Organizations Mentioned:Builders Association of Minnesota | J & M Consulting, LLC | Minnesota Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.
By Ronald Miller, J.D.
“When a plaintiff seeks an injunction against the enforcement of a state statute, the plaintiff’s failure to carry his burden on the likelihood-of-success factor is fatal to his case.”
A federal district court did not abuse its discretion by ruling that Minnesota contractors were not likely to succeed on the merits of their pre-enforcement vagueness and excessive fines claims regarding the constitutionally of a statute that governs whether construction workers can be classified as independent contractors, the Eighth Circuit ruled. The appeals court first found that the contractors had standing to challenge the Act because they alleged specific conduct that the Act targets and because state officials have not disavowed enforcing it. However, it determined that people of ordinary intelligence have a reasonable opportunity to understand the meaning of words and phrases added to the statute, so it was not vague. Further, the contractors did not carry their heavy burden to show that the Act encourages arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement (Minnesota Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. v. Blissenbach, No. 25-1480 (8th Cir. Oct. 24, 2025)).
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