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1 <br />CITY COUNCIL <br />WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />ITEM NO. 9 <br />STAFF ORGINATOR: Meg Sawyer, Human Resources and Communications Manager <br />DATE OF WORK SESSION: December 4, 2023 <br />TOPIC: Earned Safe and Sick Time <br />______________________________________________________________________________ <br />BACKGROUND <br />A new law passed during the 2023 legislative session (Chapter 53) that will require employers to <br />provide all employees with earned sick and safe time (ESST) beginning January 1, 2024. <br />Earned sick and safe time is paid leave employers must provide to employees in Minnesota that <br />can be used for: <br />-Care of employee or family member’s mental or physical illness, treatment, or <br />preventative care; when determined by health authority that employee or family <br />member is at risk of infecting others with a communicable disease. <br />-Employee or family member’s absence due to domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking. <br />-Closure of employee’s workplace due to weather or public emergency or closure of a <br />family member’s school or care facility due to weather or a public emergency. <br />The new law applies to any employer with one or more employees and all Minnesota cities will <br />be covered. This new law covers all employees, including part-time and temporary employees. <br />Independent contractors, council members and elected officials are excluded from ESST. There <br />is still pending guidance from the State regarding Paid-On Call Firefighters. <br />Cities that provide earned sick and safe time to employees under a paid time off policy are not <br />required to provide additional ESST, as long as the policy meets the same conditions or exceeds <br />the minimum standard of the law. <br />Staff is proposing implementing ESST for all part-time and temporary employees through the <br />accrual method. Since the City’s paid time off policy exceeds the standard required by law, staff <br />is also proposing implementing ESST into our current Paid Time Off (PTO) leave and Sick leave <br />policy for full time employees. By incorporating ESST into our current PTO and Sick leaves, <br />through the accrual method and carryover method, it would require no additional tracking or <br />accrual needed and no additional ESST payout at time of separation. <br />REQUESTED COUNCIL DIRECTION <br />Staff is seeking Council direction for implementing Earned Safe and Sick Time for all city <br />employees. <br />178