skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

RFK Jr. taps eight new members for CDC's vaccine advisory panel; CO communities to join national 'No Kings' protests Saturday; End of hospital emergency abortion care rule will affect rural KY women; LIHEAP cuts could put lives at risk in rural AL, advocates warn.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

White House says there will be more ICE raids, as protests spread across the county. California Gov. Newsom says democracy is at a crossroads, and Elon Musk says he 'regrets' social media posts about President Trump.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

EV charging stations are harder to find in rural America, improving the mental health of children and teachers is the goal of a new partnership in seven rural states, and a once segregated Mississippi movie theater is born again.

MN Adds Extra Wage Theft Protection for Construction Workers

play audio
Play

Monday, June 5, 2023   

As the summer construction season ramps up, the industry is preparing for new requirements under a pending Minnesota law change.

In recent years, Minnesota has cracked down on wage theft. But labor leaders within construction say they were still seeing too many workers being taken advantage of.

They pushed for a bill in the recent legislative session to hold owners and managers of construction sites liable, and not just a subcontractor suspected of wage theft.

Adam Duininck, director of government affairs for the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, said the provision was included in a final budget bill.

"The best part about this law, if it works really well," said Duininck, "what will happen is general (contractors) and developers won't hire those bad subcontractors to begin with - because then the general and the developer will understand that they're responsible for that."

The bill does carve out exemptions for certain single-family housing development projects, as well as contractors with collective bargaining agreements.

Some associations within the industry criticized the plan, saying it plays favorites in regard to those exemptions.

But Duininck contended that job sites with unionized contractors often don't have problems with wage theft.

The changes are scheduled to take effect August 1. In the meantime, Duininck said he hopes there's not only awareness among project leaders - but that word spreads among workers as well.

"I think that workers will hopefully feel more empowered to speak up when they are experiencing wage and hour issues," said Duininck. "A lot of the workers that we talk with on this matter come to us as immigrant workers, as workers that don't feel like they have a lot of rights to begin with."

The changes follow Minnesota's wage-theft law that was adopted in 2019.

According to the union, Minnesota joins Illinois as the only other Midwestern state to weave in specific liability language for general contractors and developers.



Disclosure: North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters contributes to our fund for reporting on Livable Wages/Working Families, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The temporary permitting process at Hobbs State Park includes specific collection zones, boundaries and safety requirements. Only dead trees impacted by the 2024 storm may be removed. (Kit Leong/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

As the cleanup effort continues at Hobbs State Park Conservation Area in Rogers, officials with Arkansas State Parks have authorized a temporary …


Social Issues

play sound

June is Pride Month, and Washington's Lavender Rights Project is celebrating with a Black Trans Comedy Showcase. This is the largest fundraiser of …

Social Issues

play sound

Protests are planned this Saturday throughout Arizona as organizers mobilize a "nationwide day of defiance" against what they're calling the Trump adm…


Nationwide, nearly 70% of rural counties lack a single obstetric hospital, according to a 2024 March of Dimes report. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Abortion rights advocates in Kentucky are concerned as the Department of Health and Human Services has revoked a policy requiring hospitals to provide…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Indiana University now trains police academy recruits in Deaf culture awareness and basic American Sign Language. The program aims to improve …

Consumer advocates warned Florida Power & Light's proposed rate increase would mean its customers would be locked into supporting natural gas over cleaner, price-stable alternatives, like solar energy. (Silberfuchs/Pixabay)

Social Issues

play sound

Florida Power & Light's request for a nearly $9 billion rate hike, possibly the largest in state history, has sparked concern about the potential …

Environment

play sound

June is World Oceans Month and California environmental groups are highlighting advances in zero-emission shipping. International shipping emits …

Environment

play sound

California companies making compostable packaging materials said their products could make a huge dent in the problem of plastic pollution but only wi…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021