Posted May 20th, 2013 in Top Stories with Tags EEOC, employer liability, law, department of labor, legal, Business Law

Minnesota Legislature Passes Expanded Sick Leave Bill

The Minnesota Legislature passed a bill last week that is intended to expand employee sick leave benefits. Although state law already allows employees who receive sick leave to use that time to care for a sick child, the new legislation allows employees to also care for a sick spouse, grandparents, siblings, parents or stepparents and adult children for a minimum of four weeks. The bill will likely be signed by Governor Dayton this month, and is scheduled to go into effect on August 1, 2013.

Pending the likely signature of Governor Dayton, employers should review their current sick leave policies to determine compliance with the new provision and revise the policies as needed. Alternatively, employers could also forgo sick leave policies altogether and implement a more generic paid time off (PTO) model which would allow employees to utilize PTO for any reason, including to care for sick family members.

For questions about this legislation and how to ensure your company is ready to comply, call labor and employment attorneys David James (612-305-7573) or Lisa Schmid (612-305-7549).