In less than six months, small businesses in Michigan will have to start offering employees sick leave. The state will hold a webinar Tuesday to start telling employers and employees what to expect.

The new sick time law applies to all Michigan businesses with one or more employees. In short, employers with 10 or more employees must allow employees to accrue up to 72 hours of paid sick time. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees must provide 40 hours of paid time off. Employers cannot penalize employees for using sick time.

Sean Egan, deputy director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, said penalties can take many forms.

“It could be a change of shift, a change of hours, a transfer, maybe even disciplinary action,” Egan said. “I think a lot of employers have what’s called a ‘no-fault’ attendance policy, where you get certain points for any type of absence. I think it’s clear under the act that that’s essentially a disciplinary action. So you can’t apply those points to those specific reasons.”

Egan said the new rules would benefit employees, employers and society.

“We know that because of COVID-19, going to work when you’re sick is not very smart because you’re exposing your coworkers, and you’re exposing the general public, to possibly transmitting colds, flu, COVID or other illnesses that people carry around with them. So I think we’ll definitely see some public health improvements by making sure that people who have to miss work because they’re sick have the option to do so.”

In a written release, the state said key provisions of Michigan’s paid sick time law include:

• Valid from 21 February 2025.

• Applies to all employers, regardless of size, except federal employers.

• Covers all categories of employees, such as salaried employees (both exempt and non-exempt) and full-time and part-time hourly employees, and expands the ways in which sick leave can be used.

• Grants employees the right to take legal action if their employer obstructs or prevents them from using benefits under the Sick Time Act.

• Employers must now accrue sick time at a rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, eliminating the ability to “frontload” sick time.

• Businesses with 10 or more employees must provide up to 72 hours of paid sick leave per year, up from the previous limit of 40 hours.

• Smaller businesses with fewer than 10 employees must provide employees with up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year and an additional 32 hours of unpaid sick leave.

Unused sick leave may be carried forward, but employees cannot use more than 72 hours of earned sick leave in any given year.

The state has posted information about the new Earned Sick Time Act online. Egan said Tuesday’s webinar will include a live Q&A session, and attendees can email questions ahead of the event to [email protected].

Egan said the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity plans to hold more educational sessions before the new law takes effect next year.

He also said the same Michigan Supreme Court decision that paved the way for the Earned Sick Leave Act also changed Michigan’s minimum wage law. State officials have asked the high court for more information about the implementation, and Egan says that once that clarification is provided, LEO will begin offering public sessions on that topic as well.