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In the Matter of Minnesota Living Assistance, Inc., d/b/a Baywood Home Care.. MN Overtime
The employees in this Minnesota case were home health aides who typically worked 24 hours a day, typically for 5 days out of seven. Under Minn. Stat. 177.23, subd. 11, they were not paid for eight hours of sleeping. For the remaining 16 hours, they were paid as follows: For the first 5.5 hours per day they were paid at one rate. For the remaining 10.5 hours, they were paid at 1.5 times that rate.
Minn. Stat. 177.25 requires employers to pay time and a half after 48 hours. Specifically, the statute provides that "compensation for employment in excess of 48 hours in a workweek at a rate of at least 1-1/2 times the regular rate at which the employee is employed." The issue in the case was the computation of the "regular rate".
The employer took the position that no further overtime pay was required after empoloyees hit the 48 hour mark: Since employees were already being paid time and a half for 10.5 hours per day, the employer argued that the obligation was met.
The Minnesota Supreme Court disagreed. It held that after employees hit the 48 hour threshold, the remaining hours must be paid at one and one half times the average rate paid for the first 48 hours.
Justice Anderson dissented. He argued that the majority added a requirement of "must come as a surprise" to the definition of overtime.
No. A17-1821 (Minn. Sept. 18, 2018).
Please see the original opinion for the court's exact language.
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Richard P. Clem is an attorney and continuing legal education (CLE) provider in Minnesota. He has been in private practice in the Twin Cities for 25 years. He has a J.D., cum laude, from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul and a B.A. in History from the University of Minnesota. His reported cases include: Asociacion Nacional de Pescadores a Pequena Escala o Artesanales de Colombia v. Dow Quimica de Colombia, 988 F.2d 559, rehearing denied, 5 F.3d 530 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1041 (1994); LaMott v. Apple Valley Health Care Center, 465 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991); Abo el Ela v. State, 468 N.W.2d 580 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991).
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