1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to public health; establishing minimum standards of sick leave for certain 
1.3 	workers; providing civil penalties; requiring rulemaking;proposing coding for 
1.4 	new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 181.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. PURPOSE.
 1.7 	The purpose of the Emergency Public Health Protection Act is: (1) to minimize the 
1.8 	spread of contagious illnesses in the workplace and prevent disruptions to commerce; 
1.9 	(2) to ensure that all working Minnesotans can address their own health needs and the 
1.10 	health needs of their families, related to a contagious illness; (3) to diminish public and 
1.11 	private health care costs by enabling employees to seek early and routine medical care for 
1.12 	themselves and their families, related to a contagious illness; and (4) to provide paid sick 
1.13 	time to employees due to closure of a place of business due to a contagious illness or a 
1.14 	need to care for a child whose school, child care, or early childhood program has been 
1.15 	closed due to contagious illness.

1.16 	Sec. 2. [181.9395] SICK LEAVE.
1.17 		Subdivision 1.Citation; Emergency Public Health Protection Act. This section 
1.18 	may be cited as the "Emergency Public Health Protection Act."
1.19 		Subd. 2.Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions 
1.20 	apply.
1.21 	(b) "Child" means biological child, adopted or foster child, stepchild or legal ward, 
1.22 	or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis who is under the age of 18 years 
2.1 	or who is 18 years of age or older but incapable of self care or earning a living due to a 
2.2 	physical or mental disability or incapacity.
2.3 	(c) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of labor and industry or an authorized 
2.4 	designee or representative.
2.5 	(d) "Contagious illness" includes influenza-like illnesses such as an illness from the 
2.6 	2009 H1N1 virus and any other illness as determined by the commissioner in consultation 
2.7 	with the commissioner of health.
2.8 	(e) "Covered employee" means an employee who has been employed for not less 
2.9 	than 30 days by the employer from whom paid sick time is requested.
2.10 	(f) "Department" means the Department of Labor and Industry.
2.11 	(g) "Employ" is as defined in the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act, section 
2.12 	177.23, subdivision 5.
2.13 	(h) "Employee" is as defined in the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act, section 
2.14 	177.23, subdivision 7, and includes recipients of public benefits who are engaged in work 
2.15 	activity as a condition of receiving public assistance.
2.16 	(i) "Employer" is as defined in the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act, section 
2.17 	177.23, subdivision 6.
2.18 	(j) "Extended family member" means any other individual related by blood or 
2.19 	affinity whose close association with the covered employee is the equivalent of a family 
2.20 	relationship.
2.21 	(k) "Grandparent" means a parent of a parent.
2.22 	(l) "Paid sick leave" means leave that is compensated at the same hourly rate as the 
2.23 	employee earns from employment and is provided by an employer to a covered employee 
2.24 	for the purposes described in subdivision 4.
2.25 	(m) "Parent" means a biological parent, foster parent, stepparent or adoptive parent, 
2.26 	or legal guardian of a covered employee or an employee's spouse, or a person who stood 
2.27 	in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child.
2.28 	(n) "Retaliatory personnel action" means the discharge, suspension, or demotion by 
2.29 	an employer of a covered employee or any other adverse employment action taken by an 
2.30 	employer against a covered employee in the terms and conditions of employment.
2.31 	(o) "Spouse" means a person to whom the covered employee is legally married 
2.32 	under the laws of Minnesota.
2.33 		Subd. 3.Provision of paid sick leave. (a) A covered employee who works at least 
2.34 	56 hours in the state has the right to paid sick leave as provided in this section.
3.1 	(b) An employer that employs fewer than ten employees must provide a covered 
3.2 	employee who works 30 or more hours a week 40 hours of paid sick leave in a calendar 
3.3 	year.
3.4 	(c) An employer that employs ten or more employees must provide a covered 
3.5 	employee who works 30 or more hours a week 72 hours of paid sick leave in a calendar 
3.6 	year.
3.7 	(d) An employer shall annually provide, to each covered employee employed by 
3.8 	the employer for less than 30 hours a week, a number of days or hours of paid sick 
3.9 	leave. The number of days or hours shall be determined under a formula specified by the 
3.10 	commissioner that is designed to provide an approximate pro rata share of the hours of 
3.11 	paid sick leave described in paragraphs (b) and (c), based on the hours worked by the 
3.12 	covered employee.
3.13 	(e) An employer complies with this section if the employer has a paid leave policy 
3.14 	that makes available an amount of paid leave that may be used for the same purposes and 
3.15 	under the same conditions as paid sick leave under this section.
3.16 	(f) An employer may adopt or retain leave policies that are more generous to a 
3.17 	covered employee than the policies required under this section.
3.18 	(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring financial or other 
3.19 	reimbursement to a covered employee from an employer upon the employee's termination, 
3.20 	resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment for paid sick leave that 
3.21 	has not been used.
3.22 		Subd. 4.Use of paid sick leave. (a) Subject to subdivision 3, an employer must 
3.23 	allow a covered employee to use accrued paid sick leave for:
3.24 	(1) an absence resulting from the medical condition of a covered employee 
3.25 	experiencing the symptoms of a contagious illness, including the need to obtain medical 
3.26 	diagnosis or care, or an absence to obtain preventive care for the employee for a 
3.27 	contagious illness; 
3.28 	(2) an absence due to a determination by a health authority having jurisdiction or by 
3.29 	a health care provider that the covered employee's presence on the job would jeopardize 
3.30 	the health of others because of the employee's exposure to a contagious illness; 
3.31 	(3) an absence for the purpose of caring for a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, 
3.32 	or extended family member of the covered employee who is experiencing symptoms 
3.33 	of a contagious illness, including the need to obtain medical diagnosis or care, or an 
3.34 	absence to obtain preventive care for a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, or extended 
3.35 	family member for a contagious illness; 
4.1 	(4) an absence for the purpose of caring for a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, 
4.2 	or extended family member of the covered employee due to a determination by a health 
4.3 	authority having jurisdiction or by a health care provider that presence of the spouse, 
4.4 	child, parent, grandparent, or extended family member in the community would jeopardize 
4.5 	the health of others because of the exposure to a contagious illness of the spouse, child, 
4.6 	parent, grandparent, or extended family member; or
4.7 	(5) closure of the covered employee's place of business due to a contagious illness or 
4.8 	a covered employee's need to care for a child whose school, child care, or early childhood 
4.9 	program has been closed due to a contagious illness.
4.10 	(b) Paid sick leave shall be provided upon the oral or written request of the covered 
4.11 	employee.
4.12 	(c) The commissioner in consultation with the commissioner of health shall 
4.13 	determine and issue medical certification requirements for periods of paid sick leave under 
4.14 	this section. Rulemaking is waived for the requirement in this paragraph. An employer 
4.15 	may not require a covered employee to provide medical certification inconsistent with the 
4.16 	requirements developed to receive paid sick leave under this section.
4.17 	(d) An employer may not require as a condition of providing paid sick leave under 
4.18 	this section that a covered employee search for or find a replacement worker to cover the 
4.19 	hours during which the employee is on paid sick leave.
4.20 		Subd. 5.Retaliation prohibited. An employer shall not take retaliatory personnel 
4.21 	action or discriminate against a covered employee because the employee has requested 
4.22 	paid sick leave under this section, taken paid sick leave guaranteed by this section, or 
4.23 	made a complaint or filed an action to enforce a right to paid sick leave under this section.
4.24 		Subd. 6.Notice and posting. (a) An employer must provide to each employee 
4.25 	notice of the following:
4.26 	(1) a covered employee's entitlement to and amount of paid sick leave and the terms 
4.27 	of its use guaranteed under this section;
4.28 	(2) that retaliation against a covered employee who requests or uses paid sick 
4.29 	leave is prohibited; and
4.30 	(3) that each covered employee has the right to file a complaint or bring a civil 
4.31 	action if an employer denies sick leave as required by this section or retaliates against the 
4.32 	employee for requesting or taking paid sick leave.
4.33 	(b) An employer may comply with this section by supplying each employee with a 
4.34 	notice in English and Spanish that contains the information required in paragraph (a).
5.1 	(c) An employer may comply with this section by displaying a poster in a 
5.2 	conspicuous and accessible place in each establishment where an employee is employed 
5.3 	that contains in English and Spanish the information required under paragraph (a).
5.4 	(d) The commissioner shall create and make available to employers for their use 
5.5 	in complying with this subdivision posters that contain the information required under 
5.6 	paragraph (a).
5.7 		Subd. 7.Confidentiality and nondisclosure. If an employer possesses health 
5.8 	information about a covered employee or employee's child, parent, spouse, extended 
5.9 	family member, or other individual described in subdivision 4, paragraph (a), clause 
5.10 	(3) or (4), the information shall be treated as confidential and not disclosed except to 
5.11 	the affected employee, with the permission of the affected employee, or as required by 
5.12 	state or federal law.
5.13 		Subd. 8.Encouragement of more generous leave policies. (a) Nothing in this 
5.14 	section shall be construed to discourage or prohibit an employer from the adoption or 
5.15 	retention of a paid leave policy more generous than the one required by this section.
5.16 	(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed as diminishing the obligation of an 
5.17 	employer to comply with any contract, collective bargaining agreement, employment 
5.18 	benefit plan, or other agreement providing more generous leave to an employee than 
5.19 	required by this section.
5.20 	(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as diminishing the rights of public 
5.21 	employees regarding paid sick leave or use of sick leave as provided in section 43A.1815.
5.22 		Subd. 9.Rulemaking; investigations. (a) The commissioner may adopt rules to 
5.23 	implement this section.
5.24 	(b) The department's Division of Labor Standards and Apprenticeship shall receive 
5.25 	complaints of employees against employers relating to this section and investigate 
5.26 	informally to determine whether an employer may be in violation. The division shall 
5.27 	attempt to resolve employee complaints by informing employees and employers of the 
5.28 	provisions of the law and directing employers to comply with the law.
5.29 		Subd. 10.Individual remedies; penalty. (a) In addition to any remedies otherwise 
5.30 	provided by law, an employee injured by a violation of this section may bring a civil action 
5.31 	to recover any and all damages recoverable at law, together with costs and disbursements, 
5.32 	including reasonable attorney fees, and may receive such injunctive and other equitable 
5.33 	relief as determined by the court.
5.34 	(b) An employer who failed to notify, as required under subdivision 6, an employee 
5.35 	injured by a violation of this section is subject to a civil penalty of $25 per day per injured 
5.36 	employee not to exceed $750 per injured employee.
6.1 	(c) If the district court determines that a violation of this section occurred, the 
6.2 	court may order any appropriate relief, including but not limited to reinstatement, back 
6.3 	pay, restoration of lost service credit, if appropriate, compensatory damages, and the 
6.4 	expungement of any adverse records of an employee who was the subject of the alleged 
6.5 	acts of misconduct.

6.6 	Sec. 3. SEVERABILITY.
 6.7 	If any provision of section 2 or application thereof to any person or circumstance is 
6.8 	judged invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of section 2 
6.9 	which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the 
6.10 	provisions of section 2 are declared severable.

6.11 	Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE; EXPIRATION.
 6.12 	Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day following final enactment and expire two years 
6.13 	from its effective date.