Have Employees in Minnesota? Read this…

Serving clients in Minnesota brings several complexities when assessing their employment practices. The usual things like employment verifications, timekeeping procedures and paying staff properly are standard practices where most clients are doing fairly well. What has changed over the last few years is the extended reach of government concerning various notices, accommodations, and paid time off for an increased number of employees for Minnesota organizations.

Starting in 2019, employers were required to provide specific information to new hires about their compensation package under the “Wage Theft Prevention Act” (Minnesota Statutes 609.52). A model employee notice, which has gone through several revisions, was provided by the state for employers to use for this purpose. After nearly 5 years, I continue to find new Minnesota clients unaware of the mandatory details required for their written offers and change notices. When this occurs, I craft a template that complies with state law as well as preserves the organization’s tone to these communications.

Effective January 1, 2024, there is a new requirement the state created to further expand their reach into employer practices. Minnesota put into force required paid leave for employees under the Employee Earned Sick and Safe law (ESST). There has been a lot of confusion about this law and how employers comply. As with the wage theft notice, I find many employers are unaware they are not complying or that they are covered by this new law.

I am not an attorney and do not play one on television but here are a few key points employers with workers in Minnesota need to know about ESST. These are based on the questions I have received from clients and HR colleagues alike. This is not exhaustive so you will need to conduct further due diligence if you have employees who perform work in Minnesota.

Key Issues

1)     Employers must provide paid leave for a list of eligible reasons (1 hour per 30 hours worked). This paid leave benefit must be offered to all employees if they work 80 or more hours in Minnesota. This includes employees who work full-time, part-time, seasonal, as apprentices or interns—everyone who is paid on your payroll.

2)     Employees do not have to live in Minnesota to be eligible for ESST. If they work 80 hours in Minnesota in a year, they must accrue ESST for those hours.

3)     Your business does not have to be located in Minnesota to be required to comply. If you have an employee performing 80 or more hours of work in a year in the state, ESST must be provided.

4)     Employees begin accruing ESST from their first day of employment. That means your probationary or introductory period to start benefits is no longer valid as it relates to ESST.

5)     Employers are required to include the total number of ESST hours accrued, available for use, and used in the pay period on their pay statement. I have found some payroll companies are just getting familiar with this requirement. Employers remain liable to ensure ESST information appears on pay statements and cannot rely solely on the payroll service to do this for them.

6)     Minnesota statutes 181.032 and 181.9445-181.9448 pre-empts local ordinances. If you were complying with a city ordinance regarding sick and safe time, the state takes precedent. You will need to compare the requirements, so you provide the most employee-favorable benefit.

7)     This statute defines "Employer" as a person who has one or more employees. Local ordinances have some carve out for very small employers that the state law does not provide. This means if you have just one employee, your business is subject to the law.  Here is a link to the section for those who want to directly see what the law says: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/181.032 .

8)     Employers were required to provide notice of ESST starting January 1, 2024, or upon hire. If you have not distributed this notice yet, you will want to download it from the state website and do so straight away: https://www.dli.mn.gov/sick-leave#notice.

Call to Action

If you have not taken action to synch up your practices with the new requirements, you need to do so immediately. Need help? Reach out for a free initial consultation.

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