition. No employer shall misrepresent the nature of its employment relationship with its employees to any federal, state, or local government unit; to other employers; or to its employees. An employer misrepresents the nature of its employment relationship with its employees if it makes any statement regarding the nature of the relationship that the employer knows or has reason to know is untrue and if it fails to report individuals as employees when legally required to do so.

Subd. 2. Agreements to misclassify prohibited. No employer shall require or request any employee to enter into any agreement, or sign any document, that results in misclassification of the employee as an independent contractor or otherwise does not accurately reflect the employment relationship with the employer.

Subd. 3. Determination of employment relationship. For purposes of this section, the nature of an employment relationship is determined using the same tests and in the same manner as employee status is determined under the applicable workers' compensation and unemployment insurance program laws and rules.

Subd. 4. Civil remedy. A construction worker, as defined in section 179.254, who is not an independent contractor and has been injured by a violation of this section, may bring a civil action for damages against the violator. If the construction worker injured is an employee of the violator of this section, the employee's representative, as defined in section 179.01, subdivision 5, may bring a civil action for damages against the violator on behalf of the employee. The court may award attorney fees, costs, and disbursements to a construction worker recovering under this section.

Subd. 5. Reporting of violations. Any court finding that a violation of this section has occurred shall transmit a copy of its findings of fact and conclusions of law to the commissioner of labor and industry. The commissioner of labor and industry shall report the finding to relevant state and federal agencies, including the commissioner of commerce, the commissioner of employment and economic development, the commissioner of revenue, the federal Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Department of Labor.

History: 1Sp2005 c 1 art 4 s 41