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Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know
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Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Jan 17, 2016

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Daniel Chapman
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Page 1: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal:

What Employers Need to Know

Page 2: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Paid Sick Leave Citizens Initiative• The “Time to Care Coalition”

announced July 30 that it was launching a statewide petition drive on Paid Sick Leave– Goal: November 2016 ballot– If approved, Michigan would be one of

only five states with a mandate (CT, CA, MA, OR)

Page 3: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Supporters

• Supported by the same groups that supported the minimum wage petition drive – Raise MI, Mothering Justice, SEIU, Economic

Justice Alliance of MI, others

• Comes on heels of State of the Union address– Obama urges Congress, states to tackle

• Similar to federal E.O. – Expands requirements to federal contractors

Page 4: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

ProcessJuly 13, 2015

Submit

Proposal to Board

of Canvasser

s

July 30,

2015 Petition approved to form,

triggering the collecti

on gatheri

ng phase

Aug 2015-May

2016 180-day window

to collect 252,523

valid signature

s

June 1,

2016 Filing

Deadline for any

Initiated Law

petitions

June-July 2016

Board of

Canvassers meets to certify (or deny) petitions for Nov. General Election

July-Aug 2016

If certified, Legislature has 40 days to adopt,

reject or provide

competing

alternative

Nov. 8, 2016

General Election

Page 5: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Time Off• If 10+ employees: 1 hour of paid sick

leave for every 30 hours worked– Employee can use 72 hours in a year– Employer may select a higher limit– Time would begin to accrue on 4/1/17– All employees are counted (full-time, part-

time, temp workers)– For employees hired after 4/1/17, employer

may require the employee to wait 90 calendar days to use leave time

Page 6: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Time Off• If less than 10 employees: 1 hour of

paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked– Employees can use 40 hours in a year– If employee uses more than 40 hours,

employee is entitled to use an additional 32 hours of unpaid sick leave

– Employer may select a higher limit– All employees are counted (full-time, part-time,

temp workers)• Lose status if maintain more than 10 employees on

payroll during 20+ calendar weeks/year

Page 7: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Carryover• Carryover – Employees may carry over

sick leave from year to year—but employer can limit to the prescribed limits– Employer determines how a “year” is

calculated

Page 8: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Use of Time

• Time may be used in the “smaller of hourly increments” or the “smallest increment that the employer’s payroll system uses to account for absences or use of other time”Depending on payroll system, time could

be used in 10th of an hour (6 min) increments

Page 9: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Paid Time Off (PTO)

• Paid Sick and Vacation Time – Businesses will be in compliance if they provide any paid leave that may be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions as required under the proposed act, so long as it accrues in total at a rate equal to or greater than the rate described

Language appears to allow one bank of paid time off (PTO)—but compliance will be an issue

Page 10: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Use of Time• Acceptable uses for paid sick leave– Employee or family member’s mental/physical

illness, injury, health condition, medical diagnosis, care/treatment

– Issues related to domestic violence/sexual assault

– Meetings at a child’s school or place of care related to child’s health or disability

– Closure of employee’s place of business or child’s school or place of care because of a public health emergency

Allowable uses are broader than FMLA

Page 11: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Use of Time

• Language goes further than many employers’ policies, specifying that leave time can be used for family members, including any “individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship”“Equivalent” concept removes any

objective standard

Page 12: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Notification• Advanced Notice – Employers cannot

require unless the time off is “foreseeable”– Must give notice of the intention to use time off

“as soon as practicable” – Does not allow an employer to require the

employee to search for/secure a replacementLanguage does not allow employees to

meet employer call-in procedures in FMLAEmployees will be able to use time with no

notice

Page 13: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Documentation

• Doctor’s Note – Employers cannot require until the employee has taken 3 consecutive days off– Employer must pay “all out-of-pocket expenses

the employee incurs in obtaining the documentation”

– No insurance = employer foots the entire bill– Can’t ask for detailed statement from the

doctor

Doctor’s note is meaningless Language ignores precertification

procedures in FMLA

Page 14: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Litigation

• Judicial/Administrative Actions– Employer absence policies shall not treat paid

sick leave as “an absence that may lead to or result in retaliatory personnel action”

– Rebuttable presumption for adverse personnel actions

Rebuttable presumption is unprecedented

Page 15: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Litigation• Allows for civil actions for relief:– Payment of sick time– Rehiring/reinstatement to previous job– Payment of back wages– Reestablishment of benefits– Liquidated damages with costs and reasonable

attorneys fees– Civil fines of up to $1,000 for violations ($100 if

fail to notify employees of rights/display poster)

• Can also file a complaint with the state

Page 16: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

MI Proposal vs. Other States

  Michigan’s Initiative

California Connecticut Mass. Oregon

Enacted April 1, 2017 January 1, 2015

January 1, 2012

July 1, 2015 January 1, 2016

RatioEarned:Worked

1:30 

1:30 1:40 1:30 1:30

Eligibility Timeline

90 days after

employment

Accrue after 30 days, use

after 90 days

Must work 680 hours for same employer

90 days after

employment

90 days

Small Employer Threshold

< 10 Employees (including

any independent

ly contracted employees)

No distinction

made

< 50 Employees

< 10 Employees

< 7Employees

Page 17: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

MI Proposal vs. Other States, cont’d  Michigan

InitiativeCalifornia Connecticut Massachuset

tsOregon

Cap on Annual Usage

72 Hours 24 Hours 40 Hours 40 Hours 40 Hours

Carryover Yes, no hard cap on

cumulative hours

accrued.

Employer decision.

Carry over, but hard cap at 48 hours.

Yes, but hard cap at 40 hours.

Yes, but hard cap at 40

hours.

Yes, but hard cap at 40 hours.

Paid vs. Unpaidfor Small Employers

Sm. employers provide up to 32 hours unpaid time

after 40 hours paid

time is used.

No distinction

made.

Small employers under 50

employees are exempt from any

requirements.

Small employers

only required to provide 40 hours of

unpaid leave time.

Small employers

only required to provide 40 hours of

unpaid leave time.

Page 18: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Tough to Beat

• Proponents’ polls suggest support in the 80% range– Polls better than minimum wage– Call it “earned sick time” versus “paid

sick leave” for a reason– Passed by Mass. voters in 2014 by 60%– National issue intended to drive/take

advantage of turnout in a presidential year

– Will proponents have sufficient funds to get this passed?

Page 19: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Our Position• MI Chamber opposes the ballot

proposal– Likely to be many ballot issues we oppose

in 2016– Like 2012, may coordinate a

comprehensive “NO” campaign

• Looking for members who are willing to engage in campaign activities, talk to the news media, etc.

Page 20: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Questions?

Page 21: Paid Sick Leave Ballot Proposal: What Employers Need to Know.

Wendy BlockDirector, Health Policy and Human

ResourcesMI Chamber of Commerce

517/371-7678 (direct)[email protected]