April 2023: Bloomington, MN, with Release of Initial Rules of Paid Sick and Safe

Update Applicable to:
All employers in the city of Bloomington, Minnesota

What happened?
On March 31, 2023, Bloomington, Minnesota, published “initial” rules implementing its Earned Sick and Safe Leave (ESSL) Ordinance.

What are the details?
Effective July 1, 2023, the ordinance will generally require employers to provide certain employees working in Bloomington with up to 48 hours of ESSL per year. The Bloomington ordinance is a near replica of the Minneapolis Sick and Safe Time Ordinance, which has been in effect since July 1, 2017. However, the rules emphasize some of the particular nuances of the Bloomington ordinance and how we anticipate it will be enforced by the city.

Covered Employees
The ordinance covers all employees (including part-time and temporary employees) performing work in Bloomington for at least 80 hours in a year for their employer. The rules explain that once an employee performs work in Bloomington for at least 80 hours a year, the employee is entitled to accrue ESSL for all hours they perform work for that employer during the remainder of that year in Bloomington. However, for accrual purposes, the employee must be credited the initial 80 hours they worked in Bloomington (i.e., the employee retroactively begins accruing ESSL from the first hour worked in Bloomington).

The rules also address how employers track hours worked for employees who might only occasionally work in Bloomington. Specifically, they allow employers to reasonably estimate how long an employee works in Bloomington using supporting documentation that could include “dispatch logs, employee logs, delivery addresses and estimated travel times, or historical averages.”

Covered Employers
When businesses use temporary agencies for staffing, questions arise about which party is responsible for providing ESSL to a worker. The rules provide that, for ESSL purposes, the temporary agency is considered the worker’s employer (and is responsible for ESSL compliance) unless the agency and client-business have a different agreement.

Below are hyperlinks with more information about the final rules provided by one our most trusted Sources, Littler:

Using ESSL

Rehired Employees

Other Requirements and Restrictions

For more information, please see the links below:

Initial Rules

Published Notice

Article

What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links provided above and should start planning for the adoption or revision of written policies before July 1, 2023, the effective date of the ordinance.