The Minnesota Attorney General reached a civil settlement with MN Fundraising Initiative (MNFI), a sham charity that misclassified hundreds of concession stand workers as 'volunteers' while paying them 'grants' in exchange for their labor. The scheme violated Minnesota nonprofit corporation laws, the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act, and misclassification statutes. Under the settlement, MNFI must dissolve and file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
MNFI must wind up remaining affairs and dissolve, provide regular updates to the AGO, and has voted to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements with staffing agencies and nonprofits to ensure proper worker classification. Key clauses to examine include those defining employee vs. independent contractor vs. volunteer status, compliance with wage and hour laws, indemnification for misclassification claims, and any provisions that exchange labor for donations or grants. Additionally, contracts with for-profit concession operators should be audited to ensure they are not indirectly benefiting from misclassification through 'donations' tied to labor provided.
Entity
MN Fundraising Initiative
Industry
Other"MN Fundraising Initiative (“MNFI”)"
"systematic and unlawful misclassification of its workers as “volunteers,” rather than employees"
"Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act"
"Minn. Stat. § 177.23"
"Minn. R. 5200.0230"
"MNFI must wind up any remaining affairs and dissolve"
The Minnesota Attorney General issued an alert urging Medicare beneficiaries to review coverage options after insurers reduced or discontinued Medicare Advantage plans in Minnesota. The release describes no privacy enforcement action, monetary penalty, or remedy.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined a coalition of 17 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief supporting New York’s authority to pursue a civil fraud case against Donald Trump and his business associates. The brief was filed in an appeal; the press release does not report a ruling, penalty, or remedy, and does not describe a privacy enforcement action.
$7.1M
A bipartisan coalition of 36 attorneys general settled allegations that General Motors collected and sold drivers’ driving-behavior and location data to data brokers, whose customers included insurance companies. GM will pay $220 million nationally, with Minnesota receiving $7,095,664, and must obtain affirmative express consent before collecting or disclosing driving and location data.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined a multistate coalition suing to block a FinCEN rule that exempted nearly all businesses from Corporate Transparency Act reporting and announced that it would delete existing ownership information. The coalition alleges violations of federal law and asks the court to invalidate the rule and require FinCEN to continue collecting and maintaining the database; no penalty or court order is reported.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison led a coalition of 17 attorneys general in an amicus brief supporting a lawsuit challenging the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Somali nationals. The coalition asked the appeals court to reverse a lower court decision and block the revocation; this press release describes no privacy-related allegation, penalty, or remedy imposed.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a consumer-protection lawsuit alleging that L’Oréal and its subsidiaries marketed chemical hair relaxers as safe while concealing cancer risks, particularly from Black women and girls. The state seeks civil penalties, consumer restitution, and an injunction requiring adequate health-risk warnings; these are requested remedies, not an outcome reported in the release.