ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota House passed a bill just before midnight Friday providing earned sick time to all workers, whether they are employed full-time, part-time, or seasonally.
The vote came after more than seven hours of discussion on the House floor.
Although the majority of Minnesota’s workforce has access to paid sick days, DFL Representative Liz Olson of Duluth said that 900,000 of the state’s employees do not have the same luxury.
“The reality of life is, everyone gets sick at one point or another,” Olson said at a news conference. “When we do get sick, workers should have the basic right to stay home.”
Olson’s bill would establish an accrual system, under which she said a worker would basically need to be on the job full-time for six weeks to earn just one day of sick time. On a gradual basis, workers could eventually earn one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, for a maximum of 48 hours of sick time per year. They could carry unused sick time into the next year, but they could not bank more than 80 hours. If businesses do not comply, they could be fined up to $10,000.
Four of the five largest cities in Minnesota have already adopted some form of earned sick leave.
“We’ve seen this policy work in Duluth, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington,” Olson said on the House floor, “and 16 other states.”
Although outnumbered in the chamber, the House Republicans unsuccessfully offered several amendments to the bill, largely to offer more flexibility or exemptions to small businesses. Another amendment aimed to reduce the number of fines levied against businesses that fail to comply with the earned sick time policy.
Rep. Jim Nash (R-Waconia), meanwhile, proposed giving cities the right to pass ordinances exempting businesses from state law.
“I’m trying to drive local control here,” Nash said. “Why are we making this a one-size-fits-all, when they know things better inside of the boundaries of their cities, and can make the best of this?”
During the early part of the hours-long discussion Thursday, Rep. Pat Garofalo (R-Farmington) cited his conversation with an Apple Valley business owner as the basis of his opposition to the bill. He said this particular business does not currently track PTO and gives employees the discretion to take time off when needed.
“And they’re telling me now, with this bill, they’re going to have to build into their system and keep track of everything, a benefit set, that’s actually going to be worse for their employees,” Garofalo said. “The smallest of employers in Minnesota, the ones who cannot absorb the mandates that your big businesses, your Targets, your Walmarts, your multi-national corporations can absorb… these are the local mom-and-pop shops who are not able to get the leverage of government to take their side.”
To be clear, this bill is separate from the DFL’s proposal for paid family leave.
“They work together. We want both, right? Whether you’re sick for a day or two days, versus you have cancer and need to be out for a long period of time… We need both of these benefits,” Olson said. “But they work and function very differently.”
The earned sick time bill is currently under review by the Senate Finance Committee.
Watch more Minnesota politics:
Watch the latest political coverage from the Land of 10,000 Lakes in our YouTube playlist: