Thoughtful process, engaged community: Workplace Regulations Partnership Group
Over the past three months, the Workplace Regulations Partnership Group (WPG), which was tasked with recommending an earned sick time ordinance for the City of Minneapolis, has brought a diverse group of stakeholders to the table. Fifteen individuals, each with a unique perspective, came together to study the impact of policies related to earned sick time and paid time off. Our work together culminated in a final proposal presented to the Minneapolis City Council earlier this month.
The City Council established the WPG last year and appointed members to include representation from a range of stakeholder groups including employees, low-wage employees, organized labor, large employers, small employers, immigrant-owned businesses and representatives of business groups and associations. The WPG held eleven productive meetings to exchange ideas and draft language.
The group engaged the community to hear as many Minneapolis voices on the issue as possible. Through listening sessions and comment cards, we heard from more than 550 of the individuals most likely to be affected by this law, from across the city and from different economic, cultural and racial backgrounds.
The WPG worked to strike a compromise that allows enough sick time to be meaningful to employees and less burdensome for employers to implement. The recommended policy would allow employees to earn sick time through an accrual system at the start of employment, resulting in about six days of sick time for most employees annually.
To take into account the varying size of employers, businesses with one to three employees should allow employees to take necessary time off, but the set amount of paid time is up to the employer’s discretion. Employers with fewer than 24 employees would, under the proposal, be able to delay implementation so that they can adjust to the new policy.
It is our hope that the City Council will take the months of community engagement, as well as the experience and expertise of the members of the WPG, into account as they consider a paid sick leave proposal. As with any compromise there was give and take, and not all members agree with every detail. However, we have presented a set of recommendationsa that reflected the common ground the group was able to reach.
