CONSIDERATIONS FOR SEASONAL EMPLOYEES
Paperwork. When hiring any new employee – whether full time, part-time, permanent, seasonal/temporary – it’s important to ensure you have all the appropriate paperwork completed, filed (if required), and kept in a secure personnel file for every employee, even those that are seasonal. This includes, but is not limited to, new hire reporting to the State, tax withholding paperwork (e.g. W-4); Form I-9; payroll records, and, importantly, the relatively-recently required MN Wage Theft Act Employee Notice.
Classifying Employees. Properly classifying employees as exempt or non-exempt (not necessarily synonymous with salaried vs hourly) and paying them appropriately is one of the most important things an employer can do. There are specific classes of exempt employees (including certain agricultural, executive, administrative, or outside sales employees, among others), and these employees must meet certain criteria to be properly considered exempt. It is critical for employers to ensure employees actually qualify for an exemption and inform the employee of their exempt status. Improper classification can subject an employer to significant penalties and fees, and it’s an area of increasing enforcement among state and federal agencies.
Hiring Minor Workers. If your business is planning to hire seasonal employees who are minors (under the age of 18), it’s important to be aware that there are specific requirements for minor employees around minimum wage, work hour limitations, and job duty restrictions. There are also unique considerations for minor employees employed in an agricultural role.
Overtime. It’s important to ensure that your business is appropriately paying overtime to all non-exempt employees. Unless the employee is exempt, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires some employers to pay overtime for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek and the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay overtime for all hours worked in excess of 48 hours per workweek.
Fluctuating Employee Counts. As you hire temporary or seasonal employees for your business, you may see your employee counts fluctuate. Anytime you have increases in the number of employees, including seasonal and temporary employees, it’s important to keep track of your total employee counts, because your business could become subject to new employment laws and regulations (including the Family and Medical Leave Act, parental leave, reasonable accommodations under the ADA and for religious purposes, etc.). Don’t assume that just because they are temporary or seasonal employees that they don’t qualify for benefits or don’t impact your total employee counts for employment law purposes.
As you’re preparing for your busy season, reach out to any of the Blethen Berens employment law attorneys if you have any questions about these seasonal employee considerations.