MNOSHA Compliance: Warehouse workers

This statute applies to employers that directly or indirectly employ or have control over the wages, hours or working conditions of either 250 or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center or 1,000 or more employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the state of Minnesota. This allows Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA) Compliance additional enforcement authority to protect workers in warehousing and storage, merchant wholesaler, electronic shopping and mail-order houses, and couriers and express delivery service industries.

"Warehouse distribution center" is defined as one of the following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes:

• 493110 for General Warehousing and Storage;

• 423 for Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods;

• 424 for Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods;

• 454110 for Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses; or 

• 492110 for Couriers and Express Delivery Services.

The law requires warehouse distribution centers to disclose quotas and work-speed data to certain current and former employees to inform them about their job performance and rights in the workplace. The law also protects workers from retaliation. This provision does not require employers to use quotas or monitor work-speed data and only applies to employers that choose to do so.

• See Minnesota Statutes section 182.6526, Warehouse distribution worker safety

Safety committees

The employer must hold its safety committee meetings monthly as provided under Minn. Stat. section 182.676 until, for two consecutive years, the worksite or the employer does not have an employee incidence rate 30% higher than the average yearly incidence rate for the relevant NAICS code, in accordance with the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) data that is available. If the employer in the individual NAICS code listed below is in the 30%-over category, it must hold monthly safety committee meetings in accordance with Minn. Stat. 182.676 until its rate is below the 30% threshold for two consecutive years. Below is the most current data available (calendar-year 2021). See bls.gov/web/osh/table-1-industry-rates-national.htm.

This table was updated Sept. 26, 2024; the list will be updated annually.

Frequently asked questions

• See the FAQs for warehouse workers (Minn. Stat. 182.6526) for more information.