MGEC Officers and staff have met with the Minnesota Office of Management and Budget (MMB) to set up dates and protocols for the negotiation of the next labor agreement. We share the frustration of working under a contract that has expired while the next one is negotiated, although it is common in public sector negotiations. The MGEC Bargaining Committee has met several times over the last several months to identify bargaining priorities. Given that MMB reads our member communications such as this one, we prefer a strategy where they don’t know what our asks will be before we get to the ... Read More >>
Newsletters
FLSA Overtime Issue Update
As we covered in last month's newsletter, there is an ongoing issue for some of our “FLSA exempt” members who worked approved overtime that occurred in pay periods that also have a holiday. The same situation could also occur with other types of benefitted time like sick and vacation leaves, but we’re primarily focused on holidays because employees don’t have a choice whether they will take them or not. To recap, some employees are being asked to pay back “overpayments” to the state for the additional hours they worked even though they were hours where our members traded their time for ... Read More >>
FLSA Exempt: Overtime during pay periods with holiday reminder
Several MnDOT FLSA exempt employees have recently been asked to pay back hours they worked in pay periods that contained both holidays and approved overtime. While MGEC is trying to understand the employer’s basis for this (no one from MnDOT or MMB has advised us of what they are thinking or that they will be demanding payment), we advise people to respond to any request to refund “overpayments” with the following as written by our attorney: “I do not agree that I was overpaid, and I do not agree to any reduction in my paycheck. If you make an unauthorized reduction of my pay, you will be ... Read More >>
Deferred Compensation Management Change
If you are participating in the deferred compensation (MNDCP 457b) program, first off, congratulations on taking charge of your financial future! But you also need to be aware that the management of that benefit will be transitioning from the “employee self service” portal to the Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) website. The last day to access your salary deferral in self-service is June 16th, and the first day you can manage it in MSRS is July 1; there will be a blackout period. ... Read More >>
MnDOT Metro Survey:
MnDOT Metro District will be notifying employees in the near future of a new survey process that will assess the current state of the Metro District and inform decision-making as it moves forward. According to DeYoung, the consultant brought on to lead this task, the survey will employe a variety of assessment tools that will bring focus to evaluate Metro’s structure, help it to align to MnDOT’s strategic plan, enhance resource allocation, achieve change-management practices effectively, and increase the ability to be innovative and flexible. The survey tools will include interviews with ... Read More >>
FINAL REMINDER: Scholarship & Awards Application
This is your final reminder to submit your MGEC scholarship applications for the Family Member Scholarships and the Connie Minetor Memorial Scholarship. Applications must be received by MGEC no later than 5:00 pm on June 30, 2025. Winners will be decided by the MGEC Membership Committee in July with announcement in August. MGEC, at their discretion, may award up to $4,000 each calendar year for scholarships, distributed amongst any number of qualified applicants for the Family Member and Connie Minetor Memorial Scholarships. For the MGEC Family Member Scholarship, MGEC will now accept ... Read More >>