SF2782 Bill Summary

• Biennial Budget Appropriations: Establishes $46.561 million (2024) and $43.504 million (2025) appropriations for the Department of Labor and Industry, Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals, and Bureau of Mediation Services.

• Agricultural and Food Processing Worker Protections: Strengthens worker rights by requiring employers to provide written disclosure of employment terms in workers' native languages, establishing civil remedies for violations ($1,000-$1,400 per violation), and increasing employer penalties ($400-$1,000 per violation).

• Nursing Home Workforce Standards: Creates a new Minnesota Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board to establish minimum employment standards for nursing home workers, including compensation and working conditions, with initial wage standards due by August 1, 2024.

• Meatpacking Worker Safety: Enacts comprehensive protections for meat and poultry processing workers, including ergonomics requirements, training mandates, pandemic protections, retaliation prohibitions, and appointment of a worker rights coordinator to enforce standards.

• Restrictive Employment Agreements: Voids non-compete agreements in employment contracts (with exceptions for business sales and dissolutions), prohibits conditioning employment settlements for sexual harassment on nondisclosure, and restricts employer ability to force out-of-state dispute resolution.