Labor: benefits; requirements for an employer to provide earned sick time, modify, the official text

Act
No. 2

Public
Acts of 2025

Approved
by the Governor

February
21, 2025

Filed
with the Secretary of State

February
21, 2025

EFFECTIVE
DATE:  February 21, 2025

state of michigan

103rd Legislature

Regular session of 2025

Introduced by Reps. DeBoyer, Roth, Aragona, Markkanen,
BeGole, Prestin, Wozniak, Wendzel, Schmaltz, DeBoer, DeSana, Cavitt, Beson,
Harris, St. Germaine, Steele, Bollin, Martin, Meerman, Woolford, Bruck, Kunse,
Fox, Kelly, Hoadley, Alexander, Lightner, Slagh, Rigas, Frisbie, Schuette,
Fairbairn, Borton, Maddock, Jenkins-Arno, Bierlein, Mueller, Wortz, VanderWall
and Greene

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 4002

AN ACT to amend 2018 PA 338,
entitled “An initiation of legislation to provide workers with the right to
earn sick time for personal or family health needs, as well as purposes related
to domestic violence and sexual assault and school meetings needed as the
result of a child’s disability, health issues or issues due to domestic
violence and sexual assault; to specify the conditions for accruing and using
earned sick time; to prohibit retaliation against an employee for requesting,
exercising, or enforcing rights granted in this act; to prescribe powers and
duties of certain state departments, agencies, and officers; to provide for
promulgation of rules; and to provide remedies and sanctions,” by amending the
title and sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 12 (MCL 408.962, 408.963, 408.964,
408.965, 408.966, 408.967, 408.968, and 408.972) and by adding section 3a.

The People of the State of
Michigan enact:

TITLE

An act to require certain employers to
provide certain employees with earned sick
time that may be used for certain purposes; to specify the conditions for accruing and using
earned sick time; to prohibit an employer from taking
retaliatory personnel action against certain
employees for certain acts; to provide for the powers and duties of certain state
officers and entities; to provide for
promulgation of rules; and to provide remedies and sanctions.

Sec. 2. As used in this act:

(a) “Department” means the department of labor and economic
opportunity.

(b) “Director” means the director of the department or the
director’s designee.

(c) “Domestic partner” means an adult in a committed
relationship with another adult, including both same-sex and different-sex
relationships. As used in this subdivision, “committed relationship” means a
relationship in which the employee and another individual share responsibility
for a significant measure of each other’s common welfare, such as any
relationship between individuals of the same or different sex that is granted
legal recognition by a state, political subdivision, or the District of
Columbia as a marriage or analogous relationship, including, but not limited
to, a civil union.

(d) “Domestic violence” means that term as defined in section
1 of 1978 PA 389, MCL 400.1501.

(e) “Earned sick time” means time off from work that is
provided by an employer to an employee, whether paid or unpaid, that can be
used for the purposes described in section 4.

(f) “Employee” means an individual engaged in service to an
employer in the business of the employer. Employee does not include any of the
following:

(i) An individual employed by the United
States government.

(ii) An individual who works in accordance with a policy of
an employer if both of the following conditions are met:

(A) The policy allows the individual to schedule the
individual’s own working hours.

(B) The policy prohibits the employer from taking adverse
personnel action against the individual if the individual does not schedule a
minimum number of working hours.

(iii) An unpaid trainee or unpaid intern.

(iv) An individual who is employed in
accordance with the youth employment standards act, 1978 PA 90, MCL 409.101
to 409.124.

(g) “Employer” means any person, firm, business, educational
institution, corporation, limited liability company, government entity, or
other entity that employs 1 or more individuals. Employer does not include the United
States government.

(h) “Family member” includes all of the following:

(i) A biological, adopted or foster child,
stepchild or legal ward, a child of a domestic partner, or a child to whom the
employee stands in loco parentis.

(ii) A biological parent, foster parent,
stepparent, or adoptive parent or a legal guardian of an employee or an
employee’s spouse or domestic partner or an individual who stood in loco
parentis when the employee was a minor child.

(iii) An individual to whom the employee is
legally married under the laws of any state or a domestic partner.

(iv) A grandparent.

(v) A grandchild.

(vi) A biological, foster, or adopted
sibling.

(vii) An individual related by blood to the
employee.

(viii) An individual whose close association
with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

(i) “Health care professional” means any of the following:

(i) A person licensed under federal law or
the law of this state to provide health care services, including, but not
limited to, nurses, doctors, and emergency room personnel.

(ii) A certified midwife.

(j) “Retaliatory personnel action” means any of the
following:

(i) Denial of any right guaranteed under
this act.

(ii) A threat, discharge, suspension,
demotion, reduction of hours, or other adverse personnel action against an
employee or former employee for exercise of a right guaranteed under this act.

(iii) Sanctions against an employee who is a
recipient of public benefits for exercise of a right guaranteed under this act.

(iv) Interference with, or punishment for, an
individual’s participation in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or
hearing under this act.

(k) “Sexual assault” means any act that constitutes a
violation of section 520b, 520c, 520d, 520e, or 520g of the Michigan penal
code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.520b, 750.520c, 750.520d, 750.520e, and 750.520g.

(l) “Small business” means an employer for
which 10 or fewer individuals work for compensation during a given week. In
determining the number of individuals performing work for compensation during a
given week, all individuals performing work for compensation on a full-time,
part-time, or temporary basis must be counted, including individuals made
available to work through the services of a temporary services or staffing
agency or similar entity. An employer is not a small business if it maintained more
than 10 employees on its payroll during any 20 or more calendar workweeks in
either the current or immediately preceding calendar year.

(m) “Unpaid trainee or unpaid intern” means an individual who
receives training from an employer in accordance with all of the following:

(i) The training the individual receives is
similar to the experience provided in a vocational school.

(ii) The training is for the benefit of the individual.

(iii) The individual does not displace the
employer’s employees, but works under close supervision.

(iv) The employer receives no immediate
advantage from the activities of the individual and, on occasion, the employer’s
operations may be impeded by the individual.

(v) The individual is not entitled to a job
at the conclusion of the training.

(vi) The employer and the individual
understand that the individual is not entitled to wages for time spent in
training.

Sec. 3. (1) An employer shall provide earned sick time to
each of the employer’s employees in this state.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in section 12, this
subsection, and subsection (4), an employee of a small business must accrue a
minimum of 1 hour of paid earned sick time for every 30 hours worked, not including hours used as
paid time off, but may not use more than 40 hours of paid earned sick time in a
year unless the employer selects a higher limit. As an
alternative to the accrual of paid earned sick time, a small business may
provide an employee not less than 40 hours of paid earned sick time at the
beginning of a year for immediate use. Notwithstanding the requirements of
subsection (6), this act does not require a small business to do any of the
following until October 1, 2025:

(a) Allow an employee to accrue paid earned sick time in
accordance with this subsection.

(b) Provide paid earned sick time to an employee as an
alternative to the accrual of paid earned sick time.

(c) Calculate and track an employee’s accrual of paid earned
sick time.

(3) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and
subsection (4), all other employees must accrue a minimum of 1 hour of paid
earned sick time for every 30 hours worked, not including hours used as paid
time off, but may not use more than 72 hours of paid earned sick time in a
year, unless the employer selects a higher limit. As an alternative to the
accrual of paid earned sick time, an employer may provide an employee not less
than 72 hours of paid earned sick time at the beginning of a year for
immediate use.

(4) As an alternative to the accrual of paid earned sick
time, an employer that employs a part-time employee may provide paid earned
sick time to the part-time employee at the beginning of a year for immediate
use in accordance with all of the following requirements:

(a) The employer provides the part-time employee with a
written notice of how many hours the part-time employee is expected to work for
a year at the time of hire.

(b) The amount of earned sick time provided to the part-time
employee at the beginning of the year is, at a minimum, proportional to the
earned sick time that the part-time employee would accrue if the part-time
employee worked all of the hours expected as provided in the written notice.

(c) If the part-time employee works more hours than what is
expected as provided in the written notice, the employer must provide the
part-time employee with additional earned sick time in accordance with the
accrual requirements under this section.

(5) Subject to the requirements of this subsection, earned
sick time carries over from year to year, but a small business is not required
to allow an employee to use more than 40 hours of paid earned sick time in a
single year, and all other employers are not required to allow an employee to
use more than 72 hours of paid earned sick time in a single year. An employer
shall allow an employee to carry over all of the employee’s unused accrued paid
earned sick time not to exceed 72 hours or, if the employer is a small
business, not to exceed 40 hours from 1 year to the next year, unless the
employer selects a higher limit. This act does not require an employer that
provides paid earned sick time at the beginning of a year as described in
subsections (2) to (4) to do any of the following:

(a) Allow an employee to carry over any unused earned sick
time from 1 year to the next year.

(b) Calculate and track an employee’s accrual of paid earned
sick time.

(c) Pay the employee the value of the employee’s unused
accrued paid earned sick time at the end of the year in which the earned sick
time was accrued.

(6) Earned sick time as provided in this section begins to
accrue on the effective date of this act, or upon commencement of the employee’s
employment, whichever is later. An employee may use accrued earned sick time as
it is accrued, except that an employer may require an employee hired after the
effective date of the 2025 amendatory act that amended this section to
wait until 120 calendar days after commencing employment before using accrued
earned sick time.

(7) An employer is in compliance with this section if the
employer meets either of the following conditions:

(a) Provides the employer’s employees with paid time off in
not less than the same amounts of time off as provided under this act that may
be used for the purposes described in section 4 or any other purpose. If an
employee uses paid time off as described in this subdivision for the purposes
described in section 4, this act applies to the use of that paid time off. This
act does not require an employer that provides paid time off as described in
this subdivision to allow an employee to use paid time off for the purposes
described in section 4 in an amount that exceeds the amounts of time off
provided under this act.

(b) The employer is a signatory to a collective bargaining
agreement that requires contributions to a multiemployer plan as that term is
defined in section 3 of subtitle A of title I of the employee retirement income
security act of 1974, 29 USC 1002, that may be used under the same conditions
as provided for under this act, in an amount equal to or greater than what is
required to be provided under this act, and that accrues at a rate equal to or
greater than the rate described in subsections (2) and (3). This act does not
require a multiemployer plan that provides benefits in accordance with this act
to pay accrued paid sick leave benefits if an employer does not remit required
contributions to the plan. If an employer does not make required contributions
to the multiemployer plan as provided in this subdivision, the employer is not
considered to be in compliance with the employer’s obligations under this act.

(8) An employer shall pay each employee using paid earned
sick time at a pay rate equal to the greater of either the normal hourly wage
or base wage for that employee or the minimum wage established under the
improved workforce opportunity wage act, 2018 PA 337, MCL 408.931 to 408.945,
but not less than the minimum wage rate established in section 4 of the
improved workforce opportunity wage act, 2018 PA 337, MCL 408.934. This act
does not require an employer to include overtime pay, holiday pay, bonuses, commissions,
supplemental pay, piece-rate pay, tips, or gratuities in the calculation of an
employee’s normal hourly wage or base wage.

(9) An employer shall not require an employee to search for
or secure a replacement worker as a condition for using earned sick time.

(10) For purposes of subsections (2) to (5), “year” means a
regular and consecutive 12-month period, as determined by an employer.

(11) For purposes of earned sick time accrual under this act,
all of the following apply:

(a) An employee who is exempt from overtime requirements
under section 13(a)(1) of the fair labor standards act, 29 USC 213, is assumed
to work 40 hours in each workweek unless the employee’s normal workweek is less
than 40 hours, in which case earned sick time accrues based on that normal
workweek.

(b) An employee who is covered under 29 CFR 825.801 is
assumed to have worked not less than 40 hours in each workweek or is assumed to
have worked not less than 30 hours if employed by a small business.

Sec.
3a. An employer that makes contributions to a multiemployer plan as described
in section 3(7)(b) shall not require an employee to wait until 120 calendar
days after commencing employment with that employer before using unused accrued
earned sick time and nonforfeited paid sick leave benefits that were earned as
a result of past service for a different employer that also made contributions
to the same multiemployer plan or any paid sick leave benefits earned by
working under the collective bargaining agreement for that employer.
Contributions required under the collective bargaining agreement or other
employment agreement for the paid sick leave plan are due on the same schedule
as the other fringe benefit funds or plans to which the signatory employer must
contribute.

Sec. 4. (1) An employer shall allow an employee to use the earned
sick time accrued or provided under section 3 for any of the following
purposes:

(a) The employee’s mental or physical illness, injury, or
health condition; medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of the employee’s
mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or preventative
medical care for the employee.

(b) For the employee’s family member’s mental or physical
illness, injury, or health condition, medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of
the employee’s family member’s mental or physical illness, injury, or health
condition or preventative medical care for a family member of the employee.

(c) If the employee or the employee’s family member is a
victim of domestic violence or sexual assault, for medical care or
psychological or other counseling for physical or psychological injury or
disability, to obtain services from a victim services organization, to relocate
due to domestic violence or sexual assault, to obtain legal services, or to
participate in any civil or criminal proceedings related to or resulting from
the domestic violence or sexual assault.

(d) For meetings at a child’s school or place of care related
to the child’s health or disability, or the effects of domestic violence or
sexual assault on the child.

(e) For closure of the employee’s place of business by order
of a public official due to a public health emergency, for an employee’s need
to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a
public official due to a public health emergency, or when it has been
determined by the health authorities having jurisdiction or by a health care
provider that the employee’s or employee’s family member’s presence in the
community would jeopardize the health of others because of the employee’s or
family member’s exposure to a communicable disease, whether or not the employee
or family member has actually contracted the communicable disease.

(2) If the employee’s need to use earned sick time is
foreseeable, an employer may require advance notice, not to exceed 7 days
before the date the earned sick time is to begin, of the intention to use the
earned sick time.

(3) If the employee’s need for the earned sick time is not
foreseeable, an employer, may require the employee to give notice of the
intention in either of the following manners:

(a) As soon as practicable.

(b)
In accordance with the employer’s policy related to requesting or using sick
time or leave if both of the following are met:

(i) On the date of the
employee’s hire, on the effective date of the 2025 amendatory act that added
this subparagraph, or on the date that the employer’s policy takes effect,
whichever is latest, the employer provides the employee with a written copy of
the policy that includes procedures for how the employee must provide notice.

(ii) The employer’s
notice requirement allows the employee to provide notice after the employee is aware of the need for the earned
sick time.

(4) An employer that requires notice for sick time that is
not foreseeable under subsection (3)(b) shall not deny an employee’s use of
earned sick time that is not foreseeable if either of the following conditions
applies:

(a) The employer did not provide a written policy to the
employee as required under subsection (3)(b)(i).

(b) The employer made a change to the written policy and did
not provide notice of the change to the employee within 5 days after the change.

(5) Earned sick time may be used in 1-hour increments or the
smallest increment that the employer uses to account for absences of use of
other time.

(6) For earned sick time of more than 3 consecutive days, an
employer may require reasonable documentation that the earned sick time has
been used for a purpose described in subsection (1). Upon the employer’s
request, the employee must provide the documentation to the employer not more
than 15 days after the employer’s request. The employer shall not delay the
commencement of earned sick time on the basis that the employer has not yet
received documentation. Documentation signed by a health care professional
indicating that earned sick time is necessary is reasonable documentation for
purposes of this subsection. In cases of domestic violence or sexual assault,
any of the following types of documentation selected by the employee are
considered reasonable documentation:

(a) A police report indicating that the employee or the
employee’s family member was a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault.

(b) A signed statement from a victim and witness advocate
affirming that the employee or employee’s family member is receiving services
from a victim services organization.

(c) A court document indicating that the employee or employee’s
family member is involved in legal action related to domestic violence or
sexual assault.

(7) An employer shall not require that the documentation
explain the nature of the illness or the details of the violence. If an
employer chooses to require documentation for earned sick time, the employer is
responsible for paying all out-of-pocket expenses the employee incurs in
obtaining the documentation. If the employee does have health insurance, the
employer is responsible for paying any costs charged to the employee by the
health care provider for providing the specific documentation required by the
employer.

(8) An employer shall not require disclosure of details
relating to domestic violence or sexual assault or the details of an employee’s
or an employee’s family member’s medical condition as a condition of providing
earned sick time under this act. If an employer possesses health information or
information pertaining to domestic violence or sexual assault about an employee
or employee’s family member, the employer shall treat that information as
confidential and shall not disclose that information except to the affected
employee or with the permission of the affected employee.

(9) This act does not require an employer to provide earned
sick time for any purposes other than as described in this section.

Sec. 5. (1) If an employee is transferred to a separate
division, entity, or location, but remains employed by the same employer, the
employee retains all earned sick time that was accrued at the prior division,
entity, or location and may use all accrued earned sick time as provided in
section 4. If an employee separates from employment and is rehired by the same
employer not more than 2 months after the separation, the employer shall
reinstate previously accrued, unused earned sick time and shall allow the
reinstated employee to use that earned sick time and accrue additional earned
sick time upon reinstatement. This subsection does not apply if an employer pays an
employee the value of the employee’s unused accrued earned sick time at the
time of a transfer or separation.

(2) If a different employer succeeds or takes the place of an
existing employer, the successor employer assumes the responsibility for the
earned sick time rights that employees who remain employed by the successor
employer accrued under the original employer. Those employees are entitled to
use earned sick time previously accrued on the terms provided in this act. This subsection does not
apply if an employer pays an employee the value of the employee’s unused
accrued earned sick time at the time of a succession.

(3) This act does not require an employer to provide
financial or other reimbursement to an employee for accrued earned sick time
that was not used upon the employee’s termination, resignation, retirement, or
other separation from employment.

Sec. 6. (1) An employer or any other person shall not interfere with,
restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right
protected under this act.

(2) An employer shall not take retaliatory personnel action
or discriminate against an employee because the employee has exercised a right
protected under this act. Rights protected by this act include, but are not
limited to, the right to use earned sick time under this act, the right to file
a complaint or inform any person about any employer’s alleged violation of this
act, the right to cooperate with the department in the department’s
investigations of alleged violations of this act, and the right to inform any
person of the person’s rights under this act.

(3) An employer’s absence control policy must not treat
earned sick time taken under this act as an absence that may lead to or result
in retaliatory personnel action.

(4) The protections in this section apply to any person that
mistakenly but in good faith alleges a violation of this section.

(5) An employer may take adverse personnel action against an
employee if the employee uses earned sick time for a purpose other than a
purpose described in section 4, or violates the notice requirements under this
act.

Sec. 7. (1) If an employer violates this act, the employee
affected by the violation, at any time not later than 3 years after the
violation, may file a claim with the department. The department shall
investigate the claim.

(2) The director shall enforce the provisions of this act. In
enforcing this act, the director shall do both of the following:

(a) Establish a system that uses multiple means of
communication to receive complaints that are related to noncompliance with this
act.

(b) Investigate complaints received by the department in a
timely manner.

(3) Any person that alleges a violation of this act has the
right to file a complaint with the department. The department shall encourage
reporting pursuant to this subsection by keeping confidential, to the maximum
extent permitted by applicable laws, the name and other identifying information
of the employee or person reporting the violation. However, if the person
provides authorization to the department, the department may disclose the
person’s name and identifying information as necessary to enforce this act or
for other appropriate purposes.

(4) Upon receiving a complaint alleging a violation of this
act, the department shall investigate the complaint and attempt to resolve it
through mediation between the complainant and the subject of the complaint, or
other means. The department shall keep a complainant notified regarding the
status of the complainant’s complaint and any resultant investigation. If the
department believes that a violation has occurred, it shall issue to the
offending person or entity a notice of violation and the relief required of the
offending person or entity. The department shall prescribe the form and wording
of such notices of violation including any method of appealing the decision of
the department.

(5) The department may impose penalties and grant an employee
or former employee all appropriate relief, including but not limited to,
payment of all earned sick time improperly withheld, any and all damages
incurred by the complaint as the result of violation of this act, back pay, and
reinstatement in the case of job loss.

(6) If the director determines that there is reasonable cause
to believe that an employer violated this act and the department is
subsequently unable to obtain voluntary compliance by the employer within a
reasonable time, the department shall bring a civil action on behalf of the
employee. The department may investigate and file a civil action on behalf of
all employees of that employer who are similarly situated at the same worksite.
Except as otherwise provided under section 12, a contract or agreement between
the employer and the employee or any acceptance by the employee of a paid or
unpaid leave policy that provides fewer rights or benefits than provided by
this act is void and unenforceable.

(7) In addition to liability for civil remedies described in
this section, an employer that takes retaliatory personnel action against an
employee or former employee is subject to a civil fine of not more than
$1,000.00 for each violation.

(8) In addition to liability for civil remedies described in
this section, an employer that fails to provide earned sick time to an employee
in violation of this act is subject to a civil fine of not more than 8 times
the employee’s normal hourly wage.

(9) An employer that willfully violates a notice or posting
requirement of section 8 is subject to a civil fine of not more than $100.00
for each violation.

Sec. 8. (1) An employer subject to this act shall provide
written notice to each employee at the time of hiring or not later than 30 days
the effective date of the 2025 amendatory act that amended this section,
whichever is later, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(a) The amount of earned sick time required to be provided to
an employee under this act.

(b) The employer’s choice of how to calculate a year as that
term is defined under section 3.

(c) The terms under which earned sick time may be used.

(d) That retaliatory personnel action taken by the employer
against an employee for requesting or using earned sick time for which the
employee is eligible is prohibited.

(e) The employee’s right to file a complaint with the
department for any violation of this act.

(2) The notice required under subsection (1) shall be in
English, Spanish, and any language that is the first language spoken by at
least 10% of the employer’s workforce, if the department has translated the
notice into that language.

(3) An employer shall display a poster at the employer’s
place of business, in a conspicuous place that is accessible to employees, that
contains the information in subsection (1). The poster displayed must be in
English, Spanish, and any language that is the first language spoken by not
less than 10% of the employer’s workforce, if the department has translated the
poster into that language.

(4) The department shall create and make available to
employers notices and posters that contain the information required under
subsection (1) for the employers’ use in complying with this section. The
department shall provide the notices and posters in English, Spanish, and any
other language deemed appropriate by the department.

Sec.
12. (1) If an employer’s employees are covered by a collective bargaining
agreement in effect on the effective date of this act and the collective
bargaining agreement conflicts with this act, this act applies beginning on the
stated expiration date in the collective bargaining agreement, notwithstanding
any statement in the agreement that it continues in force until a future date
or event or the execution of a new collective bargaining agreement.

(2)
If an employer’s employee is covered by a contract, not including an employer
policy signed by the employee, and all of the following requirements are
satisfied, this act applies beginning on the stated expiration date in the
contract, notwithstanding any statement in the contract that the contract
continues in force until a future date or event or the execution of a new
contract:

(a)
The employer and employee signed the contract on or before December 31, 2024.

(b)
The contract is effective for not longer than 3 years.

(c)
The contract conflicts with this act.

(d)
The employer notifies the department of the contract.

(3)
If a small business did not employ an employee on or before February 21, 2022,
the small employer is not required to comply with this act until 3 years after
the date that the employer first employs an employee.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes
effect on February 21, 2025 at 12:02 a.m.

This act is ordered
to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of
Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Approved___________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Governor