What Is Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time Law?
Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time law, called ESST, has been in effect since January 1, 2024. It requires every employer in the state to provide paid sick leave to employees, regardless of business size. There are no exceptions for small businesses.
ESST is separate from Minnesota’s newer Paid Family and Medical Leave program. You have to comply with both. This guide covers ESST only.
Who Is Covered
An employee is anyone you anticipate will work at least 80 hours in a year in Minnesota. That includes part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers. Independent contractors are not covered.
If you have a dispensary or grow operation with part-time or seasonal staff, those employees almost certainly qualify.
What Employees Can Use ESST For
Employees can use ESST when they are sick, to care for a sick family member, or to seek assistance if they or a family member has experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. It can also be used when a workplace, school, or childcare facility closes due to weather or a public health emergency, and to make arrangements following the death of a family member.
You cannot require employees to explain their specific reason for using it.
How Much Time Employees Earn
Employees earn one hour of ESST for every 30 hours worked, up to at least 48 hours per year. Unused hours carry over from year to year, up to a total cap of 80 hours.
You have two options for how to handle this:
Option 1: Accrue as they go. Track hours worked and credit ESST at the 1-per-30 rate. This requires ongoing tracking but only gives employees what they have actually earned.
Option 2: Front-load the hours. You can provide the full 48 or 80 hours upfront at the beginning of each year. This eliminates the need to track hourly accrual. Many small businesses find this simpler.
If you already offer a PTO policy that covers sick leave and meets the ESST minimums, you may not need to create a separate ESST bucket. The existing policy just needs to comply with all ESST rules.
What You Are Required to Do
Provide the required notice to employees
You must give each employee a written notice at the start of employment, in English and in their primary language if that is different. You must also include a sick and safe time notice in your employee handbook, if you have one. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) provides a model notice you can download and use at dli.mn.gov.
Track and report hours to employees
You are no longer required to include ESST balances on pay stubs. Instead, you can use any reasonable system to inform employees of their available and used hours at the end of each pay period. If you provide this information electronically, you must give employees access to a work computer during regular hours to view and print it.
Pay ESST at the employee’s regular base rate
For hourly employees, that means their regular hourly rate. For salaried employees, it means the same rate they would have received if they had worked that day.
Keep records
Maintain records of ESST accrual and use for at least three years.
Do not retaliate
You cannot discipline or retaliate against an employee for using ESST, and you cannot count ESST use as an absence that triggers any adverse employment action. This includes attendance point systems.
A Few Rules on How Leave Is Used
Employees can use ESST in the same increment of time for which they are paid. You are not required to allow use in less than 15-minute increments, and you cannot require use in more than four-hour increments.
If an employee uses ESST for more than two consecutive scheduled workdays, you may ask for reasonable documentation.
One Thing to Check If You Are in Minneapolis or St. Paul
Local ordinances are in effect in Bloomington, Minneapolis, and St. Paul that differ from the state law. Employers must follow whichever rules are most favorable to employees. If your dispensary is in one of those cities, check the local rules as well as the state requirements.
What Needs to Be in Your Handbook
Your employee handbook must include your ESST policy. At a minimum, it should cover:
- How employees accrue or receive ESST hours
- What they can use it for
- How to request leave and who to notify
- How you track and report their balance
- Your documentation policy for extended absences
- A clear statement that you will not retaliate for using ESST
If your handbook doesn’t have this yet, it is out of compliance. KushHR’s Minnesota Employee Handbook template includes a current, state-specific ESST policy so you are not writing it from scratch.
Quick Checklist
- Confirm that all employees working 80 or more hours per year are covered
- Choose your method: accrual (1 hour per 30 worked) or front-load (48 or 80 hours upfront)
- Check whether your existing PTO policy already satisfies ESST requirements
- Give each employee the required written notice in their primary language
- Set up a system to track and report ESST balances at the end of each pay period
- Add an ESST policy to your employee handbook
- Confirm your pay rate for ESST use matches the employee’s regular base rate
- Keep records of accrual and use for at least three years
- If you are in Minneapolis, St. Paul, or Bloomington, check local rules too
One note: unlike the PFML guide, ESST has no state portal to register for and no quarterly payments to make. The compliance burden is almost entirely internal: tracking, notice, documentation, and handbook policy. That makes it simpler to administer, but also means it is easy to let slip through the cracks without a formal process.