1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to employment; providing for elder care 
  1.3             leave; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 
  1.4             181.9412; 181.9413. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 181.9412, is 
  1.7   amended to read: 
  1.8      181.9412 [SCHOOL CONFERENCE AND ACTIVITIES LEAVE; ELDER 
  1.9   CARE LEAVE.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITION.] For purposes of this section, 
  1.11  "employee" does not include the requirement of section 181.940, 
  1.12  subdivision 2, clause (1).  
  1.13     Subd. 1a.  [FOSTER CHILD.] For the purpose of this section, 
  1.14  "child" includes a foster child. 
  1.15     Subd. 2.  [SCHOOL CONFERENCE AND ACTIVITIES LEAVE OF 16 
  1.16  HOURS.] An employer must grant an employee leave of up to a 
  1.17  total of 16 hours during any 12-month period to attend school 
  1.18  conferences or school-related activities related to the 
  1.19  employee's child, provided the conferences or school-related 
  1.20  activities cannot be scheduled during nonwork hours.  If the 
  1.21  employee's child receives child care services as defined in 
  1.22  section 119B.011, subdivision 7, or attends a prekindergarten 
  1.23  regular or special education program, the employee may use the 
  1.24  leave time provided in this section to attend a conference or 
  1.25  activity related to the employee's child, or to observe and 
  2.1   monitor the services or program, provided the conference, 
  2.2   activity, or observation cannot be scheduled during nonwork 
  2.3   hours.  When the leave cannot be scheduled during nonwork hours 
  2.4   and the need for the leave is foreseeable, the employee must 
  2.5   provide reasonable prior notice of the leave and make a 
  2.6   reasonable effort to schedule the leave so as not to disrupt 
  2.7   unduly the operations of the employer. 
  2.8      Subd. 2a.  [ELDER CARE LEAVE.] An employer must grant an 
  2.9   employee leave of up to a total of 16 hours during any 12-month 
  2.10  period to assist elderly or disabled parents, grandparents, 
  2.11  stepparents, and foster and adoptive parents to attend 
  2.12  appointments with a health care provider, provided the health 
  2.13  care appointments cannot be scheduled during nonwork hours. 
  2.14     Subd. 3.  [NO PAY REQUIRED; SUBSTITUTE OF PAID LEAVE.] 
  2.15  Nothing in this section requires that the leave be paid; except 
  2.16  that an employee may substitute any accrued paid vacation leave 
  2.17  or other appropriate paid leave for any part of the leave under 
  2.18  this section.  
  2.19     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 181.9413, is 
  2.20  amended to read: 
  2.21     181.9413 [SICK OR INJURED CHILD CARE AND ELDER CARE LEAVE.] 
  2.22     (a) An employee may use personal sick leave benefits 
  2.23  provided by the employer for absences due to an illness of or 
  2.24  injury to the employee's child for such reasonable periods as 
  2.25  the employee's attendance with the child may be necessary, on 
  2.26  the same terms the employee is able to use sick leave benefits 
  2.27  for the employee's own illness or injury.  An employee may use 
  2.28  personal sick leave benefits provided by the employer for 
  2.29  absences due to an illness of or injury to the employee's 
  2.30  elderly or disabled parents, grandparents, stepparents, foster 
  2.31  parents, adoptive parents, and parents of a spouse to attend 
  2.32  appointments with a health care provider.  This section applies 
  2.33  only to personal sick leave benefits payable to the employee 
  2.34  from the employer's general assets. 
  2.35     (b) For purposes of this section, "personal sick leave 
  2.36  benefits" means time accrued and available to an employee to be 
  3.1   used as a result of absence from work due to personal illness or 
  3.2   injury, but does not include short-term or long-term disability 
  3.3   or other salary continuation benefits. 
  3.4      Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.5      Sections 1 and 2 are effective the day following final 
  3.6   enactment.