Group Seeking Comment From Workers, Employers On Paid Sick Leave

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A group looking to study the impact of workplace regulations in Minneapolis is holding a series of community meetings this month to get ideas related to earned sick time and paid time off.

The city of Minneapolis says its Workplace Partnership Group will hold six meetings in January, with each one focused on different groups (both employees and employers) and how they view earned sick time and paid time off in their respective industries.

According to the city's website, questions in the guided talks will include:

-- How/when should paid sick leave to be used by employees and employers?

-- What measures should be considered to ensure that workers are not penalized for using paid sick time and that employers are not subject to undue hardship?

-- And what's a meaningful accrual rate for sick leave?

The first meeting is set for Wednesday, and it seeks feedback from Latino employees and employers. A meeting for Thursday will look for input from those in the manufacturing and construction industries.

The other meetings scheduled throughout the month seek comment from small businesses, the service sector, downtown-based businesses, and the health care industry. (For a full schedule of the meetings, click here.)

These talks come months after Mayor Betsy Hodges faced strong pushback from city business owners over her Working Families Agenda proposal, which sought to require all city businesses to schedule their workers at least two weeks in advance and give workers, including part-time workers, paid sick leave.

Following the pushback, the mayor backed off the scheduling requirement, but said she still sought sick leave for all city employees.

The Workplace Partnership Group -- a 19-member body composed of low-wage workers, labor organizations, employers, and business associations -- is slated to report policy ideas to the city in late February, about a month after the final scheduled community meeting.

To view when and where meetings will be held, visit the city of Minneapolis online.