Michigan’s Paid Medical Leave Act has been amended to make it workable for both employers and employees. The amended law took effect on March 29, 2019. The Act now applies only to employers with 50 or more employees and mandates up to 40 hours of paid medical leave per year These can either be accrued or provided all at once by the employer.

In general, all employees whose primary work location is Michigan are entitled to leave under the Act, unless they fall within an exception. The following types of employees are not entitled to leave under the Act:

• overtime exempt employees;
• employees covered under a private sector collective bargaining agreement;
• employees who are paid a youth minimum wage or training wage under the improved workforce opportunity wage act;
• temporary employees as defined under Michigan’s employment security act;
• part-time employees who averaged less than 25 hours per week in the prior calendar year;
• employees who worked 25 weeks or less in a job that was scheduled to last 25 weeks or less;
• certain transportation workers and railroad employees;
• employees of the United States government or another state; and
• certain variable-hour employees.

Leave must be given for the following reasons:

• mental or physical illness, injury or health condition, or the diagnosis, care or treatment of same, or preventive care, whether for the employee or employee’s family member;
• issues related to domestic violence or assault involving the employee or employee’s family member;
• closure of the employee’s workplace or employee’s child’s school due to a public health emergency; or
• the employee’s or employee’s family member’s exposure to a communicable disease is determined by a health care provider or health official of jeopardizing the health of others.

The Act defines “family member” as any biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild or legal ward, 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 anyone who stood in loco parentis for the employee when the employee was a child; and the employee’s spouse, grandparents, grandchildren and siblings.

Employees must begin accruing leave on March 29, 2019, or their first day of employment, whichever is later. An employer can require new employees to wait 90 days before using accrued leave, but they begin accruing it immediately.

Resources:

Employers must comply with the notice requirement of the Act by displaying the required poster in the workplace. The poster is available here.

For more detailed information, see the enrolled legislation for Michigan’s Paid Medical Leave Act.