The Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC), on behalf of the Minnesota Private Business Council, today announced the filing of a lawsuit challenging key provisions of Minnesota’s 2024 Omnibus Bill as a violation of the Minnesota Constitution.
The lawsuit, filed in Ramsey County District Court, argues that the sweeping law violates the Constitution’s Single Subject Clause, which requires that legislation address only one subject. Instead, the 2024 Omnibus Bill spans more than 1,400 pages and combines a wide range of unrelated policy areas into a single piece of legislation passed in the final hours of the 2024 legislative session. Last August, the Ramsey County District Court held the 2024 Omnibus Bill unconstitutional in another lawsuit brought by UMLC and struck down a portion of it. But the court in that case warned that many more lawsuits would be needed to strike down other portions of the statute.
“This is exactly the kind of law the Constitution was designed to prevent,” said Nicholas Nelson, Senior Appellate Counsel at UMLC. “When lawmakers bundle unrelated policies into one massive bill, it deprives both legislators and the public of meaningful review. The Constitution requires transparency and accountability—and this process failed on both fronts.”
The lawsuit focuses on provisions that impose new mandates on Minnesota businesses, including requirements related to employee classification, earned sick and safe time, and paid leave. As stated in the complaint, these provisions not only place significant burdens on employers across the state but were enacted through a process that did not meet constitutional standards. As Nelson explained, “Minnesotans may disagree about whether each of the thousand rules in this unconstitutional bill is a good idea. But our Constitution requires the Legislature to give them up-or-down votes one subject at a time. That didn’t happen here.”
“Minnesota cannot continue down a path where major policy changes are bundled together and imposed on employers without clear accountability,” said Jim Schultz, President of the Minnesota Private Business Council. “Job creators deserve a fair process and policies that are considered on their merits. That is what this case seeks to restore.”
The complaint also highlights prior warnings from the Minnesota Supreme Court about the dangers of omnibus legislation and the risk that such laws could be struck down if they violate constitutional requirements.