Paid sick leave. (FE)

The bill Paid sick leave.

This bill requires an employer, including the state, that employs at least one individual full-time or part-time on a permanent or temporary basis to provide an employee who has been employed by the employer for at least 90 consecutive calendar days with paid sick leave at the employee's regular rate of pay that the employee may use for any of the following reasons:

1. Because the employee has a physical or mental illness, injury, impairment, or condition (health condition); is in need of medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a health condition; or is in need of preventive medical care.

2. To care for a family member who has a health condition; who is in need of medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a health condition; or who is in need of preventive medical care. The bill defines "family member" as a spouse or domestic partner of the employee; a parent, child, sibling, including a foster sibling, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandparent, stepgrandparent, or grandchild of an employee or of an employee's spouse or domestic partner; or any other person who is related by blood, marriage, or adoption to an employee or to an employee's spouse or domestic partner and whose close association with the employee, spouse, or domestic partner makes the person the equivalent of a family member of the employee, spouse, or domestic partner.

3. Because the employee's absence from work is necessary in order for the employee to do any of the following:

a. Seek medical attention or obtain psychological or other counseling for the employee or a family member to recover from any health condition caused by domestic abuse, sexual abuse, or stalking.

b. Obtain services for the employee or a family member from an organization that provides services to victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, or stalking.

c. Relocate the residence of the employee or of a family member due to domestic abuse, sexual abuse, or stalking.

d. Initiate, prepare for, or testify, assist, or otherwise participate in any civil or criminal action or proceeding relating to domestic abuse, sexual abuse, or stalking.

Accrual of paid sick leave.

Under the bill, an employee accrues paid sick leave beginning on the first day of employment at the rate of one hour for each 30 hours worked, subject to a maximum of 72 hours of accrued paid sick leave in a calendar year, except that if the employee is employed by an employer that employed fewer than an average of ten employees per week on a permanent or temporary basis during the preceding calendar year (small business), the employee may accrue a maximum of 40 hours of paid sick leave in a calendar year. Paid sick leave accrued carries over from year to year, but an employee may use no more than 72 hours of paid sick leave in a calendar year or, if the employee is employed by a small business, the employee may use no more than 40 hours of paid sick leave in a calendar year. An employee's unused balance of paid sick leave is reduced by one hour for each hour or portion of an hour of paid sick leave used by the employee and has no cash value on termination of employment.

Employee rights.

Under the bill, an employee has all of the following rights:

1) the right to accrue and use paid sick leave as provided under the bill; 2) the right not to be subjected to any act prohibited under the bill; 3) the right to file a complaint with the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) for a violation of the bill and to inform any person about an alleged violation of the bill; and 4) the right to inform any person about any of the rights provided under the bill.

Prohibited acts.

The bill prohibits all of the following:

1. Interfering with, restraining, or denying the exercise of any of the rights provided under the bill.

2. Requiring, as a condition of using paid sick leave, that an employee search for or find a substitute employee to replace the employee while the employee is on paid sick leave.

3. Imposing unreasonable barriers to the use of paid sick leave or requiring, as a condition of using paid sick leave, that an employee provide unreasonable documentation of the health condition of the employee or family member, disclose the details of that health condition, or disclose any information about the domestic abuse, sexual abuse, or stalking that necessitated the employee's absence from work.

If an employer obtains any information about that health condition or that domestic abuse, sexual abuse, or stalking, the employer must keep that information confidential and may not disclose that information except to the employee or to other persons with the consent of the employee.

4. Treating paid sick leave used under the bill as an absence from work that may lead to or result in an adverse employment action; treating the use of such paid sick leave as a negative factor in hiring, evaluating, or promoting an employee; or reducing or denying any benefit or privilege of employment because an employee uses paid sick leave under the bill.

5. Discharging or in any other manner discriminating against any individual for opposing a practice prohibited under the bill, for filing a complaint or attempting to enforce any right provided under the bill, or for testifying or assisting in any action or proceeding to enforce any right provided under the bill.

DWD may order any person who violates any of those prohibitions to take action to remedy the violation, including providing the requested paid sick leave, reinstating an employee, providing up to two years of back pay, and paying reasonable actual attorney fees.

Notice and records.

Finally, the bill requires each employer to provide notice to its employees of the rights of employees under the bill. An employer may comply with this requirement by: 1) providing each employee with a notice in a form approved by DWD setting forth in English, Spanish, and Hmong the rights of employees under the bill; and 2) posting, in one or more conspicuous places where notices to employees are customarily posted, a notice in a form approved by DWD setting forth in English, Spanish, and Hmong the rights of employees under the bill.

The bill also requires employers to keep full and accurate records of the number of hours worked and paid sick leave used by their employees, to retain those records for five years after the hours are worked or the paid sick leave is used, and to furnish those records to DWD on request.