Hiring employees in Minnesota: the 2026 compliance checklist for employers and recruiters

As of October 2026, an employer hiring in Minnesota has to register with Unemployment Insurance Minnesota, pay Minnesota Paid Leave premiums, carry workers' compensation insurance, post a starting salary range and benefits description once it has 30 or more Minnesota employees, wait until an interview is offered to ask about criminal records, have the new hire complete Form W-4MN, give a signed written wage notice and the earned sick and safe time notice at the start of employment and the Paid Leave notice within 30 days, and report the hire to the Minnesota New Hire Reporting Center within 20 calendar days. Minnesota also bans salary history questions and employee non-competes, and limits drug and cannabis testing of applicants.

This page is the Minnesota hub: one table with every item and its official source, then a short section on each. Where we already have a full guide to an item, the section summarizes it and links there.

The Minnesota hiring checklist at a glance

What must be in place before the first Minnesota hire?

Unemployment insurance, Paid Leave and workers' compensation. Unemployment Insurance Minnesota says "every individual or organization that pays covered wages in Minnesota must register," online at ui.mn.gov, after the first covered wages are paid and before the first quarterly wage detail report is due. Minnesota Paid Leave, which began paying benefits in 2026, is funded by premiums: DEED announced on July 31, 2026 that the rate stays at 0.88% of covered wages for 2027, the same as 2026, that employers may collect up to 0.44% from employees, and that small employers pay a smaller share.

Workers' compensation is required by Minn. Stat. 176.181, subd. 2: an employer must insure payment of compensation with an insurance carrier or obtain a written order from the commissioner of commerce to self-insure. An uninsured employer can be ordered to stop employing anyone and fined up to $1,000 per employee per week. The federal layer (an EIN, Form W-4 and Form I-9 by the third business day) applies on top.

Does a staffing or recruiting agency need a Minnesota license?

No. Minnesota repealed the license, fee and bond sections of chapter 184 in 2015. What is left: conduct rules for agencies that charge job seekers, a conditional carve-out for employer-paid search firms, separate registrations for employee leasing companies and supplemental nursing agencies, and a 2024 law, Minn. Stat. 181.9881, that stops a staffing firm from barring its customer from hiring the firm's employees. See Minnesota staffing agency rules.

What must a Minnesota job posting include, and can you ask about pay history?

Since January 1, 2025, an employer with 30 or more employees at one or more Minnesota sites must include the starting salary range and a general description of all benefits and other compensation in each posting, and the range may not be open ended, under Minn. Stat. 181.173. The statute is nearly silent on remote roles and penalties; our Minnesota pay transparency guide separates what it settles from what it leaves open.

Pay history is off limits for every employer. Minn. Stat. 363A.08, subd. 8, in force since January 1, 2024, bars employers, employment agencies and labor organizations from asking about an applicant's pay history, "from any source," including public records. Pay the candidate volunteers "without asking, encouraging, or prompting" may be considered to support a wage higher than the one first offered. A violation is handled as a discrimination claim. See the Minnesota salary history ban.

When can you ask about criminal history or run a credit check?

After the applicant is selected for an interview. Minn. Stat. 364.021 says a public or private employer may not ask about, consider or require disclosure of an applicant's criminal record until the applicant has been selected for an interview, or, if there is no interview, until a conditional offer has been made. There is no minimum employer size, and the Department of Human Rights enforces it with penalties scaled to employer size. See Minnesota's ban-the-box law.

Minnesota is not among the states with an employer credit-check statute in our credit check laws guide, so the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act sets the steps: a stand-alone disclosure, written authorization, and the pre-adverse and adverse action notices in the FTC's employer guidance.

Can you record or transcribe a job interview in Minnesota?

Yes, as a participant. Under Minn. Stat. 626A.02, subd. 2(d), it is not unlawful for a person to intercept a communication "where such person is a party to the communication or where one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent," unless the purpose is criminal or tortious. Getting it wrong is costly: up to five years and a $20,000 fine on the criminal side, and civil damages of at least $10,000. Our Minnesota recording consent guide has the detail, and recording calls across state lines covers candidates in all-party states.

Does Minnesota regulate AI in hiring?

Not with an enacted statute, as of October 2026. Two 2026 bills would have: HF 4537, described as "Certain artificial intelligence use in employment procedures prohibited," was introduced and referred to committee on March 23, 2026, and SF 4686, on electronic monitoring tools in employment, was last re-referred to a second committee on April 7, 2026. Neither passed. The Minnesota Human Rights Act, 363A.08, applies to a hiring decision whether a person or a tool made it. Track changes in AI hiring laws by state.

Can you drug test applicants in Minnesota?

Yes, but on Minnesota's terms. Under the Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act, Minn. Stat. 181.951, testing must follow a written policy with the contents section 181.952 lists, an applicant may be tested only after "a job offer has been made," and "the same test is requested or required of all job applicants conditionally offered employment for that position." Cannabis is treated separately: subdivision 8 says an employer "must not request or require a job applicant to undergo cannabis testing as a condition of employment" unless state or federal law requires it, and subdivision 9 keeps cannabis on the list for safety-sensitive positions, peace officers, firefighters, roles with face-to-face care of children or vulnerable adults, and jobs needing a commercial driver's license. Our drug testing laws guide compares other states.

Does Minnesota require E-Verify?

Only on state service contracts. Under Minn. Stat. 16C.075, a state contract for services over $50,000 must require the vendor and every subcontractor to certify that they use, or are implementing, E-Verify for new hires who will work for the State of Minnesota. There is no private-employer mandate. See E-Verify requirements in Minnesota.

Which state withholding form does a new hire complete?

Form W-4MN. The Department of Revenue says new employees complete it "when they begin employment," alongside the federal W-4, and if a new hire has not handed one in before the first wage payment, "the employer should withhold tax as if they are single with zero withholding allowances."

Which notices must a new Minnesota employee get at hire?

• Wage notice. Minn. Stat. 181.032(d) requires written notice at the start of employment of the pay rate and basis, meal and lodging allowances, paid time off accruals and terms, exempt or nonexempt status, possible deductions, the pay period, regular payday and first payday, the employer's legal and operating names, address and phone number. The employer keeps a copy signed by the employee, provides it in English with the commissioner's language-request text, and gives it in another language on request. Changes go out in writing before they take effect.
• Earned sick and safe time. Section 181.9447, subd. 9 requires notice of the right to earned sick and safe time "at commencement of employment," in English and the employee's primary language, and in the handbook if there is one.
• Paid Leave. Section 268B.26 requires written notice of Paid Leave benefits, premiums and rights within 30 days of the start of employment, with a written or electronic acknowledgment, plus a workplace poster. Penalties run $50 per employee for a first violation and $300 after.

Leave non-competes out of Minnesota offer letters: Minn. Stat. 181.988 makes them void for agreements signed on or after July 1, 2023. See Minnesota non-compete law.

How do you report a new hire in Minnesota?

To the Minnesota New Hire Reporting Center, which runs the state's work reporting system for the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Minn. Stat. 142A.29 requires a report within 20 calendar days of the hire date, with the information federal law requires: the employee's name, address and Social Security number, the employer's name, address and FEIN, and the first day of work. Hires that last under two months with gross earnings below $250 a month are exempt. After a certified-mail notice of noncompliance, the penalty is $25 per intentionally unreported employee, or $500 where employer and employee conspired.

The Minnesota hiring steps in order

1. Before the first hire: bind workers' compensation coverage, register with Unemployment Insurance Minnesota once covered wages are paid, and budget for Paid Leave premiums.
2. Posting: a starting salary range and general benefits description at 30 or more Minnesota employees.
3. Screening: no pay history questions from any source, and no criminal history questions until an interview is offered.
4. Interview: a participant may record; ask first if the candidate is in an all-party state.
5. Conditional offer: drug test only under a written policy and only after the offer; no cannabis test unless the job is on the exempt list or law requires it; no non-compete.
6. First day: Form I-9, W-4, W-4MN, the signed wage notice and the earned sick and safe time notice.
7. Within 20 calendar days: report to the Minnesota New Hire Reporting Center.
8. Within 30 days: deliver the Paid Leave notice and keep the acknowledgment.

Hiring in more than one state? The same checklist is available for Massachusetts, Tennessee, Indiana, Maryland, Colorado and California.