GGTM Law
GGTM Law
We are a client-centric boutique law firm in Muskegon, Michigan, comprised of experienced Muskegon attorneys committed to serving the legal needs of a wide variety of businesses and individuals in Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Grand Haven, Spring Lake, Holland, throughout West Michigan, and beyond.
Corporate & Business/Jan 22, 2025

Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act

3 min read

On July 31, 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court issued a decision affecting the Earned Sick Time Act (“ESTA”) which will go into effect on February 21, 2025. While the decision itself centered on legislative procedures, the results are onerous requirements on all Michigan businesses related to the paid time off that must now be provided to all employees.

  • ESTA applies to all employers in Michigan with one or more employee.
  • All employees regardless of status (salaried, full-time, part-time, temporary, seasonal, hourly, etc.) will begin accruing one hour of paid sick time for every thirty hours worked as of 2/21/25 or the employee start date, whichever is later.
  • If a business has fewer than ten employees, it must allow at least forty hours of paid sick time per year, plus an additional thirty-two hours unpaid, to the extent such hours are accrued.
  • If a business has ten or more employees, it must allow at least seventy-two hours of paid sick time per year to the extent such hours accrue.
  • Unused hours must be allowed to rollover each year and employers are not required to pay out the time at the end of the year or at the time of separation.
  • Sick time must be paid at the greater of the employee’s normal hourly wage for the previous pay period or minimum wage.

Those are the broad strokes of the benefits to employees under ESTA. What follows are some of the corresponding burdens on businesses.

  • Only after an employee uses three consecutive days of earned sick time may an employer request an employee produce documentation.
  • If an employee exercises their rights under ESTA and their employer takes any “adverse employment actions” within ninety days, there is a presumption that the employer has retaliated.
  • Employers must track the accrued sick time of its employees and keep such records for three years. Failure to keep such records results in a presumption that the employer has violated ESTA.
  • An employee has up to three years to file a claim against an employer for violations of ESTA, either through LARA or by civil lawsuit.
  • The remedies available to employees include payment for used earned sick time, reinstatement, back pay with benefits, liquidated damages, and reasonable attorney fees. And filing a claim with LARA does not preclude an employee from filing a civil action as well.
  • Employers are required to provide all employees with written notice advising of their rights under ESTA, provide the same to all new hires, and display a poster in a conspicuous place explaining ESTA.
  • Employers are required to provide all employees with written notice advising of their rights under ESTA by February 21, 2025.

Both houses of the State Legislature are working on amendments to ESTA, but what changes that will ultimately entail, if any, is unclear. But it seems unlikely that any amendment will come into effect prior to the February 21, 2025, deadline.

The liabilities businesses such as yours are exposed to through non-compliance are large. Unfortunately, ESTA leaves open many questions as to how to comply, especially when it comes to salaried and commission employees. Those will have to be solved by either State regulatory or court decisions. But the best strategy is to be proactive. Our firm’s guidance is that any existing employee handbooks are revised, and that any employers not currently using employee handbooks have them drafted, so that they can serve as the written notice to employees when ESTA takes effect. We at GGTM are available to help your company comply with ESTA and answer any questions you may have.

 

GGTM Law
GGTM Law
We are a client-centric boutique law firm in Muskegon, Michigan, comprised of experienced Muskegon attorneys committed to serving the legal needs of a wide variety of businesses and individuals in Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Grand Haven, Spring Lake, Holland, throughout West Michigan, and beyond.

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