Origins of the Legislation

Initiated as a citizen-petitioned ballot measure, the Michigan Legislature adopted the Earned Sick Time Act as written to keep it from being placed before the voting public and as a means to modify it. Michigan is the 11th state to enact a mandatory sick-time law. After revisions that improve the legistation’s impact on employer/employee relations, Michigan’s Paid Medical Leave Act was signed into law and will take effect March 29, 2019

New Benefit Requirements

The new law impacts eligible employees at companies with 50+ employees. It will not apply to certain employee categories including exempt employees, temporary workers, private sector workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement, contractors, and certain part-time and seasonal employees.

Covered employees will accrue a minimum of 1 hour of paid sick time for every 35 hours worked, up to 40 hours annually. This time can include paid medical leave, vacation days, personal days and paid time off. The law does allow for limited carry-over of unused accrued time.

Documentation and Reporting

Employers are required to update workplace posters to include information regarding the Paid Medical Leave Act.  In addition, employers are required to retain records documenting the hours worked and paid medical leave taken by eligible employees.

The final law requires employees to comply with their employer’s standard sick time notification policies and states that an employee should be given up to three days to provide documentation to support their need for leave.

Leave can be taken in increments of 1 hour, unless the employer has a different policy that is communicated through an employee handbook.

Workplace and Administration Implications

The new paid sick time law takes effect in Michigan on March 29, 2019. To prepare for compliance, employers should review their existing time-off policies for sick time, vacation time, and personal time, and assure that minimum requirements are met and procedures are fully communicated to any employee group that is impacted. In addition, verbiage may need to be added to specify that PTO includes paid medical leave.

This FAQ document from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce is a useful reference to help you understand the new law.

Next Steps

This legislation covers EG’s sick time policies for our corporate team, but it does NOT impact our team of temporary workers. Our current PTO policies comply with this legislation and no changes to our policies for our team of temporary workers are planned. EG’s Human Resource leadership team and our legal advisors continually monitor legislation such as this to assure full compliance. When changes are necessary, we will share our updated benefits and reporting processes with you – our employer partners, our corporate employees, and our contingent workforce; making sure each individual knows what new legislation means to them.

Contact EG to discuss this or any matter relating to human resources or candidate recruiting issues. info@eg-us.com