Hiring

Q: What are key considerations for recruiting seasonal help this summer?

LMC: Here are five things to do or be aware of as you begin recruiting seasonal workers:

1. Cities should dust off prior seasonal job postings and make required 2025 updates. Beginning this year, Minnesota employers must disclose starting salary ranges or fixed pay rates — as well as benefits and other compensation — in each new job posting.

2. Keep in mind that the state’s minimum wage increased to $11.13 per hour for all cities in 2025.

3. Consider benefits that will impact seasonal workers like leave, retirement, and collective bargaining. These are provided through the new earned sick and safe time (ESST) law, Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) pension plan, and the Minnesota Public Employment Labor Relations Act (PELRA). Seasonal employees who are anticipated to work at least 80 hours will earn ESST. Cities should be alert to Minnesota PELRA definitions of public employees and PERA enrollment thresholds. The public employee definition under Minnesota PELRA is important because it determines who can belong to a bargaining unit under law. Many cities actively monitor their seasonal employees’ schedules to ensure workers fall under one of PELRA’s public employee exclusions, such as the 67 days threshold, or 100 days for full-time students under age 22. For more information about seasonal employee retirement considerations, see PERA’s FAQs at bit.ly/PERA-FAQ-seasonalworkers.

4. Since many city seasonal workers are high school students, be mindful of the age, hours, and work restriction laws impacting child labor. For more information about child labor laws, see the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry’s website at dli.mn.gov/child-labor.

5. Cities often conduct preemployment screens and background checks pursuant to city policies.

To learn more about recruiting and hiring seasonal workers and access a model job posting, see the League’s HR Reference Manual, Chapter 2 at lmc.org/hiring. The time it takes to perform these processes can range from a day to several weeks, so it’s important to factor these timeframes into your recruitment process.

Answered by LMC Assistant HR Director Joyce Hottinger: jhottinger@lmc.org.

Billing

Q: Does Minnesota’s new “junk fee” law apply to cities?

LMC: It depends on the fees a city is charging and how, or if, they are advertised. The Minnesota Deceptive Trade Practices Act (Minnesota Statutes, section 325D.44 et seq.) prohibits advertisement of “a price for goods or services that does not include all mandatory fees or surcharges.” Mandatory fees and surcharges that must be included in the total price advertised, displayed, or offered include any fee or surcharge that:

• Must be paid in order to purchase the good or service.
• Is not reasonably avoidable by the consumer.
• A reasonable person would expect to be included in the purchase of the goods or services being advertised. Taxes are not considered mandatory fees and thus do not need to be included in the advertised price.

A best practice for cities is to ensure any additional “mandatory” fees are outlined in the fee schedule or in utility documents. Cities have authority to charge “convenience fees” or “service charges” under Minnesota Statutes, section 471.381, subdivision 2, so long as they’re disclosed. Credit card surcharges, while optional if alternative payment methods are available, are capped at 5% of the purchase price under Minnesota Statutes, section 325G.051 (enacted in 2023), which also imposes additional notification requirements for credit card use.

Answered by Intergovernmental Relations Representative and Attorney Tori Kee: tkee@lmc.org.

Safety

Q: Can the city be fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for hazards created by contractors?

LMC: Yes, absolutely, this falls under OSHA’s multiemployer citation policy.

When the city hires contractors such as excavators, snow removal contractors, construction firms, and so on, your city could be liable for OSHA violations created by those contractors. OSHA’s multiemployer citation policy (CPL 02-00-124) recognizes four employer categories, although an employer may fall into more than one category. The categories include:

• Creating employer — the employer that creates the hazard.
• Exposing employer — the employer that allows its workers to participate.
• Correcting employer — the employer that is responsible for monitoring and correcting hazards.
• Controlling employer — the employer that is seen to have supervisory authority over safety.

Essentially, if an OSHA inspector finds a violation at a multiemployer worksite, the inspector will determine which category (if any) the city falls under, then decide if the city can be cited for failing to meet its obligations. For more information on this topic, see the National Safety Council website at bit.ly/OSHA-multiemployer-citation.

Answered by LMCIT Loss Control Representative Marc Dunker: mdunker@lmc.org.