Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time law has been in effect since January 1, 2024, and it guarantees paid leave to nearly every worker in the state. If an employer expects you to work at least 80 hours a year at a Minnesota location, you earn one hour of paid sick and safe time for every 30 hours you work, up to 48 hours per year.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9445 – Definitions You can use those hours for your own illness, to care for a family member, to deal with domestic abuse or stalking, after a death in the family, or when weather closes your workplace or your child’s school.
Who the Law Covers
Employer size does not matter. A company with one employee has to comply, and so does state and local government. Full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers all qualify as long as the employer anticipates at least 80 hours of work in Minnesota during the year.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9445 – Definitions
A few workers fall outside the law. Independent contractors are not employees and are not covered. Federal employees are excluded because the statute says the federal government is not an “employer” for ESST purposes, and they rely on separate federal leave rules instead. Certain airline flight deck and cabin crew are also carved out, but only if they meet three conditions at once, including already receiving paid leave that equals or exceeds what ESST provides.1Minnesota 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 at least one hour of ESST for every 30 hours worked, and you can use the time as soon as it accrues. The annual cap is 48 hours unless your employer agrees to more. At a standard 40-hour week, you reach that cap in roughly 36 weeks.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9446 – Accrual Of Earned Sick And Safe Time
Hours you do not use roll over into the next year. Your total bank is capped at 80 hours at any one time unless your employer sets a higher limit. Over time, that lets you build up a cushion for a longer illness or a family emergency.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9446 – Accrual Of Earned Sick And Safe Time
The Front-Loading Alternative
Instead of tracking accrual hour by hour, an employer can grant the full allotment up front at the start of each year. If they front-load 48 hours, they also have to pay out any unused hours at year-end at your base rate (no less than minimum wage). If they front-load 80 hours, no year-end payout is required. Either method satisfies the law, and front-loading gives you access to the full balance immediately.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9446 – Accrual Of Earned Sick And Safe Time
What You Can Use the Time For
The permitted uses go well beyond a standard sick day.
You can use ESST for your own physical or mental health, including illness, injury, preventive care, and diagnostic appointments. The same applies when you are caring for a family member in any of those situations. You are also covered if a health authority or medical professional determines your presence in the community poses a risk to others, such as during a contagious illness.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9447 – Use Of Earned Sick And Safe Time
Bereavement is covered. You can use hours to arrange or attend a funeral or memorial service and to handle legal or financial matters after a family member dies.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9447 – Use Of Earned Sick And Safe Time
The “safe time” portion covers domestic abuse, sexual assault, and stalking affecting you or a family member. Qualifying uses include medical care, counseling, meeting with a victim services organization, relocating or securing your home, and pursuing legal action.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9447 – Use Of Earned Sick And Safe Time
Closures count too. If your workplace shuts down because of weather or a public emergency, you can use ESST for the missed shift. The same is true if your child’s school or daycare closes for those reasons and you need to stay home.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9447 – Use Of Earned Sick And Safe Time
Who Counts as a Family Member
Minnesota’s definition is one of the broadest in the country. Covered relationships include your child (biological, adopted, foster, stepchild, legal ward, or a child you stood in as a parent for), your spouse or registered domestic partner, your siblings (including step and foster), your parents and anyone who served as a parent figure to you as a minor, your grandparents and grandchildren (including step), your nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles, and your in-laws. The same categories on your spouse’s or partner’s side are also covered.4Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. FAQs: Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)
Two catchall categories matter. The law covers anyone related to you by blood or whose relationship with you is equivalent to a family bond. On top of that, you may designate one additional person per year. A close friend, a roommate you depend on, or a chosen-family member can qualify through either route.4Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. FAQs: Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)
Requesting the Time: Notice, Documentation, and Increments
When the need is foreseeable, your employer can require up to seven days’ advance notice. When it is not, such as a sudden illness, you need to give notice as soon as reasonably possible using whatever method your workplace already uses.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9447 – Use Of Earned Sick And Safe Time
Your employer can ask for documentation only when you use ESST for more than three consecutive scheduled workdays. The documentation has to be “reasonable,” typically a signed note from a health care provider for a medical absence or a written explanation for a safety-related one. For a single sick day or a two-day absence, no documentation can be required.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9447 – Use Of Earned Sick And Safe Time
You can use time in the smallest increment your employer’s payroll system tracks, with a floor of 15 minutes, and your employer cannot force you to take ESST in blocks larger than four hours. Short absences for a quick appointment or an early pickup from school are protected.5Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9447 – Use of Earned Sick and Safe Time
What Your Employer Has to Tell You
At the start of employment, your employer must give you a written notice confirming that you are entitled to ESST, explaining the accrual rate and accrual year, listing when you may use hours, describing the process for requesting leave, and telling you that retaliation is prohibited and that you can file a complaint or sue if the law is violated. The notice must be in English and in your primary language, and if there is an employee handbook, the same information has to appear there.4Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. FAQs: Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)
At the end of every pay period, your employer must also tell you how many ESST hours you have available and how many you used in that period. This usually shows up on your pay stub, in a payroll portal, or in your timekeeping system. Check it. Tracking errors are common with a newer mandate, and catching a problem on this pay stub is far easier than reconstructing six months of records later.4Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. FAQs: Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)
If You Already Have PTO, or Work in Minneapolis or St. Paul
If your employer’s existing PTO, vacation, or sick leave policy allows the same uses as ESST and meets or exceeds the accrual and carryover rules, no separate ESST bank is required. The existing policy still has to comply with the ESST rules on notice, documentation, increments, and permitted uses.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 181.9448 – Employer Obligations
Minneapolis and St. Paul both have their own sick leave ordinances that predate the state law. Where the local ordinance is more generous, your employer has to follow it. Where the state law is more favorable, the state law controls. In practice, whichever rule benefits you more on any specific provision is the one that applies.7Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)
What Happens When You Leave the Job
Minnesota does not require an employer to pay out unused ESST when you quit, are laid off, or otherwise separate. Those hours have no cash value at termination.4Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. FAQs: Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)
If you return to the same employer within 180 days, though, your previously accrued and unused hours have to be reinstated. That matters for seasonal workers, people who take breaks between contracts, and anyone rehired after a layoff. The reinstatement obligation does not apply if your employer paid out the balance when you left.4Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. FAQs: Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)
If Your Employer Breaks the Law
Retaliation for requesting or using ESST is prohibited. If your employer denies you the time, prevents you from accruing it, or punishes you for using it, you have two options and they are not mutually exclusive. You can file a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, which enforces the law, or you can bring a private civil lawsuit.4Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. FAQs: Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)
An employer that fails to provide ESST or blocks its use owes the hours they should have provided plus an equal amount in liquidated damages. When the exact number of hours owed cannot be pinned down, the employer owes 48 hours per year of noncompliance, again doubled by liquidated damages.4Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. FAQs: Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)