Agenda - Council Work Session - 07/14/2026

Home

7.1A ORDINANCE Page 6 complaint with the appropriate authority; the right to cooperate with the City in its investigations; the right to testify in a proceeding under or related to a violation; the right to refuse to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of city, state, or federal law; and the right to oppose any policy, practice, or act that is prohibited under this chapter. (2) No employer or any other person shall communicate to a person exercising rights protected under this chapter, directly or indirectly, the willingness to inform a government employee that the person is not lawfully in the United States, or to report, or to make an implied or express assertion of a willingness to report, suspected citizenship or immigration status of an employee or a family member of the employee to a federal, state, or local agency because the employee has exercised a right under this chapter. (3) An employer shall not take any adverse employment action or in any other manner discriminate against an employee because the employee has exercised in good faith the rights protected under this section. (4) A person injured by a violation of this section may avail themselves of any civil remedies available to them under the laws of the United States and the State of Minnesota. (5) It shall be a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if an employer or any other person takes an adverse action against a person within ninety (90) days of the person's exercise of rights protected in this section. The employer may rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action was taken for a permissible purpose. (6) Standard of proof. Proof of retaliation shall be sufficient upon a showing that an employer or any other person has taken an adverse action against a person and the person's exercise of rights protected was a motivating factor in the adverse action, unless the employer can prove that the action would have been taken in the absence of such protected activity. (7) The protections afforded shall apply to any person who mistakenly but in good faith alleges violations. (8) A complaint or other communication by any person triggers the protections of this section regardless of whether the complaint or communication is in writing or makes explicit reference to this chapter. §43.08 EXCEPTIONS. (A) This Chapter does not apply to apprentices working on Projects pursuant to a bona fide registered Apprenticeship Program for work performed in their trade. A trainee and a helper are not exempt under this provision; the Covered Person must assign the trainee or helper a job classification that is the "same or most similar" to the work being performed and compensate the trainee or helper for the actual work performed regardless of the trainee's or helper's skill. (B) This Chapter does not apply to any Project that received final project approval from the City on or before May 31, 2024.