Compliance Stuff

On April 27, 2026, Bloomington, Minnesota repealed its Earned Sick and Safe Time Ordinance. As explained in the corresponding meeting agenda packet , “ the primary purpose of Bloomington’s ESST ordinance, to guarantee paid sick and safe time, has been fulfilled by the statewide law.”  Bloomington is the second Minnesota city to repeal its paid sick and safe leave ordinance due to the application of statewide standards . Rather than continuing to maintain a parallel framework, Duluth repealed its ordinance effective January 18, 2024, shortly after the state law took effect. As Bloomington’s meeting packet noted, “[s]tate law periodically changes.” Since Bloomington last amended its ordinance to align with state law, the state statute has been amended twice, and forthcoming state rules could further affect how the state law is interpreted. Accordingly, Bloomington’s ordinance did not fully align with state law and the city acknowledged that “significant staff time is needed to trac...

The New York City Council just passed legislation to further expand the city’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Act. The amendments, approved on September 25, will soon broaden the reasons employees can use sick leave, introduce a new 32-hour bank of unpaid leave, and eliminate obligations under the Temporary Schedule Change Act in light of the expanded sick leave requirements . Below, we summarize the current requirements, highlight the key changes, and outline steps employers should take to prepare. What’s the Current Law? Under the New York City Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA), employers with 99 or fewer employees must provide employees with up to 40 hours of safe/sick leave per year, while larger employers with 100 or more employees must provide up to 56 hours. Leave accrues at a minimum rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. Except for employers with four of fewer employees and a net income under $1 million in the previous year, safe/sick leave must be paid. Employees may use ...

Takeaways: Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time law (ESST) saw a few significant amendments during the special legislative session. The main changes impact when employers can require documentation and notice for unforeseeable absences taken for a covered ESST reason. The amendments also clarify that employees may voluntarily trade shifts to cover ESST absences and that employers may advance ESST hours to employees. On June 14 th , Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed into law, S.F. No. 17, which once again included amendments to Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) law that went into effect in January 2024. Requesting Documentation for Employee ESST Absences Under the new amendments, when an employee uses ESST for an absence of  2 or more consecutive scheduled work days , an employer may require reasonable documentation that the absence was taken for a covered reason. Previously, an employer could require reasonable documentation only for an absence of  3 or more consec...

Over a year after Minnesota’s  Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) law  went into effect in January 2024, Minnesota’s Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) recently published  proposed permanent rules  (the Proposed Rules) that, if adopted, will regulate the ESST law. Although the rules are not yet final, they offer insights for employers on DLI’s interpretation of the ESST law. Certain Employees Accrue ESST When Working Outside of Minnesota A s a reminder, under the Minnesota ESST law, employees accrue one hour of ESST for every 30 hours worked, up to 48 hours annually . The Proposed Rules explain that an employee’s hours worked  outside  of Minnesota count towards accrual as long as the employer anticipates the employee will work more than 50% of their hours for the employer  inside  of Minnesota per accrual year. If the employer anticipates that the employee will work 50% or less of their hours in Minnesota during the accrual year, then only the...

  Jackson Lewis reported that Minnesota's statewide paid sick and safe leave mandate, the ESST law, went into effect January 1, 2024.   The  FAQ  provides more information and scenarios related to the law.   The law defines an employee as an individual who works at least 80 years per year in Minnesota, regardless of the employer's physical location or the location of an employee's residence.     Source:  Jackson Lewis  reported on January 9, 2024.  Compliance Calendar has been updated with this information.