Attorney General Ellison issues second annual ‘Working for Workers’ report

Report highlights ways Office helps workers fight wage theft; issued annually around Labor Day

September 8, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison today released his Office’s second “Working for Workers” report, an annual report issued around the Labor Day holiday. The report details the work done by Wage Theft Division in the Attorney General’s Office, which Attorney General Ellison established in 2019.

"It is hard to afford your life when your employer is cheating you out of your hard-earned wages," said Attorney General Ellison. "I launched the Wage Theft Division within this office to stand up for workers and enforce Minnesota laws against things like wage theft and employer misclassification fraud. The Wage Theft Division has done fantastic work to hold bad actors accountable and put money back in the pockets of people across Minnesota. I am proud to release the second annual ‘Working for Workers’ report to share the good work this team is doing for Minnesotans everywhere. As long as I remain your Attorney General, this Office will always work for working people.”

The report describes how the Wage Theft Division has been working to enforcing Minnesota law on behalf of workers, including by winning restitution for victims of wage theft at Evergreen Acres and winning restitution for victims of employer misclassification fraud at gig work company Arise Virtual Solutions. The report also highlights recent changes in Minnesota law that support workers, including requirements that certain businesses post salary ranges in job descriptions and a new test to determine whether construction workers are employees or independent contractors, which was based on a policy proposal adopted by Attorney General Keith Ellison’s task force on combatting employer misclassification fraud. And finally, the report describes the work the Attorney General’s Office has been doing to stand up against recent anti-worker policies emanating from the Trump Administration.

Attorney General Ellison’s office maintains a complaint form, also available in Spanish, where workers can report instances of wage theft. Examples of wage theft include but are not limited to paying less than the minimum wage, requiring or allowing work off the clock without pay, not paying time-and-a-half for overtime, not paying earned tips, unlawful paycheck deductions, not paying a final check upon separation of employment, and misclassifying employees as independent contractors.

More information about what wage theft is, the forms it can take, how Minnesotans are protected from wage theft under the law, and how to report it is available on the Wage Theft page of Attorney General Ellison’s website.