Section 181.14 Payment to Employees Who Quit or Resign; Settlement of Disputes
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 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.
(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 an additional sum equal to the amount of the employee's average daily earnings provided in the contract of employment, for every day, not exceeding 15 days in all, until such payment or other settlement satisfactory to the employee is made.
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 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, disbursement, or handling of money or property, the employer shall have ten calendar days after the termination of the employment 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. If, upon such audit and adjustment of the accounts of the employee, it is found that any money or property entrusted to the employee by the employer has not been properly accounted for or paid over to the employer, as provided by the terms of the contract of employment, the employee shall not be entitled to the benefit of sections 181.13 to 181.171, but the claim for unpaid wages or commissions of such employee, if any, shall be disposed of as provided by existing law.
Subd. 5.Place of payment.
Wages and commissions paid under this section shall be paid at the usual place 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 commissions shall be deemed to have been paid as of the date of their postmark for the purposes of this section.
History:
(4128) 1919 c 175 s 2; 1933 c 173 s 2; 1984 c 446 s 2; 1986 c 444; 1997 c 7 art 1 s 85; 1997 c 83 s 6; 1997 c 180 s 1