Minnesota: Pay Frequency and Wage-Payment Lag Requirements

Requirements one by one

Ordinary wages and commissions use different outer limits

Minn. Stat. § 181.101(a) requires all ordinary wages, salary, earnings, and
gratuities to be paid at least once every 31 days. Commissions have a separate
outer limit of once every three months. Both must be paid on a regular payday
the employer designates in advance, even if an employee asks to wait longer.

The statute says wages are earned on the day the employee works. It does not
add a separate number of days after a pay period closes, so the 31-day payment
interval is the controlling outer limit for ordinary wages.

New hires receive the schedule in writing

At the start of employment, § 181.032(d)(6) requires written notice of the
number of days in the pay period, the regularly scheduled payday, and the
payday for the employee's first earned wages. If any of that information
changes, subsection (f) requires written notice before the change takes effect.

Transitory projects have a 15-day interval

Section 181.10 applies when project work requires an employee to change the
employee's place of abode. Its examples include road, sewer, ditch, land-
clearing, and forest-products projects. Those wages must be paid at intervals
of no more than 15 days at or near the place of employment.

A demand activates daily statutory penalties

The Commissioner may serve a demand for unpaid wages or commissions. If the
employer does not pay within ten days after service, § 181.101 permits
collection of the unpaid amount plus a daily penalty: the employee's average
daily earnings for wages, or 1/15 of the unpaid commissions for commissions.
The collected money goes to the employee.

Section 181.171 also permits a direct district-court action for violations of
§§ 181.10, 181.032, and 181.101. A successful employee may obtain compensatory
and appropriate injunctive relief, plus reasonable costs and attorney fees.

What trips people up

The 31-day rule is not the same as a monthly-calendar rule. A schedule must
keep the interval within 31 days and use a regular payday designated in
advance. The separate three-month interval applies only to commissions, not to
ordinary hourly wages or salary.

Minnesota also enacted a technical amendment effective May 20, 2026. It
updated § 181.101(b)'s firefighter terminology and cross-reference but did not
change the general 31-day rule. Paid on-call firefighters, recognized first
responders, and volunteer ambulance drivers or attendants may still mutually
agree with the employer to longer payment intervals.

Common questions

May a Minnesota employer pay ordinary wages once a month?

Yes, if the recurring interval never exceeds 31 days and the employer meets
the advance-designation and written-notice rules. A loosely defined monthly
schedule that creates a longer interval would not fit the statutory text.

How often must commissions be paid?

At least once every three months under § 181.101(a). The statute treats that as
a distinct schedule from ordinary wages.

Must employees receive notice before payday changes?

Yes. Section 181.032(f) requires written notice of changes to the disclosed
pay-period and payday information before the changes take effect.

Statutes and sources

• Minn. Stat. § 181.101. Ordinary wage and commission intervals, advance
  payday designation, agricultural-worker coverage, special responder rule,
  demand, and daily penalties. Official text
  and 2026 amendment
  (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Minn. Stat. § 181.10. Fifteen-day interval for transitory projects that
  require a change of abode. Official text
  (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Minn. Stat. § 181.032(d)(6), (f). Hire-time schedule disclosure and
  advance written change notice. Official text
  (accessed July 12, 2026).
• Minn. Stat. § 181.171, subds. 1, 3-4. Private action, remedies, fees, and
  employer definition. Official text
  (accessed July 12, 2026).