Minnesota Employee Sick and Safe Time versus Minnesota Paid Family and Medical Leave
Read more from the Guardian Absence Management blog
Minnesota has passed a new law requiring paid sick leave for employees, Minnesota Employee Sick and Safe Time (ESST). Effective January 1, 2024, all eligible employees in the state will accrue up to 48 hours of paid sick and safe time – one hour of full wage replacement earned for every 30 hours worked. Most Minnesota employees are eligible, as long as they work at least 80 hours in a year for the same employer. The new ESST law replaces Minnesota’s voluntary sick leave program for employers.
What does this mean for employers in Minnesota? All employers have the responsibility to ensure that they are administering ESST according to the law. Employers should confirm that they have appropriate tracking in place to ensure that only those who are eligible receive this time and get paid when they do use it. Additionally, employers should work with their payroll or workforce vendors (if applicable) to ensure alignment. In contrast to ESST, Minnesota’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program – proposed in 2023 and effective in 2026 – will partially replace wages for up to 20 weeks per year for eligible employees.
Here’s a comparison of the Minnesota ESST law and the proposed Minnesota PFML program.
| MN ESST | MN PFML |
Effective Date | 1/1/2024 | Scheduled to launch 1/1/2026 |
Purpose | The ESST law is designed to provide eligible employees with paid time off for specific reasons, such as illness, medical appointments, and safety-related issues. | The PFML program will provide eligible employees with paid leave for qualifying family events and medical reasons, such as bonding with a new child, an employee’s own serious health condition, or caring for a family member with a serious health condition. |
Coverage | The ESST law applies to Minnesota employers of any size, and allows eligible employees to accrue up to 48 hours of paid time off based on hours worked. | The PFML program applies to most employers with one or more employees working in Minnesota and will likely cover a broader range of family and medical situations compared to the ESST law. |
Usage | An employee may use earned sick and safe time for a host of reasons outlined by the new law (see Minn. Stat. § 181.9447, subd. 1 for the entire list of eligible uses), including, but not limited to: the “employee’s mental or physical illness, treatment, or other health condition,” and for 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 other public emergency” or closure of a family member’s school or care facility due to the same causes; and when determined by a health authority or health care professional that the employee or family member is at risk of infecting others with a communicable disease. | The PFML program will allow Minnesota workers up to 12 weeks off per year to care for a newborn child or a sick family member, and up to 12 weeks to recover from their own serious illness. The leave reasons include: bonding, care of a family member, military exigency, family violence issues, safety leave, and for an employee’s own serious health condition with a combined maximum length of leave of 20 weeks in a 12-month period. Benefits will be capped at 20 weeks per year for employees who take advantage of both a serious illness and care of a family member. |
Compensation | During the use of ESST, employees are entitled to receive their regular rate of pay. | MN PFML will cover a percentage of the employee’s wages during the qualified leave period up to the maximum benefit which equals the state’s average weekly wage. |
Leave administered by Guardian | No | Planning for 2026 |
Learn more about Minnesota’s PFML program on our Absence Management blog.
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