This notice is to inform you that St. Paul, Minnesota has amended an ordinance that requires employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. The changes will take effect Feb. 18, 2023.
The details
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Original ordinance
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Amended ordinance
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For every 30 hours worked, employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave.
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For every 30 hours workedwithin the geographical boundaries of the city, employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave.
The amended ordinance also clarifies that an employer is only required to allow an employee to use paid sick leave when the employee is scheduled to perform work within the geographic boundaries of the city. However, employers may voluntarily allow use when the employee is scheduled to work outside the city.
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Employers must permit an employee to carry over accrued but unused sick leave into the following year. Employers may cap total accrual at 80 hours.
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Employers must permit an employee who has workedwithin the geographic boundaries of the city for more than one yearto carry over accrued but unused sick leave into the following year. Employers may cap total accrual at 80 hours.
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Employers may satisfy the accrual and carryover requirements by frontloading at least 48 hours of paid sick leave following the initial 90 days of employment for use during the first year, and frontloading at least 80 hours of paid sick leave beginning each subsequent year.
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These provisions remain the same, but the amended ordinance clarifies that employers must establish the method of compliance either through carryover or frontloading at the beginning of the year, and employers are prohibited from changing the method until the next year.
- Employers that switch between accrual and frontloading compliance must ensure that employees have at least as many paid sick leave hours available on the first day of the new reporting year as the employee had on the last day of the immediately preceding reporting year.
- For employers that switch from accrual to frontloading, the total paid sick leave hours frontloaded on the first day of the reporting year must be at least 48 hours for employees in their first year of employment, but need not be greater than 80 hours for all other employees.
- For employers that switch from frontloading to accrual, the total balance available to the employee at the start of the first year after the employer has modified the method of compliance must be at least equal to the frontloading balance remaining at the end of the preceding reporting year.
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Other changes
The amended ordinance also defines “year” for the purposes of the paid sick leave requirements as a regular and consecutive 12-month period, either calendar or fiscal, as determined by an employer and clearly communicated to each employee of that employer.
The anti-retaliation provisions have been expanded. See the text of the amended ordinance for details.
Next steps
- Provide sick leave in accordance with the requirements of the amended ordinance beginning Feb. 18, 2023.
- Update leave policies and forms and employee handbooks to comply with the amended ordinance.
- Train supervisors on the amended ordinance.