
Covered
Employers and Employees
The
Ordinance is written to apply to employers with five or more employees
nationwide—regardless of where those employees are located. Employee
eligibility, however, is written to tie to how much time an employee spends
working in Duluth. Employees are to be eligible for paid sick or safe leave
under the Ordinance if they: (1) work in Duluth more than 50% of their working
time in a 12‑month period; or (2) are “based in” Duluth, spend a “substantial
part” of their time working in Duluth, and do not spend more than 50% of their
work time in a 12‑month period outside of Duluth.
Minnesota
employers should note that this employee eligibility standard differs from the
standards set by the Minneapolis and St. Paul sick and safe time ordinances,
both of which only require employees to perform at least 80 hours of work in
the respective city each year to qualify for leave under the city’s law.
There is a
possibility that the Duluth Ordinance could face legal challenges as to its
scope before it becomes effective. The Minneapolis sick and safety ordinance
prompted a lawsuit, with Minnesota courts holding that the ordinance was
largely lawful, but could not be applied extra-territorially to employers
located outside of Minneapolis.
Leave
Accrual Requirements
The Duluth
Ordinance states that eligible employees must accrue one hour of paid sick and
safe time leave for every 50 hours worked in Duluth, with accrual starting
immediately upon employment. Eligible employees may accrue up to a total of 64
hours per year, however, the Ordinance provides that employer’s may cap the use
of sick and safe time leave at 40 hours per year. If an employee has unused,
accrued sick and safe time at the end of the year, the employer must allow that
time to be carried over into the next year. Any carry-over may be capped,
however, at 40 hours each year. Under the Ordinance, employers are not required
to payout accrued but unused sick and safe time hours upon termination or other
separation from employment.
Sick and
Safe Time Usage
The Duluth
Ordinance provides that employees are eligible to use accrued sick and safe
time after 90 calendar days of employment. Accrued time may be used due to the
employee’s own illness or to care for a family member. Under the Ordinance, a
“family member” includes an employee’s child, spouse or domestic partner,
parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, and “any other individual related by
blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a
family relationship.” Covered sick time purposes include a mental or physical
illness, injury, or health condition, medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of
the same, and preventive medical care.
Paid leave may also be taken as safe time for absences due to domestic
abuse, sexual assault, or stalking of the employee or employee’s family member.
Paid leave
may be taken under the Ordinance in increments “consistent with the current
business/payroll practice as defined by industry standards or existing employer
policies.” Required increments may not, however, exceed four hours. Employees
may be required to comply with the employer’s usual notice and procedural
requirements for absences or for requesting leave, provided that such
requirements “do not interfere with the purposes for which the leave is needed.”
An employer
that currently offers its employees paid time off benefits (such as PTO, sick,
and/or vacation days) that equal or are greater than required by the Ordinance
may satisfy the Ordinance through those existing benefits.
Next Steps
With nearly
18 months before the Duluth Ordinance goes into effect, employers have time to
assess whether they have employees covered by the Ordinance and to prepare to
comply. Covered employers should review their time off policies and, if needed,
make changes to ensure compliance. In addition, employers subject to the
Ordinance will need to consider whether to adjust their time off policies just
for the Duluth Ordinance or whether they might adjust policies more broadly to
minimize administrative burdens and potential morale issues that can be
associated with maintaining different policies for different workers.
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