Agenda - Council Work Session - 10/24/2023

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2. 2. CC Work Session Meeting Date: 10/24/2023 Primary Strategic Plan Initiative: Strive for high organizational morale and employee retention Information Title: Discuss Employee Sick and Safe Time Purpose/Background: The purpose of this discussion is to update the City Council on a new law that will be effective January 1, 2024 called Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) and to receive feedback from the City Council regarding whether or not to keep the City's current sick leave policy(more restricted than ESST) as is, or to expand it to the new eligibility as defined under Minnesota's earned sick and safe time law. Background: Effective January 1, 2024, sick and safe time is paid leave employers must provide to employees in Minnesota that can be used for certain reasons, including when an employee is sick,to care for a sick family member or to seek assistance if an employee or their family member has experienced domestic abuse. The new law requires employers to provide paid leave to employees who work in the state. An employee is anyone who works at least 80 hours in a year for an employer in Minnesota,but does not include independent contractors. Temporary and part-time employees are covered under the law. Currently,the City does not provide paid sick time for temporary employees,paid-on-call firefighters, election judges, or the City Council. Staff is closely watching to receive updates regarding these somewhat unusual roles being included in the law. To-date,new information has not been proposed. Staff is meeting with the League of Minnesota Cities on Monday to receive additional feedback and advice on this issue and the overall ESST administration. Several area cities have shared information on how they plan to administer the new law. Staff will share this information with the City Council during the meeting. Most importantly: Staff are not proposing additional sick leave over and above the current policy. Essentially, staff is looking for the City Council's feedback specific to the 48 hours not covered by ESST. The administration of having two separate accruals will be labor intensive and will require an agreement with the unions. There are pros and cons to either approach; Finance Director Lund will provide details on this matter. The new law states employees can use their earned sick and safe time for reasons such as: (Note: Bold font items are NOT in the City's current policy) • the employee's mental or physical illness,treatment or preventive care; • a family member's mental or physical illness,treatment or preventive care; (dependent on Ramsey's current policy definition of family) • absence due to domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking of the employee or a family member; (dependent on Ramsey's current policy definition of family) • closure of the employee's workplace due to weather or public emergency or closure of a family member's school or care facility due to weather or public emergency; and •when determined by a health authority or health care professional that the employee or family member is at risk of infecting others with a communicable disease.(dependent on Ramsey's current policy definition of family)