Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) The FMLA applies to covered employers (generally those with 50 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks in the current or prior year, engaged in interstate commerce) and eligible employees (12 months of service and at least 1,250 hours worked in the previous 12 months at a location where 50 employees work within 75 miles). Covered employers must provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job protected leave in a 12 month period for qualifying reasons, including: • Birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child and bonding. • Care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition. • The employee’s own serious health condition. • Certain military related exigencies and military caregiver leave (up to 26 weeks to care for a covered servicemember). Key FMLA points : • Employers must maintain group health coverage during FMLA leave as if the employee had continued working (with limited rights to recover premiums if the employee does not return). • On return, employees must generally be restored to the same or an equivalent position, subject to a narrow “key employee” exception. • Employers must: • Post an official FMLA notice; • Provide general written FMLA information (e.g., in a handbook); and • Provide individualized notices detailing rights, obligations, and consequences when leave is requested. • FMLA rights are a floor; they do not reduce any greater leave rights under state law or a collective bargaining agreement. Definitions of “spouse” and “child” for FMLA purposes reflect federal regulatory rules, including recognition of same sex marriages based on the “place of celebration” and coverage for children for whom an employee stands in loco parentis. Minnesota Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) Effective January 1, 2024, Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) law requires employers to provide paid sick and safe time to eligible employees who work in the state. Key features : • Eligibility: Employees anticipated to work at least 80 hours in a year in Minnesota, other than independent contractors, are generally covered. • Accrual: At least 1 hour of ESST for every 30 hours worked, with a minimum annual accrual of
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