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Senate Passes Earned Sick and Safe Time Changes
A bipartisan vote advanced changes to the leave mandate at a key time in the legislative session.
Changes to Minnesota’s new earned sick and safe time (ESST) leave law have cleared their first major hurdle. SF 2300, sponsored by Sen. Judy Seeberger (DFL-Afton), passed off the Senate floor on May 6, with a bipartisan 38-29 vote. Sen. Seeberger was joined by five other Democrats and 32 Republicans to pass the bill and send it to the House of Representatives for consideration.
As amended, SF 2300 would make the following changes to the ESST law:
- Removes the “effect on more generous sick and safe time policies” section of statute and inserts new language that would cap ESST protections at 160 total hours of sick leave. The current law applies ESST protections to all sick leave provided by an employer beyond the required 80 hours.
- Exempts “micro-employers,” which are defined as employers with three or fewer total employees.
- Allows employers to require employees provide advanced notice for using ESST, as “reasonably required by the employer.”
- Permits employers to require documentation if the employee uses ESST for two consecutive days. Current law allows documentation requirements only after three consecutive days.
- Allows employers to prorate front-loaded ESST hours based on an employee’s expected annual hours. Current law only allows an employer to frontload 80 ESST hours regardless of when an employee is hired.
What’s next?
The Senate bill now awaits action by the House of Representatives, where it was referred to the Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee. With the legislative session set to adjourn by midnight on Monday, May 19, it is unlikely the committee will hold a hearing. The bill’s progress is expected to depend on global budget negotiations between the House, Senate, and Gov. Tim Walz.
Any changes to Minnesota’s two new leave laws — ESST and Minnesota Paid Leave — are expected to move forward only if included in a larger two-year state budget agreement.