New earned sick and safe time (ESST) law changes | Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry
www.dli.mn.gov
The earned sick and safe time (ESST) law was recently updated to clarify who qualifies for ESST, the rate at which ESST must be paid, ESST application to other paid time off and more. Below is an overview of some of those changes. Note:  Most of these changes are effective as of May 25, 2024.

The new bill primarily clarifies rules that were a bit vague, but it also has new changes that will substantially improve life-work balance.

  • ESST can be used in at least 15 minute increments and cannot be required to use more than four-hour increments
  • Qualifying workers were expanded to people hired with an expectation of working 80 hours in a year, rather than actual hours worked. Some jobs still exempted
  • ESST usage has expanded to bereavement
  • ESST rules for use are expanded to all paid time off
  • Employers that do not provide ESST must pay the worker for twice the amount they were supposed to get in ESST