Effective July 1, 2023, all employers will need to provide earned sick and safe leave (ESSL) to ALL employees (including temporary and part-time) who work 80+ hours in Bloomington (no matter where the employer HQ is) pursuant to the new Bloomington City Ordinance. ESSL may generally be used for health needs, school and
Employers with employees working 80 hours a year within Minneapolis should remember that the Minneapolis Wage Theft Prevention Ordinance goes into effect JANUARY 1, 2020. If you want more details about the ordinance and how it is different than the Minnesota Wage Theft Prevention Act, you can read my previous blog here. In
On September 12, 2019, three City of Minneapolis Council members shared a draft ordinance, the Minneapolis Freelance Worker Protections Ordinance. As it is just in the draft stages, I won’t go into great detail here, but to point it out. For those Minnesota employers who rely on independent contractors – the development of this
Effective July 3, 2019, the City of Minneapolis’ revised rules implementing the Sick & Safe Time Ordinance Rules go into effect. Notably, non-resident employers (employers located outside of Minneapolis but who have employees performing work in Minneapolis) are now subject to enforcement. If non-resident employers provided employees with a paid time off program or paid
On May 29, 2019, the City of Minneapolis issued a notice stating that it will be enforcing its Sick & Safe Leave Ordinance against non-resident employers (employers located outside of the City, but with employees who perform work in the City), for all hours worked in the City since July 1, 2017. In a
As expected, several bills have been introduced in the Minnesota House this session related to wage and hour issues. However, given we are the only state in the nation to currently have a split state legislature (Democrats control the House, while the Republicans control the Senate), it’s doubtful that any of these will actually get
As 2018 comes to a close, it is a great time for employers to address lingering issues that have been on the back burner and start “fresh” in the new year. A new year is a great time to roll out changes for both administration purposes and for employees; new year, new policies. Here are
We are less than a month away from the 1-year anniversary of when the Minneapolis and Saint Paul sick and safe time ordinances went into effect. Both cities have recently released a tracking spreadsheet available to employers to compute and track accrual and use of sick and safe time hours. Minneapolis employers can use this
As expected, on May 29, 2018, the Duluth City Council voted to pass the Earned Sick and Safe Time Ordinance (“Ordinance”). The Ordinance currently mandates that employers (wherever located), with 5 or more employees, provide paid sick and safe leave to employees starting January 1, 2020. That being said, given the recent ruling on the Minneapolis Ordinance, I would not be surprised if Duluth’s Ordinance is challenged as well, and eventually limited to employers with a business in Duluth.
What Does the Duluth Earned Sick and Safe Time Ordinance Require?
Effective January 1, 2020 employers are required to provide employees with 1 hour of earned sick and safe time for every 50 hours worked, up to 64 hours per year. However, the Ordinance only allows employees to use up to 40 hours of accrued but unused sick and safe time each year. Alternatively, employers can comply with the Ordinance by front-loading at least 40 hours of earned sick and safe time following the initial 90 days of employment each year and again at the beginning of each subsequent year.
Accrual begins at the commencement of employment, or for current employees, January 1, 2020. If an employee has unused accrued sick and safe time at the end of the year, the employee may carry over 40 hours of accrued but unused sick and safe time into the next year. Employers are not required to payout the accrued but unused sick and safe time hours upon termination or other separation from employment (make sure your handbook is clear especially if you have different types of time off such as vacation, sick, etc.).
Employers must compensate employees at their standard hourly rate, or an equivalent rate for salaried employees. The Ordinance does not require compensation for lost tips or commissions.
Who Is An “Employer” and “Employee” Under the Ordinance?
All individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations, nonprofit organizations with 5 or more Employees (as defined below), are considered an “employer” under the Ordinance. The number of employees is calculated based on the average number of employees per week in the previous year. Temporary employees from a staffing agency are considered an employee of the staffing agency under the Ordinance. Notably, in an attempt to avoid challenges to the Ordinance similar to the ones that arose surrounding the Minneapolis Sick and Safe Time Ordinance, the Duluth Ordinance defines an “employee” as:
The Ordinance does not cover independent contractors, student interns, or seasonal employees.
Construction Company Opt-Out
Similar to the Minneapolis Ordinance, construction companies may opt to satisfy the requirements of the Ordinance by paying at least the prevailing wage rate (Minn. Stat. 177.42), or the rates set for in a registered apprenticeship agreement.
What If An Employer Already Offers Paid Time Off?
On Wednesday, May 9, 2018, the Minnesota District Court (Hennepin County) upheld the status quo (remember the temporary injunction I wrote about earlier), finally determining that state law does not preempt the Minneapolis Sick & Safe Leave Ordinance, but the Ordinance cannot be enforced by Minneapolis outside the geographic boundaries of the City of Minneapolis.