Sick/Safe Time Ordinances in Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Contrary to popular belief, the Minnesota legislature did not pass a law that disallowed cities, such as Saint Paul and Minneapolis, from passing its own laws related to sick and safe time. As a result, effective July 1, 2017, your business had to cover sick/safe time for your employees as required under the ordinances.

It is important to analyze each ordinance separately as it relates to your business as the ordinances, while having several similarities are also vastly different. For example, the Saint Paul ordinance covers every business that has one or more employees the same. On the other hand, under the Minneapolis ordinance, businesses with five or fewer employees do not have to offer the benefit as a paid benefit while businesses with more than five employees have to offer sick/safe time as a paid benefit.

Another significant difference is that the Saint Paul ordinance gave employees the right to sue their employer in a private cause of action. The Minneapolis ordinance did not. So, for businesses covered under the Saint Paul ordinance, if an employee sues you for retaliation under the law, and the employee wins, your business has to pay the employee’s attorney’s fees. As a result, it is extremely important (and less costly) to spend the funds initially on an attorney to ensure you are complying with the ordinances.

The material contained herein is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to create or constitute an attorney-client relationship between Spangler and de Stefano, PLLP and the reader. The information contained herein is not offered as legal advice and should not be construed as legal advice.