Starting as a pilot program, 2014 legislation has made the Construction Contractor Registration Program permanent. As a result, the 14,000 current registrations that were set to expire on June 30, 2014, have been extended through June 30, 2015.

 

The purpose of the registration program is to identify all building construction providers in the state and to help ensure that workers are being appropriately classified. The goal of the program, which received broad support from industry groups, is to ensure that all contractors are in compliance with Minnesota laws. All commercial and residential building construction or improvement contractors who are not already licensed or registered with DLI are required to sign-up through the Contractor Registration Program. View more information and register for free. 

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry maintains a Web page with links to flood-recovery information from its Construction Codes and Licensing Division and its Minnesota OSHA unit, as well as other helpful outside sources, including:

Workplace safety and health representatives from the Department of Labor and Industry recognized Ryan Companies as a Minnesota Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (MNSHARP) Construction worksite at the Target North Campus in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

MNSHARP Construction is a Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA) program that recognizes major-construction projects where managers and employees work together to develop safety and health programs that result in immediate and long-term prevention of job-related injuries and illnesses. Only construction projects at least 18 months in duration are eligible for participation in MNSHARP Construction.

"Though each workplace accident is one too many, the report underscores that Minnesota's workplaces have become much safer for employees and comparatively less costly for employers since 1997," said Ken Peterson, DLI commissioner. "As has been the case for the past few years, medical treatment for injuries was the chief cost driver for the system, increasing annually per claim by more than 5 percent above average wages since 1997." See the related DLI news release

DLI's Labor Standards investigators teamed up with the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division investigators to cross-train each other about a variety of wage and hour issues June 24 at DLI.

Topics ranged from new laws, such as minimum-wage updates and parental leave law changes, to prevailing wage practices and investigative techniques.

OSHA Workplace Safety Consultation staff members taught UnderConstruction interns -- ages 16 to 20 -- about construction worksite safety and health at DLI on June 20 and 27, 2014.

 

The interns have been learning about construction careers in the model of apprenticeship:  They are earning a paycheck while they learn skills.

 

 The group of 36 UnderConstruction interns are building garages and decks in Minneapolis and St. Paul during the summer. In addition to the build project and the classroom study at DLI, the interns will learn work-readiness skills and will investigate the tracks to various apprenticeship programs.

 

-- DLI Commissioner Ken Peterson

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