For the purposes of this section the word "employer" includes every person, firm, partnership, corporation, the state of Minnesota, all political subdivisions, and all municipal corporations.
If, at the time of the death of any person, an employer is indebted to the person for work, labor, or services performed, and no personal representative of the person's estate has been appointed, such employer shall, upon the request of the surviving spouse, forthwith pay this indebtedness, in such an amount as may be due, not exceeding the sum of $10,000, to the surviving spouse. The employer may in the same manner provide for payment to the surviving spouse of accumulated credits under the vacation or overtime plan or system maintained by the employer. The employer shall require proof of claimant's relationship to decedent by affidavit, and require claimant to acknowledge receipt of such payment in writing. Any payments made by the employer pursuant to the provisions of this section shall operate as a full and complete discharge of the employer's indebtedness to the extent of the payment, and no employer shall thereafter be liable therefor to the decedent's estate or the decedent's personal representative thereafter appointed. Any amounts so received by a spouse shall be considered in diminution of the allowance to the spouse under section 524.2-403 .