Time and attendance violations sprouting in Minnesota agriculture industry

Minnesota may be best known for the Mall of America, the distinct Midwestern accent and the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince, but the Land of 10,000 Lakes is actually home to a major agricultural industry that is third in the nation for producing soybeans and fourth for corn crops. Regardless of how fruitful the sector may be, there are allegations that employers in the state have been denying farm workers the wages they rightfully earned for their time and attendance.

Employees working on several farms in Southern Minnesota have claimed that their employers failed to pay them the overtime compensation they were owed for working overtime, according to a news release. The agricultural operations have since been asked to hand over the back wages because the employees in question were not found to be exempt from the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act (MFLSA).

State labor laws establish that farm workers must be paid at least one-and-a-half times their regular hourly rate for any time attendance beyond 48 hours in a single workweek.

The Dairy Herd Network explains that overtime is often a controversial discussion that arises within agricultural communities, and some employers will develop flex-time schedules to manage their payroll expenses. Because labor laws can be difficult to understand and apply, the source suggests outsourcing human resources to professionals or seeking legal consultation before implementing a new plan.


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