Requiring minimum paid sick and safe time for employees, providing a penalty, and including applicability provisions

The bill provides that all employees shall have the right to accrue and use sick and safe time. The formula for accruing sick and safe time is contained in the bill, and there are limits for the amount of sick and safe time an employee may accrue per year, unless the employer sets a higher accrual percentage or limit. The bill provides a formula for accruing sick and safe time and the limitations and exceptions. Sick and safe time shall begin to accrue for new employees hired on or after January 1, 2022, on the first day of work and for existing employees on January 1, 2022. Employees may use accrued sick and safe time starting the 21st day of employment. Sick and safe time shall carry over one year, but an employee shall not accrue more than hours of sick and safe time per year. An employer who provides a leave policy that meets the minimum accrual requirements and the same minimum uses and conditions is deemed to be in compliance with the bill. The bill does not require employees to be reimbursed for unused sick and safe time upon separation from employment. However, if an employee is moved or transferred within the company, the employee shall retain and may use all accrued sick and safe time. If there is an employment separation, but an employee is rehired within six months, all accrued sick and safe time shall be reinstated upon rehire and be available for immediate use. An employer has the discretion to advance sick and safe time to an employee. The bill provides specific reasons for which employees may use the sick and safe time. An employee shall give reasonable notice to an employer when use of sick and safe time is foreseeable and shall make a reasonable effort to schedule the use of sick and safe time in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer. When an employee uses more than three consecutive days of sick and safe time, an employer may require reasonable documentation that the time used is covered as provided in the bill. If an employer chooses to require documentation from an employee for use of sick and safe time, the employer is responsible for paying any costs charged to the employee by a health care provider or other entity for providing the specific documentation required by the employer. If the employee has health insurance that covers any portion of the costs of obtaining such documentation, the employer shall only be responsible for paying costs that are not covered by the employee’s health insurance. An employer shall not require an employee to find a replacement worker in order to use sick and safe time. The bill provides an employee the right to use sick and safe time to file a complaint against an employer, and various other rights. The bill prohibits employer retaliation against an employee exercising those rights. Employers are required to give employees notice of their rights to sick and safe time either by supplying each employee with a notice or by posting such notice in an accessible and obvious place where employees work. Violations of the notice and posting requirements may result in a civil penalty of not more than $100 for each offense. An employee may recover the monetary value of owed sick and safe time plus liquidated damages for the wrongful denial of use of accrued sick and safe time if an employer is shown to have intentionally violated the bill. An employer must retain records documenting hours worked by each employee and the amount of leave, including sick and safe time, taken by employees for five years. The labor commissioner shall have reasonable access to these records. If a question arises about an employee’s right to sick and safe time and an employer does not have adequate records or does not allow the commissioner to examine the employer’s records, the commissioner shall presume that the employer has violated the bill. The bill authorizes an employee to submit a written complaint to the commissioner, who will determine whether to investigate the claim that an employer has violated any provision of new Code chapter 91F. If the commissioner decides to investigate, the commissioner shall commence a civil action against the employer. An employer shall not require an employee to disclose details relating to having been a victim of crime or a medical or mental condition as a condition of using sick and safe time. An employer who has such information shall treat the information as confidential and not disclose it without written consent of the affected employee. The bill provides that new Code chapter 91F does not prohibit an employer from providing a more generous sick and safe time policy than required by the bill, does not diminish an employer’s previous contractual obligations for more generous sick and safe time, and does not diminish public employees’ other rights to sick and safe time as provided by law. The commissioner is required to create a poster and other informational materials which an employer may use for public display. The poster and other informational materials must comply with the notice requirements for sick and safe time provided in the bill. The commissioner is to make the poster and other informational materials available to an employer upon verification of compliance with the bill. The bill applies to all existing employees on and after January 1, 2022, and to all new hires on or after that date, but does not apply to employees under contracts or collective bargaining agreements in effect before January 1, 2022.