Minnsights Blog

Lawmakers passed a new law that prohibits employers from meeting or communicating with their employees on public policy. The “captive audience” law stipulates that communications must be “wholly voluntary” and not be political or religious in nature. There is a federal preemption of these laws, and they have been litigated in other states. Minnesota’s law is effective on August 1, 2023.

Carbon-free 2040: Minnesota now has a standard to be 100% carbon-free by 2040. This requires utilities in Minnesota to get a percentage of their electricity from carbon-free sources, starting with 80% by 2030, 90% by 2035 and 100% by 2040. Minnesota businesses and utilities are already moving toward goals of sustainability. But this aggressive timeline will force utilities to move quickly. Although nuclear power is carbon-free, no provisions for new nuclear energy production were included this legislative session.

Legalization of recreational marijuana: Marijuana is now legal for adult recreational use. This means that cannabis is now considered a “lawful consumable product” in the state. The new law established a new Office of Cannabis Management, created an expungement process for maijuana-related offenses, established regulations and licensing structures for the new industry and provided guidelines for workplaces and employee cannabis use. The new law provides restrictions and guidelines and parameters for testing employees and job applicants for cannabis use. This bill takes effect August 1, 2023.

Noncompetes banned: Noncompete and restrictive-franchise provisions in nearly all employee agreements are banned (both already in effect).

Environmental regulations: Lawmakers passed several policies that impacted environmental regulation this session.