DLI reports rising WESA intakes, high informal resolution rate and targeted outreach to third‑party administrators

The Department of Labor and Industry told the House Workforce, Labor and Economic Development Committee that complaints under the Women’s Economic Security Act increased sharply in the most recent reporting period and that the agency met most cases through informal resolution.

"We had a total of 675 intakes in the past reporting period," Fuad Ali, a labor standards supervisor at DLI, told the committee. Of the 123 investigations the agency opened during the report window, DLI closed 118 and reported a 94.3% resolution rate through informal enforcement and voluntary corrective action. DLI said it secured voluntary agreements for $81,574.10 in back wages and damages for 21 employees, assessed $40,000 in civil penalties and stayed $160,000 pending further compliance.

Ali outlined enforcement innovations that aim to speed compliance, including pre‑enforcement demand letters for serious violations and targeted outreach and training for third‑party administrators and staffing agencies that often manage leave or payroll functions for Minnesota employers. DLI staff said they track third‑party administrators when investigations show those organizations were drivers of noncompliance and that closed investigations are public under the Data Practices Act; however, DLI does not publish a blacklist of repeat contractors. "It goes to the employer," the agency said when asked who receives fines.

Committee members pressed DLI on industry patterns: Ali said daycares and assisted‑living facilities are common sources of complaints because staffing ratios and lifting requirements can make pregnancy accommodations or break time for nursing mothers difficult to provide. Members asked for additional stratified intake data; DLI offered to provide more detailed breakdowns on request.

The report also shows a year‑over‑year rise in investigations: DLI reported an approximately 59.7% increase in investigations from the prior year and a roughly fivefold increase since 2023 in the reporting series (figures the agency presented to the committee).

What happens next: DLI will continue outreach and training, and committee members asked staff to return additional stratified data on intakes and industry patterns.