[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6621487,"mediaKeyId","2801819-2890035eca35a73104f61b1d5f8c65a4","parentId",2801819,"title","Labor committee adopts amendment to broadband workforce bill, sends SF908 to Ag and Broadband","audioSeconds",683,"startMs",1681000,"endMs",2364000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2801819-2890035eca35a73104f61b1d5f8c65a4&start=1681&end=2364","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2801819-2890035eca35a73104f61b1d5f8c65a4/thumbnail_1681000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6621487/Minnesota/Labor-committee-adopts-amendment-to-broadband-workforce-bill-sends-SF908-to-Ag-and-Broadband","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6621487-abb50a9e8efebc8deddc0fe786058fb8/orig.mp4?Expires=1774870643&Signature=TdKTEWxCATENpKnKS3wZpzq75ZKbylig125o090Zt8LPxljDbwOteAOnQAzU2SmQfjZr07f80S0Qbd2v5rjh98HmKiHsi8vSbwzzGWkmQGsVCb4xaPgUboTYiK5pDhAuPkQnyfW8iSkhsFf4Hf7JuW2zyCynd6qE8y8iTeZO-vcVY6BkagSydB7GJBHcMtcZcth1Sje125sCtmuefZ-HNRR4J6Z35Up~WMg8VsS~7cnFDdjIadxM2LwZaPNpSql8YTzJ3ab1pnleb8VwLjICmS66qHs6FeqYisNbXtNayFeLor33WA9mJ2kcRDdppPRFObRI2nUYfIS7SQfYd79wRw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Minnesota Legislature","date","2025-03-27T22:55:40.097Z","article","The Minnesota Senate Labor Committee on March 27 adopted an amendment to Senate File 908 that preserves a 40-hour training requirement for broadband and utility installers, delays the compliance deadline and allows previously completed, approved training to count toward the requirement.

Sen. Kupik, the bill author, offered the A4 amendment, which “changes the bill, puts it back to the 40 hours of training that we had put in the bill last year,” pushes back the date by which training must be completed, and “sets out some certification standards and says that if you have met those certification standards, you can put that towards the 40 hours,” he said. After a voice vote, the committee adopted the amendment and voted to recommend the amended bill and send it to the Committee on Agriculture, Broadband and Veterans.

Kevin Prentice, representing the Laborers' International Union of North America (LiUNA) in Minnesota and North Dakota, told the committee the changes improve the bill’s feasibility without weakening safety standards. “This bill represents an improvement on last year’s bill in terms of feasibility,” Prentice said, and described three substantive edits: removing language that had been read as requiring unnecessary extra staff, clarifying who must be certified, and allowing previously completed classroom training from approved providers to count. He said the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) already had seven approved training programs and that some training was already underway.

Melissa Wolf, executive director of the Minnesota Cable Communications Association, said the amendment is the product of extensive stakeholder meetings and called it a compromise. “Safety is and will always remain paramount for cable providers, contractors, and our other industry partners,” Wolf said, and urged the committee to move the bill to the floor promptly to “avoid any unnecessary chaos and confusion.”

Sen. Dornick, who co-led stakeholder talks with Kupik, described the process as collaborative: “This is the way government is supposed to be. It’s to work together, to listen to both sides, and let them figure it out.” Dornick said the delayed deadline addresses concerns that contractors would be unprepared by the earlier date.

Committee members discussed enforcement concerns raised by cities and counties and the need to avoid disrupting broadband deployment. With the amendment adopted, the committee approved a motion to recommend passage of SF908 as amended and referred it to the Committee on Agriculture, Broadband and Veterans (agriculture/broadband jurisdiction noted during the hearing).

Votes at a glance

- Adoption of A4 amendment to SF908 — mover: Sen. Kupik; outcome: approved (voice vote; no roll-call tally recorded in the transcript).
- Recommend passage of SF908 as amended and refer to Committee on Agriculture, Broadband and Veterans — mover: Sen. Kupik; outcome: approved (voice vote; no roll-call tally recorded in the transcript).

Background and next steps

The bill revises training and certification rules for broadband and related underground utility work established in legislation passed the previous year. Supporters said the amendment preserves safety standards while giving contractors and training providers more time to comply; opponents were not recorded in the transcript. The committee referral means the bill will be considered next by the Committee on Agriculture, Broadband and Veterans before any floor action.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Committee on Labor - Part 2 - 03/27/25","oneSentenceSummary","The Minnesota Senate Labor Committee on March 27 adopted an amendment to Senate File 908 that preserves a 40-hour training requirement for broadband and utility installers, delays the compliance deadline and allows previously completed, approved training to count toward the requirement.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MN, Minnesota","taxId",77817,"location","Minnesota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6621481,"Labor committee advances bill to measure worker misclassification, sends SF2360 to Taxes",479,2405000,2884000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2801819-2890035eca35a73104f61b1d5f8c65a4&start=2405&end=2884","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2801819-2890035eca35a73104f61b1d5f8c65a4/thumbnail_2405000.jpg","/articles/6621481/Minnesota/Labor-committee-advances-bill-to-measure-worker-misclassification-sends-SF2360-to-Taxes","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6621481-87fe8341b54c2ca1bc849c52140ca4ea/orig.mp4?Expires=1774870643&Signature=oFA8RD2r2PWA8C3lPWKtwdZTD7dKrTx2BKEl8mvALljgJKx8sSFxA9~7WkGGO4j1hqrKnf0Q5T2Z-rmtJqagRKmxYV~a7iQ-HBkOBbJun-q7WlC6ivjSaMbfaY2AuC8jfK2vgWWTjx9POFH4SW6mYDro0s2EqxqixtMgsxZ9XZBSdEj08DQRw0zZSv5Dv~Y1HP732bawlrK9mSZxKldSqujsxfSIQuayT5XWL1hB~c-DrunQ6SzK1dWWf1zu59cjuXr7GaijpQg8FEspFWGG9ywi3167cVqWf-zuMtSE3~nHIFEHkfnB3ul-A8HOi0tQPgykL6z4lxxp-ksURV9Zcg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Minnesota Senate Labor Committee on March 27 approved an author’s amendment and recommended Senate File 2360, a bill that would direct state agencies to measure the prevalence and fiscal impact of worker misclassification and to report on it on a recurring basis.

The bill’s sponsor described misclassification fraud as the illegal treatment of employees as independent contractors. “Misclassification fraud is when an employer illegally treats a worker as an independent contractor, when they should be an employee,” the sponsor said, adding that employees misclassified in that way lose minimum wage, overtime, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and other protections.

The measure would require a biannual report estimating the number of workers affected, the fiscal cost to workers and taxpayers, and prevalence by industry. The sponsor said the bill would allow the Department of Labor and Industry to contract with external experts to carry out the study and develop the report. “Just being able to have the experts at the table who can help us get the numbers that we’re trying to get, is the reason why there’s the bill explicitly allows the Department of Labor and Industry to contract with those folks,” the sponsor said.

The sponsor referenced prior work by an attorney general’s task force and Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) findings: the sponsor noted a 2007 OLA estimate that cited misclassification and referenced a 2024 audit showing the problem was growing. The bill includes a placeholder appropriation and a fiscal note was submitted, the sponsor said.

Sen. Dornick and other senators asked about the third-party contract and whether the study could distinguish inadvertent misclassification from deliberate fraud. The sponsor said state agencies already conduct outreach and education for small businesses and expressed openness to continued conversation on separating mistakes from intentional misclassification in enforcement or penalties, but the bill’s core requirement is to measure and report the problem.

After adopting the author’s amendment A1, the committee approved a motion recommending passage of SF2360 as amended and referred the bill to the Taxes Committee.

Votes at a glance

- Adopt A1 (author's) amendment to SF2360 — mover: sponsor (recorded in transcript as the presenter); outcome: approved (voice vote).
- Recommend passage of SF2360 as amended and refer to Taxes Committee — mover: sponsor; outcome: approved (voice vote).

Background and next steps

Supporters said the bill implements recommendations of the attorney general’s task force on misclassification and responds to audits that found the problem sizable and growing; it is designed to produce a recurring, data-driven estimate of prevalence and fiscal impact so agencies and lawmakers can consider enforcement and policy responses. The bill moves next to the Taxes Committee for further consideration.","The Senate Labor Committee on March 27 approved an author's amendment and recommended Senate File 2360, which would require a biannual measurement of employer misclassification fraud and allow the Department of Labor and Industry to contract with external experts to produce the study.","actionData","errors"]

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Labor committee adopts amendment to broadband workforce bill, sends SF908 to Ag and Broadband

Labor committee advances bill to measure worker misclassification, sends SF2360 to Taxes