Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time law gives nearly every worker in the state paid leave they can use for illness, family care, safety needs, bereavement, and certain closures. If your employer expects you to work at least 80 hours in Minnesota in a year, you earn one hour of Minnesota sick and safe time for every 30 hours you work, up to 48 hours per year, and you can use it as soon as it hits your balance.1Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. FAQs – Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) The law applies to every employer in the state, from a two-person shop to the largest corporations.
Who Is Covered
Coverage turns on hours, not job title. Full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers all qualify as long as the employer anticipates 80 hours of work in a year in Minnesota.2Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) Staffing-agency workers are covered too. Unless the agency and the client company agree otherwise in writing, the staffing agency is treated as the employer responsible for providing the leave.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9445 – Definitions
A few categories fall outside the law: independent contractors, federal government employees, volunteer and on-call firefighters and ambulance attendants, elected officials and appointees filling elected vacancies, and short-term farm workers hired by a farmer or family farm for 28 days or fewer in a year.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9445 – Definitions
How You Earn and Bank Hours
Accrual starts on your first day. You earn one hour for every 30 hours worked, with an annual cap of 48 hours unless your employer voluntarily offers more.4Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9446 – Accrual of Earned Sick and Safe Time Every hour you work counts, including overtime. If you are a salaried exempt employee, you are treated as working 40 hours a week for accrual purposes unless your normal schedule is shorter.
Unused hours roll into the next year, but your total banked balance can never exceed 80 hours at any one time.4Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9446 – Accrual of Earned Sick and Safe Time Finish the year with 60 hours banked, and your balance will stop growing once it climbs to 80.
Front-Loading
Employers can skip hour-by-hour tracking by giving you the time at the start of the year. There are two options: front-load 48 hours and pay out anything unused at year-end, or front-load 80 hours with no year-end payout required.4Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9446 – Accrual of Earned Sick and Safe Time Either approach has to leave you at least as well off as standard accrual would.
Leaving and Coming Back
When you leave a job, the employer does not have to pay out your unused balance. But if the same employer rehires you within 180 days, they must reinstate up to 80 hours of your previously accrued and unused time.5Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. ESST Rule Draft RD4877 That matters for seasonal workers returning each year and for anyone laid off and later recalled.
What You Can Use It For
The list of qualifying reasons is wider than many workers assume.
Your Own Health
Any physical or mental health condition qualifies, whether you need a diagnosis, ongoing treatment, or preventive care such as an annual physical or a dental cleaning.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9447 – Use of Earned Sick and Safe Time Chronic conditions like migraines, diabetes, or anxiety are covered when they keep you from working.
A Family Member’s Care
You can also use the time to care for a family member’s illness, injury, or health condition, or for their preventive care. The statute’s definition of family is unusually broad: spouse or domestic partner, children (including adult children, foster children, and legal wards), parents and stepparents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, in-laws, and the same relatives of your spouse or domestic partner.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9445 – Definitions
Two provisions widen the circle further. Anyone whose close association with you is the equivalent of a family relationship qualifies, which covers lifelong friends, unmarried partners, and other people who function as family without a legal or biological tie. You can also designate one additional person per year as a covered family member, no questions asked.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9445 – Definitions
Bereavement
An amendment to the original law added bereavement as a qualifying reason. You can use the leave to attend a funeral or memorial service for a family member, or to handle the financial and legal matters that follow a death.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9447 – Use of Earned Sick and Safe Time Because the family member definition is so wide, this effectively covers a larger circle than most standalone bereavement policies do.
Domestic Abuse, Sexual Assault, or Stalking
If you or a family member is a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking, you can use the time to seek medical attention, get counseling, work with a victim services organization, consult an attorney, take part in legal proceedings, or relocate to a safer home.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9447 – Use of Earned Sick and Safe Time Documentation rules for these absences are especially strict.
Closures and Communicable Diseases
The law applies when your workplace closes due to weather or a public emergency, or when a family member’s school or daycare shuts down for the same reason.2Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) Two pandemic-era scenarios also remain in the statute: your employer sends you home over concerns about transmitting a communicable disease, or a health authority determines that your presence in the community would endanger others because of exposure.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9447 – Use of Earned Sick and Safe Time
Using Your Time and Getting Paid
There is no waiting period. As soon as you accrue an hour, it is yours to use. No 90-day probation, no minimum tenure.4Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9446 – Accrual of Earned Sick and Safe Time Work your first 30 hours, need to leave for a doctor’s appointment on day five, and that one accrued hour is available.
You are paid your regular base hourly rate for the time. Tips, commissions, and overtime premiums are not included, though the base rate must be at least the applicable minimum wage.2Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)
Employers can ask for reasonable documentation only when your absence lasts more than three consecutive days. For medical absences, a signed statement from a health care provider confirming the need for leave is generally enough. For absences related to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking, the law limits what employers can demand, and any documentation you provide must be kept confidential and stored separately from your regular personnel file.
What Your Employer Must Do
Every employer must give each new employee a written notice explaining sick and safe time rights at the start of employment, in the employee’s primary language. On every pay stub afterward, the employer must show the total hours available and the total hours used during that pay period.7Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. New Sick and Safe Leave Earnings Statement Requirements
Employers must keep accurate records of accrual and usage for at least three years.2Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) An existing PTO, vacation, or personal-time policy can substitute for a separate sick and safe time bank, but only if it meets or exceeds every requirement of the statute, including all qualifying reasons for use.
If Your Employer Retaliates or Refuses
Your employer cannot fire you, cut your hours, discipline you, or take any other negative action against you for using sick and safe time, requesting it, or complaining about a violation.1Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. FAQs – Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) Attendance-point systems that penalize protected absences count as retaliation. If your employer docks you a point for staying home sick, that violates the law even without a formal firing.
Document everything if you think retaliation is happening. Save text messages, keep screenshots of your schedule before and after you used the leave, and note any comments your supervisor makes about your absences.
An employer who fails to provide the leave or blocks you from using it owes you the full value of the time you should have received, plus an equal amount in liquidated damages. If the exact number of hours is unclear, the law presumes you were shorted 48 hours for each year the violation occurred and doubles that amount as damages.1Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. FAQs – Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) Willful violations can bring fines of up to $10,000 per violation.2Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)
You have two enforcement paths. File a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry’s Labor Standards Division at 651-284-5075 or esst.dli@state.mn.us. Complaints can be filed anonymously, though giving contact information helps DLI follow up. You can also bring a civil lawsuit on your own to recover damages.1Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. FAQs – Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)
Local Ordinances in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth
If you work in one of the cities that had its own sick leave rule, the picture is now simpler. Duluth repealed its ordinance entirely and defers to the state law.8Ernst & Young. Duluth, Minnesota Repeals Earned Sick and Safe Time Ordinance Minneapolis amended its ordinance effective January 2026 to align with the state law and no longer requires additional time.9City of Minneapolis. Minneapolis Sick and Safe Time Ordinance St. Paul’s ordinance is still in effect and largely mirrors the state law, so employers there should confirm they meet both sets of requirements. Following whichever standard is more generous will keep you compliant under both.