Minimum wage has increased to $14.50 for small businesses in Minneapolis

On July 1, 2023, the small business minimum wage in Minneapolis increased to $14.50. The minimum wage for large businesses already increased in January and is currently $15.19. Beginning July 2024, the minimum wage for small businesses will match the rate for large businesses and continue increasing slightly every Jan. 1. The Minneapolis minimum wage ordinance defines small businesses as 100 or fewer employees and large businesses as more than 100 employees. Tips and gratuities do not count toward payment of a minimum wage. The City’s Department of Civil Rights oversees enforcement of the municipal minimum wage and wage theft prevention ordinances, and workers are encouraged to report violations online Increases in Minneapolis’ minimum wage directly benefit tens of thousands of families and the economy. The ordinance supports the City’s goals of promoting economic inclusion and reducing economic and racial disparities.

As scheduled, minimum wage increases for large, small, and micro businesses are also now in effect in St. Paul. The minimum wage increase to $15.19 went into effect for macro businesses on January 1, 2023.

July 1, St. Paul’s minimum wage hourly rate is:

 $15.00 for large businesses (101-10,000 employees)

 $13.00 for small businesses (6-100 employees)

 $11.50 for micro businesses (5 employees or less)

All employers must count all employees, whether employed full-time, parttime, jointly with another employer, or on a temporary basis, including employees not located in Saint Paul.

On November 14, 2018, Mayor Melvin Carter signed into law a citywide Minimum Wage Ordinance, raising the minimum wage for business beginning in 2020. The minimum wage rates increase annually, depending on business size. The Saint Paul Department of Human Rights & Equal Economic Opportunity (HREEO) is responsible for education and enforcement of the Minimum Wage Ordinance.

CNBC study ranks Minnesota fifth state for business based on 86 indicators

Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan last week announced that Minnesota is a top-five state for businesses, according to a recent CNBC study. Minnesota’s ranking is based on 86 key indicators in 10 categories of competitiveness, including workforce, infrastructure, economy, health, and business

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From 3 the FTC, which announced five new cases against companies and individuals responsible for distributing or assisting in the distribution of billions of illegal telemarketing calls to consumers nationwide.

Other contributing law enforcers include the U.S. Department of Justice, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Federal Communications Commission.

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From 3 for lost revenue, these issuers may reduce or eliminate rewards programs, which would directly affect cardholders who rely on these benefits to make the most of their purchasing power. This would disproportionately affect minority communities, which often have fewer financial resources and rely

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“Businesses are at the heart of our communities, our workforce, and our state’s economy. They drive our economic growth, culture, and innovation,” said Governor Walz. “From investing in broadband and our highway system to child care and job training, we will continue

Federal resources to help consumers block unwanted calls

In addition to the law enforcement actions announced today, the FTC has a variety of materials aimed at helping consumers block unwanted telemarketing calls. This includes advice related to robocalls and other unwanted calls and information on how to spot and avoid phone scams at ftc.gov/calls, which is also available in Spanish at ftc.gov/ llamadas. The FTC also has a new educational webpage at ftc.gov/RobocallScams that includes examples of real illegal robocalls and steps people can take to avoid robocall scams.

on rewards programs to help cover expenses. Eliminating rewards programs would limit consumer purchasing power and exacerbate economic inequality, favoring larger and wealthier segments of the population.

Furthermore, while it is intended to address certain issues in the credit card industry, this legislation could ironically end up boosting profits for large retailers at the expense of consumers, particularly those in minority communities. By imposing limits on credit card fees, the bill may reduce and their impact disappear.

In her dissent in the UNC case, Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson details the reality: “With let-them-eat- working hard to make Minnesota the best state to own a business.”

“Nearly half of Minnesota’s workforce is employed by a small business, and this ranking speaks to our strong support of workers and business owners,” said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan.

“Minnesotans work best when we work together to provide

The scourge of robocalls and tips for avoiding them

According to the National Consumer Law Center and Electronic Privacy Information Center, over 33 million scam robocalls are made to Americans every day. These scam calls include Social Security Administration fraud against seniors, Amazon scams against consumers, and many other scams targeting all consumers, including those who are most vulnerable. Scammers stole an estimated $29.8 billion dollars through scam calls in 2021 alone. Most of this scam robocall traffic originates overseas. The Task Force is revenues for credit card issuers, forcing them to rethink their business strategies. This could result in issuers cutting credit limits, raising fees on other financial products, or even withdrawing from certain markets altogether. With their abundant resources and bargaining power, large retailers could take advantage of this situation by negotiating lower transaction fees and encouraging customers to use their storebranded credit cards. This shift would allow them to avoid the higher costs associated with cake obliviousness, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces ‘colorblindness for all’ by legal fiat. But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life. And having so detached itself from this country’s actual past and present experiences, the solutions and support for entrepreneurs and workers alike. Just as small business owners and employees work hard every day to better our state, we will continue to make Minnesota work better for them.” This ranking comes as the Governor and Lieutenant Governor recently announced state and federal investments focused on shutting down the providers that profit from this illegal scam traffic and refuse to take steps to otherwise mitigate these scam calls. Ellison offers the following tips to avoid scams and unwanted calls: traditional credit cards, leading to increased corporate profits.

 If you suspect fraudulent activity, immediately hang up and do not provide any personal information.

 Be wary of callers who specifically ask you to pay by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency. For example, the Internal Revenue Service does not accept payment in iTunes gift cards.  Look out for prerecorded calls from imposters posing as government agencies.

Unfortunately, consumers, particularly those in minority communities, may be left with limited credit options and fewer financial benefits as a result. The Credit Card Competition Act could make protecting people’s private financial information harder.

Even though the act aims to increase competition between credit card companies, it could force companies to use less secure systems for processing transactions. This could put

Court has now been lured into interfering with the crucial work that UNC and other institutions of higher learning are doing to solve America’s real-world problems.”

The court’s opposition grew

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Distribution/Facilities to expand broadband access and as Governor Walz recently signed the state’s largest-ever infrastructure bill, which will create good-paying jobs, invest in infrastructure, and bring longterm benefits to communities across the state. Last week, Governor Walz visited a microchip manufacturing company in Bloomington

Typically, the Social Security Administration does not make phone calls to individuals.

Ellison encourages Minnesotans who have received scam robocalls or been victimized by them to contact or file a complaint with his office at (651) 296-3353 (Metro area), (800) 657-3787 (Greater Minnesota) or online.

“I encourage anyone who receives a scam robocall to make a note of the number and report it to my office, because it will help us trace those numbers back and hold accountable those responsible for enabling scammers,” he said. “And if you’ve been scammed, don’t be ashamed, because these scammers are professionals who people at higher risk of identity theft and fraud. By limiting the ability of credit card companies to use advanced anti-fraud technologies and systems, the act could make it easier for cybercriminals to steal people’s sensitive information.

As currently proposed, the Credit Card Competition Act could harm minority communities and provide advantages to big retailers. This could result in reduced credit card availability, fewer rewards programs, and increased corporate profits, all of which slowly

In their lawsuits against North Carolina and Harvard, the anti-affirmative action organization Students for Fair Admissions argued that the schools’ raceconscious admissions process was unconstitutional and discriminated against highachieving Asian American students in favor of traditionally underrepresented Blacks and Hispanics who may not have earned the same grades or standardized test scores as other applicants.

The primary Supreme Court-level battle over affirmative action started during the 1970s when a legal challenge reached the Supreme Court in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke.

In that 1978 case, Allan Bakke, a white man, had been denied admission to University of California at Davis’ medical school. Though ruling that a separate admissions process for minority medical students was unconstitutional, Associate Justice Lewis Powell wrote that race can still be one of several factors in the admissions process.

Since then, the Supreme Court has issued different rulings on whether race could be used in college admissions.

In the 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger case, O’Connor wrote the majority opinion that endorsed the University of Michigan’s “highly individualized, holistic review” that included race as a factor and had been legally challenged.

Most recently, in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin in 2016, the court reaffirmed its belief in schools that “train students to appreciate diverse viewpoints, to see one another as more than mere stereotypes, and to develop the capacity to live and work to highlight investments Minnesota made in Minnesota’s high-tech manufacturing industry, including a $250 million investment in expanding Minnesota’s microchip industry that took effect July 1. are very good at what they do.

And don’t stay silent — that’s what scammers want you to do. Instead, report it to my office: we may be able to help you, and by reporting it, you will help us get to the root of the problem and stop it.”

“Don’t hang on — hang up” could disadvantage minority individuals and communities. As we work towards a fair and inclusive society, it is important for policymakers to recognize the possible unintended consequences of this legislation and explore alternative approaches that prioritize consumer protection, promote economic opportunity, and empower all Americans, regardless of their background or socioeconomic status. together as equal members of a common community.”

“Above all, don’t hang on — hang up. We Minnesotans are polite folks who don’t like hanging up on others, even when they’re being rude or we suspect they’re trying to scam us. But scammers don’t deserve our politeness or respect, so protect yourself and your family and hang up immediately,” Ellison said.

A colorblind society?

The ruling is not a complete loss for supporters of diversity efforts. Roberts wrote that prospective students should be evaluated “as an individual — not on the basis of race,” although universities can still consider “an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.” Applicants then are still able to explain their background in their essays submitted for college admissions. But even that is fraught with problems.

As novelist James Baldwin once asked: How does one articulate the constant presence of race to someone who is not experiencing it? For governmental entities, like public schools or those receiving substantial state funding, the ruling forces them to detail not only how using race will further compel government interests but also whether such a program is necessary to achieve that interest.

As Jackson explains in her dissent:

“The only way out of this morass – for all of us – is to stare at racial disparity unblinkingly, and then do what evidence and experts tell us is required to level the playing field. It is no small irony that the judgment the majority hands down today will forestall the end of racebased disparities in this country, making the colorblind world the majority wistfully touts much more difficult to accomplish.”

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.