Minneapolis passes paid sick leave

Minneapolis passed a law Friday that requires foodservice operators and other employers with at least six employees to provide an hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours that a staff member works, starting next summer.

Employees can amass up to 48 hours of paid time off. The off time can be carried over from one year to the next, up to a maximum of 80 hours.

The law, approved by the city council after a bitter fight between pro-labor and business groups, is viewed as one of the most liberal sick-leave measures in the country. It applies to part-time workers as well as full-timers, and was drafted to apply to virtually every employer.

Businesses with fewer than six employees must still provide time off to an employee who is sick, but are not required to pay for the hours that are not worked.

St. Paul and Duluth, Minn., have already indicated that they may follow Minneapolis’ lead and adopt a similar measure.

With last week’s enactment, five states, one county and 23 cities now require employers to provide paid sick leave.