FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMEDIA CONTACT:
Dominica Bernstein, 218.689.7739 (cell)
Dominica.bernstein@house.mn.gov
News Release
Statement from Chair Baker on Misuse of Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time Law  ST. PAUL, MN — Late Monday night, the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) issued a social media post encouraging individuals participating in a planned “labor strike” this Friday to use Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) law to take time off work. The post specifically advises participants to use ESST for only one day and to cite it as a “mental health day” in order to avoid providing an explanation to their employer. Chair Dave Baker issued the following statement in response: “Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time law exists for a very specific reason—to ensure workers can take time off when they or their family members are genuinely sick, unsafe, or in need of care. Using ESST to participate in political activism completely undermines the spirit of the law and why it was enacted. State law is clear: political protest is not an acceptable use of earned sick and safe time.”
Chair Baker also raised serious concerns about the guidance encouraging workers to misrepresent their reason for taking leave. “What is especially troubling is the suggestion that employees should be dishonest with their employers by falsely claiming a ‘mental health day’ when the real purpose is participation in a planned protest. Encouraging workers to mislead their employer is irresponsible and damages the trust that workplace policies like ESST rely on to function properly.”
Finally, Chair Baker noted that the ESST statute includes clear notice requirements that may be violated under the scenario outlined in the DSA’s post. “Minnesota law also states that if an employer has a written policy requiring notice for the foreseeable use of earned sick and safe time, employees are required to provide that notice. If individuals know in advance that they plan to use ESST to take part in a strike and intentionally choose not to notify their employer despite a written policy, that is a violation of state law.”
Chair Baker emphasized that misuse of ESST puts the law itself at risk. “Misusing ESST for purposes it was never intended for ultimately hurts workers who rely on this law when they are truly sick or unsafe. We should be protecting the integrity of earned sick and safe time—not encouraging people to abuse it for political purposes.”
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