A bill for an act
relating to labor and industry; providing for use of skilled and trained contractor
workforces at petroleum refineries; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, section
177.27, subdivision 4; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter
181.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 177.27, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
The commissioner may issue an order requiring an
employer to comply with sections 177.21 to 177.435, 181.02, 181.03, 181.031, 181.032,
181.101, 181.11, 181.13, 181.14, 181.145, 181.15, 181.172, paragraph (a) or (d), 181.275,
subdivision 2a, 181.722, 181.79, deleted text begin anddeleted text end 181.939 to 181.943, new text begin and 181.987, new text end or with any rule
promulgated under section 177.28. The commissioner shall issue an order requiring an
employer to comply with sections 177.41 to 177.435 new text begin or 181.987 new text end if the violation is repeated.
For purposes of this subdivision only, a violation is repeated if at any time during the two
years that preceded the date of violation, the commissioner issued an order to the employer
for violation of sections 177.41 to 177.435 new text begin or 181.987 new text end and the order is final or the
commissioner and the employer have entered into a settlement agreement that required the
employer to pay back wages that were required by sections 177.41 to 177.435. The
department shall serve the order upon the employer or the employer's authorized
representative in person or by certified mail at the employer's place of business. An employer
who wishes to contest the order must file written notice of objection to the order with the
commissioner within 15 calendar days after being served with the order. A contested case
proceeding must then be held in accordance with sections 14.57 to 14.69. If, within 15
calendar days after being served with the order, the employer fails to file a written notice
of objection with the commissioner, the order becomes a final order of the commissioner.
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This section is effective October 15, 2023.
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(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
the meanings given.
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(b) "Contractor" means a vendor that enters into or seeks to enter into a contract with
an owner or operator of a petroleum refinery to perform construction, alteration, demolition,
installation, repair, maintenance, or hazardous material handling work at the site of the
petroleum refinery. Contractor includes all contractors or subcontractors of any tier
performing work as described in this paragraph at the site of the petroleum refinery.
Contractor does not include employees of the owner or operator of a petroleum refinery.
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(c) "Registered apprenticeship program" means an apprenticeship program providing
to each trainee combined classroom and on-the-job training under the direct and close
supervision of a highly skilled worker in an occupation recognized as an apprenticeable
occupation registered with the Department of Labor and Industry under chapter 178 or with
the United States Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship or a recognized state
apprenticeship agency under Code of Federal Regulations, title 29, parts 29 and 30.
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(d) "Skilled and trained workforce" means a workforce in which each employee of the
contractor or subcontractor of any tier working at the site of the petroleum refinery meets
one of the following criteria:
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(1) are currently registered as apprentices in a registered apprenticeship program in the
applicable trade;
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(2) have graduated from a registered apprenticeship program in the applicable trade; or
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(3) have completed all of the classroom training and work hour requirements needed to
graduate from the registered apprenticeship program their employer participates in.
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(e) "Petroleum refinery" means a facility engaged in producing and storing gasoline,
kerosene, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oil, lubricants, or other products through distillation
of petroleum or through redistillation, cracking, or reforming of unfinished petroleum
derivatives. Petroleum refinery includes fluid catalytic cracking unit catalyst regenerators,
fluid catalytic cracking unit incinerator-waste heat boilers, fuel gas combustion devices,
and indirect heating equipment associated with the refinery.
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(f) "Apprenticeable occupation" means any trade, form of employment, or occupation
approved for apprenticeship by the commissioner of labor and industry or the United States
Secretary of Labor.
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(g) "OEM" means original equipment manufacturer and refers to organizations that
manufacture or fabricate equipment for sale directly to purchasers or other resellers.
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(a) An owner or operator
of a petroleum refinery shall, when contracting with contractors for the performance of
construction, alteration, demolition, installation, repair, maintenance, or hazardous material
handling work at the site of the petroleum refinery, require that the contractors performing
that work, and any subcontractors of any tier, use a skilled and trained workforce when
performing all work at the site of the petroleum refinery.
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(b) The requirement under this subdivision applies only when each contractor and
subcontractor of any tier is performing work at the site of the petroleum refinery.
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(c) The requirement under this subdivision does not apply to contractors or subcontractors
hired to perform OEM work to comply with equipment warranty requirements.
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(d) A contractor's workforce must meet the requirements of subdivision 1, paragraph
(d) according to the following schedule:
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(1) 65 percent by October 15, 2023;
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(2) 75 percent by October 15, 2024; and
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(3) 85 percent by October 15, 2025.
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(e) An owner or operator, or contractor or subcontractor of an owner or operator, is
exempt from this section if:
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(1) the owner or operator or contractor or subcontractor has entered into a project labor
agreement or collectively bargained maintenance agreement with a labor organization with
a registered apprenticeship program; and
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(2) all contracted work at the petroleum refinery that is subject to this section is also
subject to a project labor agreement or collectively bargained maintenance agreement.
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The Division of Labor Standards shall receive complaints of violations
of this section. The commissioner of labor and industry shall fine an owner, operator,
contractor, or subcontractor of any tier not less than $5,000 nor more than $10,000 for each
violation of the requirements in this section. Each shift on which a violation of this section
occurs shall be considered a separate violation. This penalty is in addition to any penalties