What is Sick and Safe Time?

Sick and safe time is a law in Minneapolis protecting time off work. Employers may not prevent legitimate usage until an employee has run out of leave. This local law creates access to sick and safe time for all, including part time workers. 

Employers with 6 or more employees
must provide paid sick and safe time. 

Employers with 5 or fewer employees must provide
​sick and safe time, but they may choose to provide it unpaid.​

​Sick and safe time includes illness or injury, medical treatment or preventative care, domestic or sexual assault, and care of a family member.​ In general, it is compensated at normal rates of pay and affects employers that do not already provide comparable or more generous time off.

Fast Facts for Employers
​and Employees

Why was the Sick and Safe Time Ordinance created?

The ordinance is intended to allow employees to care for themselves and family members, making Minneapolis a healthier, more secure, and more productive community. 

When does the Sick and Safe Time Ordinance
​take effect? ​

The Sick and Safe Time Ordinance took effect July 1, 2017.​

​Who does the Sick and Safe Time Ordinance benefit?

Limiting the spread of contagious illness improves public health and benefits everyone. Employees working in lower wage, higher turnover and public contact jobs concentrated in Minneapolis previously lacked at disproportionate rates access to paid sick leave.
 
Employers with six or more employees must provide paid sick and safe time. Employers with five or fewer employees must provide sick and safe time, but they may choose to provide it unpaid. In addition, until July 1, 2022, during an employer’s first year of operation (except a new location in an existing chain), it may provide sick and safe time as unpaid. 

How much time off work does the Sick and Safe Time Ordinance guarantee an employee?

Sick and safe time accrues at a rate of one hour for every thirty hours worked. An employer may cap an employee's accrual at 48 hours per year. An employer may also limit the total amount of unused sick and safe time in an employee’s “bank” to 80 hours during subsequent years. These two limits, 48 hours per benefit year and a maximum accrual cap of 80 hours, operate simultaneously. These limits may be higher if an employer chooses, but not lower. See frequently asked questions for more details.

Can employers give employees more sick leave
​than the amount required by the Sick and Safe Time Ordinance?

Yes. Employers may provide more generous benefits. The Sick and Safe Time Ordinance requirements create a minimum floor, not a ceiling.

Does PTO count as sick and safe time?

A paid time off (PTO) plan (or any other type of leave, including sick or vacation) can satisfy the Sick and Safe Time Ordinance requirements if it: (1) provides employees at least as much leave as required by the ordinance; and (2) allows employees to use the leave for all of the reasons and under the same conditions required by the ordinance. 

​Employers are not required to offer additional PTO (or other sick leave) once an employee has exhausted it all. Some PTO plans and procedures may need changes to fulfill the baseline requirements set by the Sick and Safe Time Ordinance. 

PTO is any combination of sick, vacation, or other types of leave. It reduces the time and burden of administrating these types of leave separately. Employers do not need to track the reasons for use. 

Scenario:
An employer offers 80 hours of PTO per year. Does it need to begin referring to its PTO as “sick and safe time”? No. The law does not require anyone to explicitly refer to any employee programs or leave as “sick and safe time”. The name used by employers does not matter. The amounts and conditions of use for time off work determine whether or not a PTO policy complies with the Sick and Safe Time Ordinance. 

When does an employer need to offer additional
​sick and safe time hours?

If an employer offers PTO or vacation days that may be used for any purpose and under the same conditions outlined in the Sick and Safe Time Ordinance, at a rate at least equal to 1 hour per thirty hours worked, the employer is not required to offer additional leave. However, it may choose to do so. An employer may also add amounts of sick leave and vacation or PTO to cumulatively meet the minimum required.
 
Scenario:
An employer offers each of its employees 80 hours paid per year of time off to use for any purpose. The time off is available throughout the benefit year. Is the employer in compliance with the Sick and Safe Time Ordinance? Yes, the employer complies with the ordinance, provided that any conditions of use are consistent with the ordinance. See the Frequently Asked Questions section entitled “Conditions of Use Questions” for more information.

How can Sick and Safe Time be used?

• Treatment, recuperation, or preventative care for a medical
  or mental health condition, illness, or injury of the employee
  ​or covered family member
  
  
• To seek law enforcement, counseling, or other services for domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking suffered by the employee or covered family member
  
  
• Care for family member during emergency closure of school or place of care, including for inclement weather

EMPLOYEE RESOURCES

EMPLOYER RESOURCES

Consultation?​​
email​,
call 311,
​or text (612) 673-3012

Important Dates and Announcements

Labor Standards in the News
July 1 raises the minimum wage and increases sick and safe enforcement. Please know that enforcement is publicized in local media coverage when necessary to ensure compliance.

Municipal Minimum Wage
MN Court of Appeals Opinion,March 4, 2019
The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed a District Court ruling in favor of the City and its current minimum wage. 

Sick and Safe Time
Hennepin County District Court Opinion, May 8, 2018
Employers in Minneapolis must continue to comply with the Sick and Safe Time Ordinance. However, the ordinance cannot be enforced against businesses without a physical location in the city ("employer residents outside the city")—for now. The City has appealed this decision and litigation is ongoing. Please stay tuned or subscribe below for future updates.

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Effective date of the Sick and Safe Time Ordinance: July 1, 2017