Minn. Stat. 181.14

Minn. Stat. 181.14 PAYMENT TO EMPLOYEES WHO QUIT OR RESIGN; SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES.

Subdivision 1.  Prompt payment required.

(a) When any such employee quits or resigns employment, the wages or commissions earned and unpaid at the time the employee quits or resigns shall be paid in full not later than the first regularly scheduled payday following the employ-ee’s final day of employment, unless an employee is subject to a collective bargaining agreement with a different pro-vision. Wages are earned and unpaid if the employee was not paid for all time worked at the employee’s regular rate of pay or at the rate required by law, including any applicable statute, regulation, rule, ordinance, government resolution or policy, contract, or other legal authority, whichever rate of pay is greater. If the first regularly scheduled payday is less than five calendar days following the employee’s final day of employment, full payment may be delayed until the second regularly scheduled payday but shall not exceed a total of 20 calendar days following the employee’s final day of employment.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a), in the case of migrant workers, as defined in section 181.85, the wages or commissions earned and unpaid at the time the employee quits or resigns shall become due and payable within five days thereafter.

Subd. 2.  Nonprompt payment.

Wages or commissions not paid within the required time period shall become immediately payable upon the demand of the employee. If the employee’s earned wages or commissions are not paid within 24 hours after the demand, the employer shall be liable to the employee for a penalty equal to the amount of the employee’s average daily earnings at the employee’s regular rate of pay or the rate required by law, whichever rate is greater, for every day, not exceeding 15 days in all, until such payment or other settlement satisfactory to the employee is made. The employer shall also be liable to the employee for the amount of wages and commissions that are earned and unpaid. An employee’s demand for payment under this section must be in writing but need not state the precise amount of unpaid wages or commis-sions. An employee may directly seek and recover payment from an employer under this section even if the employee is not a party to a contract that requires the employer to pay the employee at the rate of pay demanded by the em-ployee, so long as the contract or any applicable statute, regulation, rule, ordinance, government resolution or policy, or other legal authority requires payment to the employee at the particular rate of pay. The employee shall be able to di-rectly seek payment at the highest rate of pay provided in the contract or applicable law, and any other remedies re-lated thereto as provided in this section.

Subd. 3.  Settlement of disputes.

If the employer disputes the amount of wages or commissions claimed by the employee under the provisions of this section or section 181.13, and the employer makes a legal tender of the amount which the employer in good faith claims to be due, the employer shall not be liable for any sum greater than the amount so tendered and interest thereon at the legal rate, unless, in an action brought in a court having jurisdiction, the employee recovers a greater sum than the amount so tendered with interest thereon; and if, in the suit, the employee fails to recover a greater sum than that so tendered, with interest, the employee shall not pay the cost of the suit, otherwise the cost shall be paid by the employer.

Subd. 4. Employees entrusted with money or property.

In cases where the discharged or quitting employee was, during employment, entrusted with the collection, disburse-ment, or handling of money or property, the employer shall have ten calendar days after the termination of the em-ployment to audit and adjust the accounts of the employee before the employee’s wages or commissions shall be paid as provided in this section, and the penalty herein provided shall apply in such case only from the date of demand made after the expiration of the period allowed for payment of the employee’s wages or commissions. No employer shall make any deduction, directly or indirectly, from the wages due or earned by any employee, who is not an inde-pendent contractor, for lost or stolen property, damage to property, or to recover any other claimed indebtedness run-ning from employee to employer, except as permitted by section 181.79.

Subd. 5.  Place of payment.

Wages and commissions paid under this section shall be paid in the usual manner of payment unless the employee requests that the wages and commissions be sent to the employee through the mails. If, in accordance with a request by the employee, the employee’s wages and commissions are sent to the employee through the mail, the wages and com-missions shall be deemed to have been paid as of the date of their postmark for the purposes of this section.

SAMPLE DEMAND FOR WAGES (EMPLOYEE WHO RESIGNED):

[Employee Name]
[Employee Address Line1]
[Employee Address Line 2]
[Employee City State Zip Code]
[Employee Phone #]

Via U.S. Mail and Certified Mail

[Employer Name]
[Employer Address Line1]
[Employer Address Line 2]
[Employer City State Zip Code]

Re:       Demand for Unpaid Wages

To whom it may concern:

This will serve as my formal demand for all unpaid wages, bonuses, commissions and other compensation due to me from [Name of Employer] and its affiliates (the “Company”).

This includes all earned but unpaid salary, wages, overtime, bonuses, incentives, commissions, vacation pay, personal time off, personal leave, paid holidays, paid sick pay, employer-sponsored health insurance or other premiums, stock-based compensation or stock options, severance payments, expense reimbursements, and all other forms of compensation and benefits.

Under Minn. Stat. § 181.14, when any employee quits or resigns employment, the wages or commissions earned and unpaid at the time the employee quits or resigns shall be paid in full not later than the first regularly scheduled payday following the employee’s final day of employment, unless an employee is subject to a collective bargaining agreement with a different provision.  If the first regularly scheduled payday is less than five calendar days following the employee’s final day of employment, full payment may be delayed until the second regularly scheduled payday but shall not exceed a total of 20 calendar days following the employee’s final day of employment.

Please mail all payments to me at the above address, including the applicable statutory penalty for each day the payment is delayed following the statutory deadline.

Failure to pay these amounts within the statutory deadline may result in the Company incurring additional damages, penalties, interest, and liability to pay my attorney’s fees.

Sincerely,

________________________________
[Name of Employee]

The law firm of Trepanier MacGillis Battina P.A. located in Minneapolis, Minnesota represents individual employees in the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota area in disputes involving unpaid wages, unpaid commissions, recovery of unpaid wages, recovery of unpaid commissions, unpaid vacation, vacation pay, unpaid PTO, personal time off, final paychecks, overtime pay, and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including lawsuits and litigation.  Our lawyers and attorneys represent clients in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Apple Valley, Blaine, Bloomington, Brainerd, Brooklyn Park, Burnsville, Coon Rapids, Duluth, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Edina, Lakeville, Mankato, Maple Grove, Minnetonka, Moorhead, Plymouth, Richfield, Rochester, St. Cloud, Stillwater, Twin Cities, Woodbury and other cities within the State of Minnesota (MN) (Minn.).