LANSING — With the dust settled on Michigan’s new sick time policies, business experts talked with 9&10 News about what employers and workers need to know.
Employees are allowed to use sick time for a variety of reasons, including for mental health reasons, for preventative care or to help care for a loved one.
Employers still need to retain hour and accrual records for at least three years. If they don’t and an employee brings a complaint, the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity will presume that an employer is in violation of the policies.
The requirements on small and large businesses are the same, other than the maximum hours that can be taken in a year.
“All of those entities also need to comply with the Earned Sick Time Act and to allow their employees to accrue one hour for every 30 hours worked, and provide 40 hours paid if they’re small business, 72 hours paid if they’re a bigger business,” said Wendy Block, senior vice president of business advocacy for the Michigan Chamber.
This year only, small businesses will be exempt from the policies until Oct. 1. Until then, small employers will not be required to track or grant paid sick time, and hours worked until then will not count toward an employee’s accrual.
If a business employs more than 10 employees for at least 20 work weeks in a year, they’re considered a large business for that calendar year and for the next. This figure includes part-time and temporary workers.
“This is going to be for larger employers,” said John McNamara, vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association. “This is going to be for your resorts. This is going to be for places on Mackinac Island.”
while the sick time law doesn’t exempt seasonal workers from sick time accrual, employers are allowed to prevent their employees from taking earned sick time in the first 120 days of their employment, essentially skirting the requirement if someone works for less than four months.
“If a seasonal worker is employed for under four months, then they truly would not get to a point where the mandate would start to cover them,” said Brian Calley, former Republican lieutenant governor and president of the Small Business Association of Michigan.
Calley encouraged all businesses to make sure they’re in compliance with the laws.
“I think people really need to be up to speed. You have to have notified your employees of their rights under this law and and be compliant as soon as you can,” he said.
More information on the policies, including a poster required for each workplace, can be found with the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.