As we previously reported, on May 11, 2014, Governor Dayton signed the Women’s Economic Security Act (“WESA”) into law. While some of WESA’s provisions went into effect immediately, other provisions are set to go into effect on July 1, 2014. Employers must take immediate steps to ensure that their employee handbooks and policies are updated to comply with the new WESA provisions.
Pregnancy Leave Expanded from 6 to 12 Weeks
Effective July 1st, WESA increases the amount of pregnancy leave available to employees under the Minnesota Parenting Leave Act (“MPLA”) from 6 to 12 weeks. It is important to remember that the MPLA applies only to employers with 21 or more employees.
Nothing in the new law appears to prevent employees from taking an additional 6 weeks of unpaid parenting leave if the employee has already taken 6 weeks of parenting leave under the pre-WESA provision. However, the law does make clear that the leave “must begin within 12 months of the birth or adoption . . . .”
The MPLA, as amended, also makes clear that leave taken pursuant to the FMLA, as well as paid parental, disability, personal, medical, sick leave, and accrued vacation provided by the employer may be used to reduce the employee’s 12-week leave entitlement under MPLA as amended by WESA. Again, however, it is unclear how this provision would affect leave taken prior to the July 1 effective date.
Given the uncertainty in this area, employers who are subject to the MPLA should seek the assistance of counsel to ensure that their leave policies are properly updated and properly coordinated with other leave entitlements.
Expanded Uses of Employer-Provided “Sick Leave”
WESA also amends MPLA to expand the situations where employees may use employer-provided sick leave. First, effective July 1st, employees may use sick leave provided by their employer for the purpose of “providing or receiving assistance because of sexual assault, domestic abuse, or stalking.” Second, also effective July 1st, employers must permit employees to use their sick leave for “absences due to an illness or injury to the employee’s . . . mother-in-law, father-in-law, [and] grandchild.”
Under the new law, employers may limit employees’ use of “safety leave” and leave for extended family members, such as a mother-in-law, father-in-law, or grandchild to “no less than 160 hours in any 12-month period.”
There are two important limitations to this new law. First, as noted above, the MPLA applies only to employers with 21 or more employees. Second, the law does not require that employers provide employees sick leave benefits, either paid or unpaid. But, if they do, employers must permit employees to use these benefits in accord with the new law.
Wage Disclosure Protections
Effective July 1st, WESA creates a new section in Chapter 181, Section 181.172, which prohibits employers from “(1) requir[ing] nondisclosure by an employee of his or her wages as a condition of employment; (2) requir[ing] an employee to sign a waiver . . . which purports to deny an employee the right to disclose the employee’s wages; or (3) tak[ing] any adverse employment action against an employee for disclosing the employee’s own wages or discussing another employee’s wages which have been disclosed voluntarily.”
The new law does make clear that it does not “create an obligation on any employer or employee to disclose wages” or in any way permit an employee to “disclose proprietary information, trade secret information, or information that is otherwise subject to a legal privilege or protected by law.”
The new law requires all employers who provide employees with an employee handbook to “include in the handbook notice of employee rights and remedies” under this new law. While cutting and pasting a copy of the new law is likely sufficient to comply with this requirement, employers should consider drafting a wage disclosure policy. But, be sure to have an attorney review the policy before it is implemented. Interested employers can also obtain a copy of our model wage disclosure policy from any member of Felhaber Larson’s Labor & Employment Law Group.
Any violation of the new law may permit an employee to bring a civil action for reinstatement, back pay, restoration of lost service credit and the expungement of adverse employment records. Also, certain employers may be on the hook for attorneys’ fees.
All employers, including those who provide an employee handbook, should take immediate steps to comply with the new law. Employers also may want to consider defining (with examples) proprietary information, trade secret information and privileged information, so employees understand that this information may not be shared.
Amendments to Nursing Mothers Break Statute
Effective July 1st, WESA amends Minn. Stat. § 181.939 to enlarge the employer’s obligation to provide a separate space for nursing mothers to express milk.
Specifically, the new law sets forth that employers must provide nursing mothers with a room or other location, “other than a bathroom or a toilet stall, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public and that includes access to an electrical outlet, where the employee can express her milk in privacy.” WESA provides that violations of this provision may be enforced through a civil action pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 181.944, which makes attorneys’ fees available.
Employers should be sure that their policies and practices relating to providing nursing mothers with breaks to express milk are updated by July 1 in order to comply with the specific requirements set forth in WESA.
Bottom Line
The time for action is now. These WESA provisions go into effect on July 1st, so employers must review and revise their employee handbooks and train supervisors on how to comply.
For more information on WESA, consider attending Felhaber Larson’s half-day seminar on July 23, 2014 entitled, “Assessing the Implications of the Women’s Economic Security Act.” For more information on the seminar, click here.