Several bills have been introduced that seek to address the many issues with the state’s Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) and Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) mandates. Many of these bills reflect NFIB’s recommendations that aim to make these mandates less burdensome for small employers. Given the current partisan makeup of the Minnesota Legislature, any bill seeking inclusion in a final package will need to secure bipartisan support.

Two of these bills were recently discussed in the House Workforce, Labor and Economic Development Committee, where NFIB provided comments in support of some of the specific provisions therein. HF 1976 and HF 1325 propose significant changes to PFML and ESST and were laid on the table for further discussion and to collect additional stakeholder input.

1. HF 1976 proposes several key changes to the PFML program, including reducing the number of weeks of required leave to six weeks for small employers, lowering the level of benefits paid under the PFML program, expanding exemptions to include part-time and seasonal employees, and closing the “designated family member” loophole.
2. HF 1325 aims to modify the ESST mandates by allowing small businesses to pay half of an employee’s normal hourly rate while on leave, expanding exemptions to the mandates to include part-time workers and seasonal workers, and creating parity in employer notice requirements.

Additional bills addressing different issues with the PFML and ESST mandates have also been introduced. These bills have yet to receive hearings but will contribute to the ongoing debate.

• SF 2300 seeks to improve the ESST mandate by exempting employers with fewer than 15 employees from the mandate, creating notice parity between employers and employees, and allowing employers to require an employee to seek a replacement if the need for ESST is foreseeable.

• HF 2024 provides relief to small employers by exempting employers with 15 or fewer employees from the PFML mandate, broadening the seasonal employment exemption to include more industries, providing greater flexibility for private PFML plans, and reinstating a PFML payroll tax cap of 1%.

NFIB will continue to advocate for changes to both the PFML and ESST mandate this session. You can help with these efforts by reaching out to your lawmakers and asking them to support reforming these mandates.