Minneapolis Amends Sick Leave Law

The Details

Background

Since July 1, 2017, Minneapolis has required employers in the city to provide sick leave to employees. Under that law, employers with six or more employees (regardless of location) must provide paid sick leave. Smaller employers must also provide sick leave, but it may be unpaid.

In 2024, Minnesota began enforcing its own statewide paid sick leave law, which differed from the city’s in important ways.  Significantly, with few exceptions, the Minnesota law requires all employers to provide paid sick leave. 

Ordinance No. 2025-041

Effective December 31, 2025, Ordinance No. 2025-041 amends the city’s sick leave requirement. Many of the changes are intended to align the city’s law with the state’s law. Here is a summary of some of those provisions. 

Paid Leave Required and Base Rate Defined

The amended law aligns with the state’s paid leave requirement. The amended law also requires employers with covered employees to compensate employees at the same hourly rate with the same benefits as employee's “base rate” for the hours the employee was scheduled to work during the time the employee uses their paid sick leave.

The amended law defines ‘base rate’ as:

·      For employees paid on an hourly basis, the same rate they received per hour of work;

·      For employees paid on an hourly basis who receive multiple hourly rates, the rate the employee would have been paid for the period of time in which leave was taken;

·      For employees paid on a salary basis, the same rate guaranteed to the employee as if the employee hadn’t taken the leave; and

·      For employees paid solely on a commission, piecework, or any basis other than hourly or salary, a rate no less than the applicable local, state, or federal minimum wage, whichever is greater.

The definition of base rate doesn’t include:

·      Commissions;

·      Shift differentials that are in addition to an hourly rate;

·      Premium payments for overtime work;

·      Premium payments for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or scheduled days off;

·      Bonuses; or

·      Gratuities

Employee Coverage

The amended paid sick leave requirement covers employees (including temporary and part-time) working in Minneapolis who are anticipated by the employer to perform work within the geographic boundaries of the city for at least 80 hours in a year for that employer.

For purposes of the law “employee” does not include

·      Independent contractors.

·      An individual who is:

o   A volunteer firefighter or paid on-call firefighter, with a department charged with the prevention or suppression of fires within the boundaries of the state;

o   A volunteer ambulance attendant

o   An ambulance service person who serves in a paid on-call position.

o   An individual who is an elected official of the city or a person who is appointed to fill a vacancy in an elected office in the city elected office of the city.

Permitted Uses

Under the amended law, an employee may use the paid sick leave as it accrues for:

·      The employee’s mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventive care;

·      A family member’s mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventive care;

·      Absence due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking of the employee or a family member;

·      Closure of the employee’s workplace due to weather or public emergency or closure of a family member’s school or care facility due to weather or public emergency; and

·      When determined by a health authority or healthcare professional that the employee or family member is at risk of infecting others with a communicable disease.

·      When they need to make arrangements for or attend funeral services or a memorial, or address financial or legal matters that arise after the death of a family member.

See the text of the amended law for other permitted uses and complete details.

An employer is only required to allow an employee to use paid sick leave under the law when the employee is scheduled to perform work within the geographic boundaries of the city.

Paid sick leave may be used in the same increment of time for which employees are paid.  However, employers are not required to provide leave in less than fifteen (15) minute increments.  Employers cannot require use of paid sick leave in more than four-hour increments.

Covered Family Members

The amended law defines a family member as any of the following.

·      Child, including foster child, adult child, legal ward, child for whom the employee is legal guardian or child to whom the employee stands or stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent);

·      Spouse or registered domestic partner;

·      Sibling, stepsibling, or foster sibling;

·      Biological, adoptive or foster parent, stepparent, or a person who stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent) when the employee was a minor child;

·      Grandchild, foster grandchild or step-grandchild;

·      Grandparent or step-grandparent;

·      A child of a sibling of the employee;

·      A sibling of the parents of the employee;

·      A child-in-law or sibling-in-law;

·      Any of the family members listed above of an employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner;

·      Any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship; and

·      Up to one individual annually designated by the employee

Carryover and Frontloading

Under both the original law and the amended law, employers must carry over accrued, unused sick leave into the following year. 

The amended law also provides that, instead of permitting the carryover of accrued, unused paid sick leave into the following year, an employer may provide an employee with paid sick leave for the year that meets or exceeds the amended ordinance’s requirements. These amounts must be made available for the employee's immediate use at the beginning of the subsequent year and are as follows:            

·      48 hours, if an employer pays an employee for accrued but unused paid sick leave at the end of a year at the same base rate of pay as an employee earns from employment and in no case less than minimum wage; or

·      80, if an employer does not pay an employee for accrued but unused sick and safe time at the end of a year.

Employee Notice and Documentation

If the need for paid sick leave is foreseeable, an employer may require advance notice of the intention to use paid sick leave, provided it is no more than seven days' advance notice.

If the need is unforeseeable, an employer may require an employee to give notice of the need for paid sick leave as soon as reasonably required by the employer.

However, an employer that requires notice of the need to use paid sick leave must first have a written policy containing reasonable procedures for employees to provide such notice and must provide a written copy of such policy to employees.

When an employee uses paid sick leave for more than two consecutive scheduled work days, an employer may require reasonable documentation that the time off is covered by the amended law. See the text of the amended law for details.

Poster and Notice

Under the original law and amended law, employers must display a workplace poster in English, and any language spoken by at least five percent of the employees at the workplace or job site, if published by the city.

Under the amended law, employers must also provide another notice to all employees.

At the commencement of employment, employers must supply employees with a notice in English and the primary language of the employee, as identified by the employee, that contains all the information required below.

•                The amount of paid sick leave;

•                The accrual year for the employee;

•                The terms of use of paid sick leave under city law;

•                A copy of the written policy for providing notice (see employee notice and documentation above)

•                That retaliation against employees who request or use paid sick leave is prohibited; and

•                That each employee has the right to file a complaint or bring a civil action if paid sick leave is denied by the employer or the employee is retaliated against for requesting or using paid sick leave.

The means used by the employer must be at least as effective as the following options for providing notice:

•                Posting a copy of the notice at each location where employees perform work and where the notice must be readily observed and easily reviewed by all employees performing work;

•                Providing a paper or electronic copy of the notice to employees; or

•                A conspicuous posting in a web-based or app-based platform through which an employee performs work.

An employer that provides an employee handbook to its employees must include the required notice in the handbook provided.

Pay Statements

At the end of each pay period, the employer must provide, in writing or electronically, information stating the employee’s then-current amount of:

•                The total number of paid sick leave hours available to the employee for use; and

•                The total number of paid sick leave hours used during the pay period.

Employers may choose a reasonable system for providing this notification, including, but not limited to, listing information on or attached to each pay statement or an online system where employees can access their own information. An employer who chooses to provide this information by electronic means must provide employee access to an employer-owned computer during an employee's regular working hours to review and print.

Next Steps

·      Read the amended law in full.

·      Review paid sick leave policies and practices to ensure compliance with the regulations.