Can you be fired in Minnesota for what you do off the clock? Minn. Stat. 181.938 explained

Minnesota has a rule on what workers consume in their own time. It is section 181.938 of the Minnesota Statutes, headed "Nonwork activities; prohibited employer conduct" (Minn. Stat. 181.938). Like the Illinois rule, it covers products, not lawful activity in general, so it is narrower than the laws in Colorado and North Dakota. This page explains what the text says, based on the 2026 Minnesota Statutes published by the Office of the Revisor of Statutes.

The short answer: a Minnesota employer may not refuse to hire an applicant, or discipline or discharge an employee, because they use or enjoy lawful consumable products off the employer's premises during nonworking hours (181.938, subd. 2(a)). The list includes food, drinks with or without alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis and hemp products. The section does not cover other off-duty activity, such as what a worker says or posts online. Our reading, not a court ruling: a social media post is not a consumable product, so this section does not protect it.

What the section protects

• Lawful consumable products: products whose use or enjoyment is lawful and which are consumed during use or enjoyment. The text names food, alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages, tobacco, cannabis flower, cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles and hemp-derived consumer products (subd. 2(a)).
• Cannabis under state law: the cannabis and hemp products listed count as lawful consumable products for Minnesota law, whether or not federal or other state law treats them as unlawful (subd. 2(b)).
• Off the premises, outside working hours: both conditions are in the text (subd. 2(a)).
• Which decisions: refusing to hire, discipline and discharge. That is wider than Colorado's section, which speaks only of firing.

Who is covered

"Employer" has the meaning given in section 179.01, subdivision 3 (subd. 1). That definition includes all persons employing others, but does not include the state or its political or governmental subdivisions, or any person subject to the federal Railway Labor Act (Minn. Stat. 179.01, subd. 3). Our reading, not a court ruling: public employers and employers under the Railway Labor Act fall outside this section's definition, though other rules may apply to them.

The exceptions

• Job-related restrictions: an employer may restrict off-duty use where the restriction relates to a bona fide occupational requirement and is reasonably related to the activities or responsibilities of a particular employee or group of employees, or is needed to avoid a conflict of interest or its appearance (subd. 3(a)).
• Treatment programs: an employer may refuse to hire, discipline or discharge someone who refuses or fails to meet the conditions of a substance use disorder treatment or aftercare program (subd. 3(b)).
• Insurance: a health or life insurance plan may treat employees differently by their use of lawful consumable products, as long as different premium rates reflect the employer's actual cost difference (subd. 3(c)).
• Job performance: an employer may act on an applicant's or employee's past or present job performance (subd. 3(d)).
• Cannabis at work: the section does not limit discipline or discharge for cannabis or hemp product use, possession, impairment, sale or transfer during working hours, on work premises or while operating the employer's vehicle, machinery or equipment. Nor does it where not acting would break federal or state law or cost the employer a monetary or licensing benefit under federal law (subd. 2(b)).

What a worker can do

The sole remedy is a civil action for damages, and damages are limited to the wages and benefits the person lost because of the violation. The court must award the prevailing party, whether plaintiff or defendant, court costs and a reasonable attorney fee (subd. 4). Our reading, not a court ruling: because the fee rule runs both ways, a worker who sues and loses may have to pay the employer's fees, which is worth weighing before going to court.

The section dates from 1992 and was amended in 2022 and 2023 (181.938, history).

What this means in practice

• Workers: in Minnesota, lawful drinking, smoking or cannabis use off site and outside working hours is protected from hiring, discipline and firing decisions, unless an exception applies. Impairment or use at work is not protected. The section does not protect what you post online.
• Employers: do not base hiring, discipline or firing on lawful product use off site and off the clock unless an exception applies. A restriction tied to a specific role or a real conflict of interest fits the text better than a rule for all staff, and work-time and on-premises rules on cannabis remain open to you.

Compare the other states we have read: Illinois and Nevada also protect lawful products only, while Colorado and North Dakota protect lawful activity in general. All of them side by side: off-duty conduct laws in the US.

This page covers Minnesota only and is general information based on the 2026 Minnesota Statutes as published by the Office of the Revisor of Statutes when checked on 4 November 2026, not legal advice. Check for later amendments before relying on it.