ST. PAUL 鈥� The Minnesota House on Thursday, Feb. 16, passed a bill requiring businesses to provide paid sick time to employees.
Representatives voted 69-54 to approve a , which would require all businesses in the state of Minnesota to offer 48 hours of "sick and safe time" each year. Eligible uses would include illness, medical appointments, child care or seeking assistance for domestic abuse. Employees would accrue one hour for every 30 hours worked.
ADVERTISEMENT
Without guaranteed sick leave, workers are faced with a 鈥渢errible choice鈥� when they fall ill, Olson told reporters at a Thursday news conference ahead of the House vote on her bill. There are around 900,000 workers in Minnesota who do not have any paid time off, and a disproportionate number of people without the benefit are low-wage workers, she said.
鈥淭hey can go in to work, forgoing the time they would be taking care of themselves or heading to the doctor or potentially spreading the illness to colleagues or members of the public,鈥� she said. 鈥淥r they can stay home. But they know that doing so could mean they can't pay bills on time, buy groceries or, worse, put their entire job in jeopardy.鈥�
The sick and safe time proposal in the House would apply to both part-time and full-time workers. It would take six weeks for a full-time employee to earn the equivalent of one day off. Employees would be able to carry over unused paid time off each year and bank a total of 80 hours.
Employers who currently offer paid time off plans would not have to make any changes as long as their benefits meet or exceed the new requirement in the bill, Olson said. Businesses that fail to provide the benefit could face a fine of up to $10,000 per violation or for not providing documentation of their leave policy to the state. Enforcement would be the responsibility of the Department of Labor and Industry. Olson during floor debate Thursday said the department would only use the maximum fine for the most severe violations.
A Senate version of the paid sick and safe time proposal is still working through the committee process. Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, supports the policy.
Sixteen states have adopted a paid sick and safe time policy, Olson said, and some cities in Minnesota already have a similar policy in place. Duluth requires businesses with five or more employees to offer sick time. Bloomington, St. Paul and Minneapolis also require the benefit.
Republican critics of the bill raised concerns about the effect the sick time requirement would have on small businesses in Minnesota, who may not be able to support the same benefits schemes as larger corporate employers. In its current form, the policy would apply to anyone with employees. Republicans also pointed out that cities in Minnesota have created exceptions to their policies for certain types of employment.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The city of Duluth has a seasonal exemption, and this is going to change that," said Rep. Dave Baker, a Willmar Republican who owns a hospitality business in west-central Minnesota. "We have so many different kinds of businesses, one size doesn't fit all. Let's show Minnesotans that we actually showed and paid attention to this."
House Republicans introduced multiple amendments to the sick and safe time bill during the more than seven hours of debate Thursday night, including reducing the fine to $1,000, excluding seasonal employees, and a change to allow local governments to pass ordinances exempting small employers from the policy. With the exception of an amendment to require the labor department to provide notice forms to businesses to distribute to employees, they failed on party lines.
While the sick and safe time bill would apply to all employers, Olson introduced an amendment to the bill on the floor Thursday that would provide an exception for collective bargaining agreements between business and construction trade unions, which the House adopted on a unanimous voice vote.
The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce opposes the sick and safe time bill, pointing to the risks that could come from added workplace regulations and mandates, especially as state lawmakers also weigh creating a new state-administered paid family and medical leave program funded by an estimated $1 billion in new taxes.
After winning control of state government in November, Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers are pushing to create new benefit programs for workers. Paid sick and safe time is just one part of the picture 鈥� a proposal to create a paid family medical leave program would provide 12 weeks of paid leave for medical reasons and 12 weeks of leave for family reasons, such as the birth of a child.
If both proposals became law, Minnesota workers would be entitled to just over 25 weeks of paid time off. Supporters of the 鈥渟ick and safe鈥� time bill say it's important to have a separate pool of paid leave time, as paid family and medical leave is intended for long-term life events.
The paid leave proposal is still moving through committees and has not yet come to a vote of the entire Senate or House.
ADVERTISEMENT
Follow Alex Derosier on Twitter or email aderosier@forumcomm.com .
This story was updated at 12:05 a.m. on Feb. 17 with the results of the House vote. It was originally posted at 4:40 p.m. on Feb. 16.
The Trust Project
