Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act

Summary

Procedures

1. Who is eligible under ESTA?

All employees, including full-time, part-time, temporary, and student workers. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the following are not eligible employees under ESTA:

• • An unpaid trainee or unpaid intern.
  • An employee subject to a policy that allows the employee to schedule the employee’s own working hours and that prohibits the College from taking adverse personnel action against the employee if the employee does not schedule a minimum number of working hours.

For employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement in effect on February 21, 2025 that conflicts with ESTA, ESTA does not apply until the stated expiration date in that collective bargaining agreement.

2. Qualifying reasons

An employee may use earned sick time for any of the following:

• • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

3. Qualifying family member

• • 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.
  • Biological parent, foster parent, stepparent, adoptive parent or legal guardian of an employee or employee’s spouse or domestic partner or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child.
  • A person to whom the employee is legally married under the laws of any state or a domestic partner.
  • A grandparent.
  • A grandchild.
  • A biological, foster, or adopted sibling.
  • An individual related by blood to the employee.
  • An individual whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.

All other ESTA-defined terms apply to this Procedure.

4. Subject to Section 8 below, each employee will earn at least 1 hour of earned sick time for every 30 hours worked. An FLSA-exempt employee is assumed to work 40 hours per workweek unless the employee’s normal workweek is less than 40 hours.
   
   
5. ESTA hours are not in addition to current paid sick leave provided by the College. Meaning, for employees receiving paid sick leave, the College is using that paid sick leave to satisfy its ESTA earned sick time obligation. For example, before this Procedure went into effect, a full-time employee working 40 hours per week may have been receiving 96 hours of sick leave annually. Now, such an employee will still receive 96 hours of leave annually, but part of it would consist of earned sick time (i.e., ESTA hours) and part of it would consist of sick leave.
   
   
6. ESTA hours will be applied as sick leave for other applicable leave procedures and policies. However, notwithstanding anything contrary in such a procedure or policy, ESTA hours may be used for any ESTA purpose and ESTA provisions apply to the use of those ESTA hours.  
   
   
7. ESTA hours must be used in no less than one-hour increments, with the exception of salaried employees who must use ESTA in half or whole day increments consistent with their sick leave procedures.
   
   
8. Employees may only use up to 72 ESTA hours per College ESTA benefit year. The ESTA benefit year is defined as February 21^st – February 20^th.
   
   
9. Unused ESTA hours will carry over into the next ESTA benefit year .
   
   
10. For ESTA hours use, employees must notify their supervisor of any absence at least 7 days in advance for foreseeable leave and as soon as practicable for unforeseeable leave.
    
    
11. When returning to work after four or more consecutive days, upon College Human Resources Office request the employee must provide the College Human Resources Office in a timely manner with documentation that ESTA hours were used for an ESTA purpose.
    
    
12. Unused ESTA hours will not be paid out upon separation of employment.
    
    
13. If an employee is rehired within two months of separation of employment, their ESTA hours will be reinstated upon rehire.
    
    
14. Failure to comply with notice procedures or document requests to support the use of ESTA hours may result in discipline, including discharge.
    
    
15. In the event of a conflict between this Procedure and an applicable collective bargaining agreement, the collective bargaining agreement will govern to the extent of the conflict.

Participation
All employees

Revision/review dates
February 27, 2025