Employers spent A LOT of time preparing for the new Earned Sick and Safe Time (“ESST”) law, which went into effect January 1, 2024.  As with most new laws, the legislature has learned that there were some holes in the original statute, and is making efforts to fill them.

In this bill, the remedies for employees who are denied the accrual or use of ESST have been updated to provide for damages in “an amount equal to all earned sick and safe time that should have been provided or could have been used at the employee’s regular rate of pay, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages.”  Furthermore, if an employer’s recordkeeping system doesn’t reflect the amount of ESST provided, employees will be compensated in similar fashion.

At the same time, the bill modifies the recordkeeping portion of the statute to allow employers to provide up-to-date records of ESST accrual and usage electronically, rather than on an employee’s regular paystub.  However, employees need to be able to access this information on an employer computer during their regular working hours, and information must be “readily available for inspection by the commissioner upon demand.”

Some other minor changes to the statute are proposed, including language on the rate to be paid to employees while using ESST, and adding the ability to use leave to make funeral arrangements or address financial or legal matters after the death of a family member.  There is also language limiting the minimum amount of leave to be taken at a time to increments of 15 minutes.

These are very new bills, so there will likely be significant changes made to the language before they are finalized.  However, it is important to keep an eye out for any major changes, as we likely won’t have as much buildup to implementation as we had last year.

If you, or your organization, need any assistance with adapting to the new employment laws in Minnesota, or making sure your policies are in compliance, contact Wiley Reber Law, for legal advice that works.