Owner: Chief Operating Officer
Author: Director of Human Resources
Contact information: Terri Van Reese
Effective Date: January 1, 2024
Next Review Date: January 1, 2025
Applicable Laws, regulations, compliance: MN Earned Safe and Sick Time Statute
Effective January 1, 2024
I. Purpose
In accordance with the Minnesota Earned Sick and Safe Time (“ESST”) statute, effective January 1, 2024, the College will provide ESST to eligible employees. ESST is paid leave that can be used for certain reasons, including but not limited to, when an employee is sick, to care for a family member who is sick, or to seek assistance if an employee or their family member has experienced domestic abuse.
II. Definitions
III. Policy
EARNING ESST
For many employees of the College, their current sick leave benefit meets or exceeds the requirements set forth in the ESST statute. Such employees can use their sick leave for ESST as summarized below, starting on January 1, 2024.
For employees of the College whose current sick leave benefit does not meet the requirements set forth in the ESST statute, such employees will be provided ESST on an accrual basis. For those employees, ESST will begin to accrue on January 1, 2024 or their date of hire, whichever is later. An employee will accrue one hour of ESST for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 48 hours in a calendar year. An employee may carry over accrued but unused ESST into the following year. Any accrued but unused ESST will not be cashed out. The total amount of accrued but unused ESST must not exceed 80 hours at any time.
For employees of the College who are not eligible for a per hour sick leave accrual (seasonal employees, adjunct faculty members, and student employees paid a stipend only), such employees will be provided ESST on a front loaded basis. For those employees, 80 hours of ESST will be immediately available on January 1, 2024 or their date of hire, whichever is later. An employee may use up to 80 hours of ESST in the calendar year. At the end of the calendar year, any unused ESST will not be carried over or cashed out. Instead, a new balance of 80 hours of ESST will become available at the beginning of the next year.
For all employees, if an employee holds different positions or works different shifts with different rates of pay, ESST will be paid based upon the rate that the employee would have been paid for the shift or hours that were missed.
USE OF ESST
Employees can use ESST for the following reasons:
- The employee’s mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; need for diagnosis, care, or treatment; or need for preventative care;
- A family member’s mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; need for diagnosis, care, or treatment; or need for preventative care;
- Absence due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking of the employee or a family member;
- Closure of the employee’s workplace due to weather or public emergency or an employee’s need to care for a family member due to closure of the family member’s school or place of care due to weather or public emergency;
- The employee’s inability to work or telework because the employee is:
- Prohibited from working by the employer due to health concerns related to the potential transmission of a communicable illness related to a public emergency; or
- Seeking or awaiting the results of a diagnostic test for, or a medical diagnosis of, a communicable disease related to a public emergency and such employee has been exposed to a communicable disease or the employee’s employer has requested a test or diagnosis; and
- When determined by a health authority or healthcare professional that the employee or family member is at risk of infecting others with a communicable disease.
For purposes of ESST, an employee’s “family member” includes:
- Child, foster child, adult child, legal ward, child for whom the employee is legal guardian, or child to whom the employee stands or stood in loco parentis;
- Spouse or registered domestic partner;
- Sibling, stepsibling, or foster sibling;
- Biological, adoptive, or foster parent, stepparent, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child;
- Grandchild, foster grandchild, or step grandchild;
- Grandparent or step grandparent;
- A child of a sibling of the employee;
- A sibling of the parents of the employee; or
- A child-in-law or sibling-in-law;
- Any of the family members listed above of a spouse or registered domestic partner;
- Any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship; and
- Up to one individual annually designated by the employee.
An employee may use ESST in increments of 15 minutes.
NOTICE
If the need for use of ESST is foreseeable (for example, for a scheduled medical appointment), employees must provide seven days’ notice, in writing, to their immediate supervisor. If the need for use of ESST is not foreseeable, the employee must provide notice as soon as practicable prior to their scheduled start time by contacting their immediate supervisor.
DOCUMENTATION
If an employee uses ESST for more than three consecutive days, the College may require the employee to provide reasonable documentation demonstrating the use is covered by one of the qualifying reasons, such as a signed statement by a health care professional, a court record, a signed document from a victim services organization, or a written statement from the employee indicating the employee is using or used ESST for a qualifying reason. The College will not require an employee to disclose details related to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking or the details of the employee’s or the employee’s family member’s medical condition.
CASH OUT
Upon voluntary or involuntary termination of employment for any reason, an employee’s unused ESST will be forfeited, and not cashed out. There is no cash out of ESST that is either accrued or front loaded. Cash out of sick leave will be governed by the College’s sick leave policies.
REHIRES
If an employee is rehired within 180 days of voluntary or involuntary termination of employment, any previously accrued unused ESST will be reinstated. Such an employee may use accrued ESST and accrue additional ESST at the commencement of reemployment.
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS AND REMEDIES
The College will not discharge, discipline, penalize, interfere with, threaten, restrain, coerce, or otherwise retaliate or discriminate against a person because the person has exercised or attempted to exercise rights protected under the ESST statute, including but not limited to because the person requested ESST, used ESST, requested a statement of accrued ESST, informed any person of their potential rights under the ESST statute, made a complaint or filed an action to enforce a right to ESST, or is or was participating in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing related to ESST.
Employees have the right to file a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry or bring a civil action if the College has denied ESST or if they have been retaliated against for requesting or using ESST. Some employees may also have the right to file a complaint with the Minneapolis Labor Standards Enforcement Division. It is unlawful for an employer’s absence control policy or attendance point system to count ESST as an absence that may lead to or result in retaliation or any other adverse action, such as discipline.
It is unlawful for an employer or any other person to report or threaten to report the actual or suspected citizenship or immigration status of a person or their family member to a federal, state, or local agency for exercising or attempting to exercise any right protected under the ESST statute.
IV. Individuals and entities affected by this policy
Any person who is employed by an employer in Minnesota and who performs work for at least 80 hours in a year for that employer. Full-time, part-time, casual, temporary, and seasonal employees, adjunct faculty members, and student employees are eligible for ESST. Independent contractors are not eligible.
V. Related documents, forms, and procedures
https://dli.mn.gov/sick-leave?gclid=Cj0KCQiA4Y-sBhC6ARIsAGXF1g5UwZ_xnD1RPhJ7-CkmNT3YkPznerXb_usXrLyIO80hbZYA1ieLU_EaAiLREALw_wcB
VI. History and updates
The College reserves the right to modify policies at any time, ensuring the involvement
of relevant committees and constituents in the decision-making process (e.g., policy
committee, faculty assembly, staff council, student government association, etc.)