Insurance carriers need agile absence management software to adapt in real time when new leave legislation goes into effect. In this blog, you’ll learn about the latest updates to leave laws in Minnesota and how FINEOS is helping carriers remain in compliance.
The 279-page Jobs, Economic Development, Labor, and Industry Omnibus Bill signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz contained significant expansion and changes to Minnesota leave laws affecting employers and employees. Here’s what you need to know:
New Minnesota Earned Sick and Safe Time
When: Effective January 1, 2024
Who: Employees, including temporary and part-time employees, are eligible for earned sick and safe time (ESST) after working at least 80 hours in a year for their employer in Minnesota. Independent contractors and certain flight deck or cabin crew members are excluded. Most employers in the state are covered. The federal government is an excluded employer.
What:
- Beginning at the start of their employment, employees accrue at least one hour of ESST for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 48 hours in a year.
- An employer can choose to frontload ESST to an employee that meets or exceeds the requirements of the law instead of using an accrual method. The amount of ESST to be frontloaded depends on whether an employer pays an employee for accrued but unused sick and safe time at the end of the year: 48 hours, if an employer pays out unused time at the end of the year, or 80 hours, if an employer does not pay. Employees can begin to use ESST as it is accrued.
- Increments: Employers may set a reasonable minimum increment for paid leave not exceeding 4 hours per day.
- Employers that already have an existing equivalent or more generous paid leave policy are not required to provide additional ESST.
An employee may use ESST for:
- Medical: an employee’s mental or physical illness, injury, or other health condition, need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, or need for preventive medical or health care.
- Family care: caring for a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or other health condition, who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or other health condition, or who needs preventive medical or health care.
- Safe leave: leave from work because of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking of the employee or employee’s family member.
- Business/school closure: closure of the employee’s place of business due to weather or other public emergency or an employee’s need to care for a family member whose school or place of care has been closed due to weather or another public emergency.
- Public emergency: the employee’s inability to work or telework because the employee is: (i) prohibited from working by the employer due to health concerns related to the potential transmission of a communicable illness related to a public emergency; or (ii) seeking or awaiting the results of a diagnostic test for, or a medical diagnosis of, a communicable disease related to a public emergency and such employee has been exposed to a communicable disease or the employee’s employer has requested a test or diagnosis.
- Exposure: when it has been determined by the health authorities having jurisdiction or by a health care professional that the presence of the employee or family member of the employee in the community would jeopardize the health of others because of the exposure of the employee or family member of the employee to a communicable disease, whether or not the employee or family member has actually contracted the communicable disease.
Expanded: Minnesota Pregnancy Accommodation Law
When: Effective July 1, 2023
Who: Previously, the state pregnancy accommodation law only covered employers with 15 or more employees. The change expands the law to apply to all employers including the state and its political subdivisions.
What: The law now expressly provides that reasonable accommodations could include a temporary leave of absence, modification in work schedule or job assignment, more frequent or longer break periods, as well as longer restroom, food, and water breaks. In addition, an employer is expressly prohibited from discharging, disciplining, penalizing, interfering with, threatening, restraining, coercing, or otherwise retaliating or discriminating against an employee for asserting their rights or remedies. The right to reinstatement after leave is now extended to employees who took pregnancy accommodation leave. Lastly, employers must provide a notice of rights to their employees at the time of hire and at the time of inquiry or request of parental leave. The notice should also be included in a written employee manual or policy if the employer has one.
Expanded: Minnesota Parental Leave Law
When: Effective July 1, 2023
Who: The requirement to provide parental leave previously applied to employers with 21 or more employees. The amendment expands coverage to all employers with one or more employees. Additionally, the law expands the definition of eligible employee to mean a person who performs services for hire for an employer and removes the length of service and hours worked requirements.
What: An employer is expressly prohibited from discharging, disciplining, penalizing, interfering with, threatening, restraining, coercing, or otherwise retaliating or discriminating against an employee for asserting their rights or remedies. In addition, employers must provide a notice of rights to their employees at the time of hire and at the time of inquiry or request of parental leave. The notice should also be included in a written employee manual or policy if the employer has one.
FINEOS can help with your state leave programs
FINEOS will be ready to administer these new and amended state leave programs. Using modern insurance technology solutions like the FINEOS Platform can help insurance carriers remain compliant and competitive when leave legislation is revised and new products are authorized by governing jurisdictions. Learn more about how a modern, integrated disability and absence management (IDAM) solution can help your organization adapt to this rapidly evolving market and remain in compliance.
