Michigan’s paid sick leave law, the Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA), took effect on February 21, 2025 and now covers every employer in the state with at least one employee. Workers accrue one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Annual usage is capped at 72 hours for most employees and 40 hours for those at small businesses of 10 or fewer workers.
The law replaced the earlier Paid Medical Leave Act after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in Mothering Justice v. Attorney General that the legislature’s 2018 amendments were unconstitutional. The legislature then passed Public Act 2 of 2025, which kept ESTA’s core structure and adjusted implementation details.1Michigan Legislature. Enrolled House Bill No. 4002 Anyone still running a policy built for the old 50-employee threshold is out of compliance.
Who Is Covered
ESTA applies to all Michigan employers with one or more employees. The only excluded employer is the United States government.2State of Michigan. Earned Sick Time Act – Frequently Asked Questions Businesses with 10 or fewer employees are classified as small businesses. They still have to comply, but they get lower caps and had until October 1, 2025 to begin meeting ESTA’s accrual and tracking requirements.3State of Michigan. Update on Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act and the Minimum Wage Law A brand-new small business that hires its first employee after February 21, 2025 is not subject to ESTA until three years after that first hire.4Michigan Legislature. Earned Sick Time Amendments – House Fiscal Agency Analysis
A handful of workers fall outside coverage:
- Seasonal employees hired for a job scheduled for 25 weeks or fewer in a calendar year.
- Variable-hour employees who set their own schedules, provided the employer takes no adverse action when they decline to work a minimum number of hours.
- Unpaid trainees and interns as defined under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- Youth employees working under a youth work permit.
What You Can Use Sick Time For
Earned sick time can be used for an employee’s own physical or mental illness, injury, or health condition, or for that of a family member. Preventive care like routine checkups and vaccinations counts. So does time off when a public official closes the workplace or a child’s school because of a public health emergency.2State of Michigan. Earned Sick Time Act – Frequently Asked Questions
Safe Time for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Employees who are victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, or whose family members are victims, can use sick time as “safe time” for:
- Medical care, counseling, or therapy related to the violence
- Services from a victim advocacy organization
- Relocating because of the violence or assault
- Obtaining legal services or participating in related court proceedings
- Attending a child’s school meetings about the effects of domestic violence on the child
Employers cannot require an employee to disclose details of the violence, assault, or underlying medical condition as a condition of taking the leave.1Michigan Legislature. Enrolled House Bill No. 4002
Who Counts as a Family Member
ESTA’s definition of family member is broad. It includes a child (biological, adopted, foster, step, legal ward, or a domestic partner’s child), a parent or legal guardian (including a spouse’s or domestic partner’s parent), a spouse, a domestic partner, a grandparent, a grandchild, a sibling, and any other individual related by blood. A domestic partner is any adult in a committed relationship with another adult, regardless of sex.2State of Michigan. Earned Sick Time Act – Frequently Asked Questions
How Sick Time Is Earned and Capped
All employees accrue one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Accrual starts on the first day of employment. Annual usage is capped by employer size:
- Employers with more than 10 employees: up to 72 hours of paid sick time per year.
- Small businesses with 10 or fewer employees: up to 40 hours per year.
Instead of tracking hour by hour, an employer can frontload the full annual amount at the start of the benefit year. That means at least 72 hours upfront for full-time employees at larger employers, and at least 40 hours at small businesses. Part-time employees can receive a prorated amount, but the employer has to provide a written estimate of expected hours at the time of hire. If the worker exceeds those projected hours, the employer has to top up sick time at the standard accrual rate.2State of Michigan. Earned Sick Time Act – Frequently Asked Questions
Carryover, Waiting Periods, and Increments
Under the accrual method, unused sick time carries over from one year to the next. The carryover cap is 72 hours at larger employers and 40 hours at small businesses. Employers that frontload the full annual amount at the start of each year do not have to allow any carryover.4Michigan Legislature. Earned Sick Time Amendments – House Fiscal Agency Analysis ESTA does not require the employer to pay out unused sick time when an employee leaves the company.6Michigan Legislature. MCL 408.965 – Earned Sick Time Act
Employers using the accrual method can require new employees hired on or after February 21, 2025 to wait up to 120 calendar days before actually using any accrued time. The waiting period does not apply when the employer frontloads.2State of Michigan. Earned Sick Time Act – Frequently Asked Questions
Sick time does not have to be taken in full-day blocks. The minimum increment is one hour or the smallest increment the employer already uses to track absences and other time off, whichever is less.2State of Michigan. Earned Sick Time Act – Frequently Asked Questions
Requesting Leave and Providing Documentation
When an employee knows in advance that they will need sick time, the employer can require up to seven days’ notice. For unexpected illness or emergencies, the employer can only require notice as soon as practicable, or in line with a written policy that was given to the employee and that allows notice after the employee becomes aware of the need.7Michigan Legislature. MCL 408.964 – Earned Sick Time Act
Documentation can be required only when an absence runs more than three consecutive days. Even then, the documentation just has to confirm that the absence was for an ESTA-qualifying reason. For safe-time leave, acceptable documentation includes a police report, a signed statement from a victim advocate, or a court document related to the situation. An employer cannot demand medical details or specifics about domestic violence as a condition of granting leave.1Michigan Legislature. Enrolled House Bill No. 4002
What Employers Have to Do
Poster and Written Notice
Every employer must post a notice in a conspicuous, employee-accessible location explaining how much sick time employees can earn, the reasons it can be used, and the right to file a complaint. Employers also have to provide each employee a written notice of their rights under ESTA. Employees already on staff when the 2025 amendments took effect were supposed to receive the notice within 30 days of the effective date. New hires must receive the notice on their date of hire.4Michigan Legislature. Earned Sick Time Amendments – House Fiscal Agency Analysis
Record-Keeping
Employers must keep records of hours worked and sick time accrued and used for at least three years, and make them available to the state’s Wage and Hour Division on reasonable notice.2State of Michigan. Earned Sick Time Act – Frequently Asked Questions
Using an Existing PTO Policy
An employer with an existing paid time off policy does not have to create a separate sick leave bank. The existing PTO policy qualifies if it provides at least the same benefits, covers the same qualifying reasons, follows the same conditions, and accrues at a rate equal to or greater than one hour per 30 hours worked. If the employer combines PTO, vacation, and sick time into a single bank that meets the accrual minimums, an employee who uses the bank up on vacation is not entitled to extra sick time.2State of Michigan. Earned Sick Time Act – Frequently Asked Questions
Penalties and Filing a Complaint
ESTA prohibits demoting, firing, disciplining, or taking any other adverse personnel action against an employee for requesting or using earned sick time, filing a complaint, or cooperating with an investigation. Penalties depend on the type of violation:
- Failing to provide earned sick time: the employer owes the employee the withheld sick time, back pay, and any resulting damages, plus a civil fine of up to eight times the employee’s normal hourly wage per violation.
- Retaliation: civil remedies like reinstatement and back pay, plus an administrative fine of up to $1,000 per violation.
- Failing to post the required notice or provide written notice: a civil fine of up to $100 per violation.
These penalties are cumulative. An employer that denies sick time and then fires the worker for complaining can face the sick-time fine, the retaliation fine, and an order to reinstate with full back pay.
Employees who believe their rights have been violated can file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division at the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. The deadline is six months from the date of the alleged violation. Complaints can be submitted through the department’s online form, by mail, email, or fax.8State of Michigan. Online Employment Wage Complaint Form If the complaint is substantiated, the department can order the employer to pay withheld sick time and damages, reinstate the employee, and pay the applicable fines.
How ESTA Fits With FMLA
ESTA does not replace the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for serious health conditions, new-child bonding, and military family situations, but it only applies to employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius, and only to workers who have been employed at least 12 months and worked 1,250 hours in the prior year.9State of Michigan. Paid Family Medical Leave – Health and Employment Outcomes ESTA covers employers of any size, starts accruing on day one, and is paid, but the amounts are much smaller.
When both laws apply, the leave can run concurrently. An employee taking FMLA leave for a serious health condition can use ESTA hours to get paid during part of that absence. Compliance with one law does not guarantee compliance with the other; each has its own notice, documentation, and record-keeping requirements.