1) What does the Minneapolis Earned Sick and Safe Time law do?
It gives workers paid sick time that can be used to:
- Recover from physical/mental illness or injury;
- Seek medical diagnosis, treatment, or preventative care;
- Care for a family member who is ill or needs medical diagnosis, treatment, or preventative care;
- For the closure of the employee’s place of business due to weather or other public emergency or an employee’s need to care for a family member whose school or place of care has been closed due to weather or other public emergency;
- if the worker or a family member is the victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking;
- To make arrangements for or to attend funeral services, or a memorial, or address financial or legal matters that arise after the death of a family member;
- For 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; or
- If it has been determined by the health authorities having jurisdiction or by a health care professional that the presence of the employee or family member of the employee in the community would jeopardize the health of others because of the exposure of the employee or family member of the employee to a communicable disease, whether or not the employee or family member has actually contracted the communicable disease.
Additionally, the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights released administrative guidance clarifying that sick time can also be used for certain COVID-19 related reasons, including:
- Coronavirus screening;
- Care or quarantine due to coronavirus symptoms or infection; or
- Testing or quarantine following close personal contact with a coronavirus infected or symptomatic person.
2) Am I covered?
If you work (or are expected to work) as an employee in Minneapolis for at least 80 hours in a year for an employer, you are probably covered, whether you are a full-time or part-time worker. However, the law does not cover federal employees, state employees, independent contractors, or a few other narrow groups.
3) How much sick time can I earn?
You earn 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Workers can earn up to 48 hours of paid sick time per year. You can carry forward unused paid sick time and continue to earn paid sick time up to a total of 80 hours at any time.
All covered employees are protected against being fired or punished for using their paid sick time (including threats, discipline, demotion, reduction in hours, termination, etc.).
4) What if my work or my child’s school or daycare is closed for a health emergency?
You can use your paid sick time if the closure of your place of business is due to weather or other public emergency or if you need to care for a family member whose school or place of care has been closed due to weather or other public emergency. However, certain workers may not be able to use their paid sick time for this reason if their preassigned or foreseeable work duties during the public emergency or weather event would require them to respond to the emergency or weather event, such as firefighters, licensed peace officers, 911 dispatchers, correctional facility guards, and public employees with commercial driver’s licenses.
5) Which of my family members are covered by the law?
Under the law you can take paid sick time to care for yourself or a child, child of a sibling (niece/nephew), child-in-law, spouse, sibling, parent, sibling of a parent (aunt/uncle), parent-in-law, grandchild, grandparent, guardian, ward, members of the employee’s household, or a registered domestic partner; 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 (1) individual annually designated by the employee.
6) What if I already have paid leave or paid time off?
If you already get any paid leave (vacation, paid time off, etc.) that you can use as paid sick time for the same purposes and under the same conditions of this law and it’s at least the same amount you would earn under this law, the law does not give you any additional paid time off.
7) When can I begin using my sick time?
You start earning paid sick time after you begin employment. Paid sick time can be used as it is earned.
8) Do I need a doctor’s note?
An employer may require reasonable documentation that the paid sick time is covered by one of the law’s purposes, but only after more than 2 consecutive days of absence.
All covered workers are protected against being fired or punished for using sick time. If you have a problem—or want more information—call A Better Balance’s free legal clinic at 1- 833-NEED-ABB.
The Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights is in charge of enforcing this law.
Please note that this fact sheet does not represent an exhaustive overview of the paid sick time law described, and it does not constitute legal advice. It is possible that additional provisions not described in this fact sheet may apply to a worker’s specific circumstances or category of employment.
For the full list of state and local paid sick time laws, visit here.