Amended Minneapolis Sick and Safe Leave Law Upheld on Appeal

By Michael J. Soltis, Esq.

Paid Sick Leave @Work

The Minneapolis Sick and Safe Time Ordinance can be enforced against businesses not physically located in the city but who have employees who work at least 80 hours in a year within the geographic boundaries of the city, according to a state appellate court decision last week. The court also held that the Minneapolis ordinance was not preempted by a state law allowing employees to use their sick leave benefits to care for ill or injured family members and for safe time.

A cadre of business interests brought the legal challenge to the Minneapolis ordinance in January 2017, months before the ordinance went into effect on Jul. 1, 2017. The initial court decisions enjoined the city from enforcing its PSL law against employers who did not have a physical presence in the city. To address this issue, in March 2018, Minneapolis amended its ordinance by narrowing its application to such “extraterritorial” employers. The amendments added that employees accrue PSL time for hours worked “within the geographic boundaries of the city” and could use that time only when scheduled to work “within the geographic boundaries of the city.” These amendments, the city argued, salvaged the Ordinance’s extraterritorial provisions.

Last week, the court of appeals agreed, reversing a state district court decision a year ago which had rejected the Ordinances’ application to businesses outside the city limits.

***This article originally appeared on the Paid Sick Leave @Work site and was reposted on the DMEC website with their permission.***