FAQs
Starting January 1, 2024, St. Olaf College will be implementing new leave policies to comply with Minnesota’s new Earned Sick and Safe Time law. Review the details to the right to determine which guidelines apply to you. For a more comprehensive read, visit dli.mn.gov/sick-leave.
How do I know if the new Earned Sick and Safe Time law impacts me?
A St. Olaf employee is eligible if they:
- Work at least 80 hours in the 12-month calendar year for an employer
- Are not an independent contractor or federal employee
Under the new law, what can earned sick and safe time be used for?
- An employee’s mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventive care
- The mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventive care of an employee’s family member
- Absence due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking of an employee or their family member
- Closure of an employee’s workplace due to weather or public emergency or closure of their family member’s school or care facility due to weather or public emergency; and
- When determined by a health authority or health care professional that an employee or their family member is at risk of infecting others with a communicable disease
Which family members are included?
Employees may use earned sick and safe time for the following family members:
- Their child, including foster child, adult child, legal ward, child for whom the employee is legal guardian, or child to whom the employee stands or stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent);
- Their spouse or registered domestic partner;
- Their sibling, stepsibling, or foster sibling;
- Their biological, adoptive or foster parent, stepparent, or a person who stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent) when the employee was a minor child;
- Their grandchild, foster grandchild, or step-grandchild;
- Their grandparent or step-grandparent;
- A child of a sibling of the employee;
- A sibling of the parents of the employee;
- A child-in-law or sibling-in-law;
- Any of the family members listed in 1 through 9 above of an employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner;
- Any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship; and
- Up to one individual annually designated by the employee.
How do I know if I am employed by St. Olaf?
Please check your pay stub or bank deposits. If you are an employee of the college, your pay stub will be from “St. Olaf College.”
How much sick and safe time can employees earn with this?
The amount of PTO time that you accrue each pay period will stay the same as it exceeds the requirements of the law (MN Sick and Safe law).
How can I document and track my time off?
Starting January 1, 2024, all time will be tracked in Oracle, our new St. Olaf enterprise system. This coincides with non-exempt staff employed by the college (such as hourly employees and student employees) entering their time into Oracle starting the new year. View Oracle updates at stolaf.edu/oracle.
How do I know if the new Earned Sick and Safe Time law impacts me?
A St. Olaf employee is eligible if they:
- Work at least 80 hours in the 12-month calendar year for an employer
- Are not an independent contractor or federal employee
How are Exempt staff impacted by this new benefit?
Time off for St. Olaf faculty and exempt employees (such as professional and salaried staff) have existing sick time plans which can continue to be utilized – but the new state law requires that we now separately accrue and report this earned benefit. At St. Olaf, the scope or reason to take time off is expanded but is not tracked the same as non-exempt staff, halftime staff and working students.
How much sick and safe time can employees earn with this new benefit?
An employee earns one hour of sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked and can earn a maximum of 48 hours each year.
Under the new law, what can earned sick and safe time be used for?
- An employee’s mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventive care
- The mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventive care of an employee’s family member
- Absence due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking of an employee or their family member
- Closure of an employee’s workplace due to weather or public emergency or closure of their family member’s school or care facility due to weather or public emergency; and
- When determined by a health authority or health care professional that an employee or their family member is at risk of infecting others with a communicable disease
Which family members are included?
Employees may use earned sick and safe time for the following family members:
- Their child, including foster child, adult child, legal ward, child for whom the employee is legal guardian, or child to whom the employee stands or stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent);
- Their spouse or registered domestic partner;
- Their sibling, stepsibling, or foster sibling;
- Their biological, adoptive or foster parent, stepparent, or a person who stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent) when the employee was a minor child;
- Their grandchild, foster grandchild, or step-grandchild;
- Their grandparent or step-grandparent;
- A child of a sibling of the employee;
- A sibling of the parents of the employee;
- A child-in-law or sibling-in-law;
- Any of the family members listed in 1 through 9 above of an employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner;
- Any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship; and
- Up to one individual annually designated by the employee.
How do I know if I am employed by St. Olaf?
Please check your pay stub or bank deposits. If you are an employee of the college, your pay stub will be from “St. Olaf College.”
How can I document and track my time off?
Starting January 1, 2024, all time will be tracked in Oracle, our new St. Olaf enterprise system. This coincides with staff employed by the college (such as hourly employees and student employees) entering their time into Oracle starting the new year. View Oracle updates at stolaf.edu/oracle.
This new time recording process is being created as an addition into our Oracle system and will be available for you to enter your sick/safe time use sometime in January (not yet prepared for January 1).
How do I know if the new Earned Sick and Safe Time law impacts me?
A St. Olaf employee is eligible if they:
- Work at least 80 hours in the 12-month calendar year for an employer
- Are not an independent contractor or federal employee
How are Faculty impacted by this new benefit?
Time off for St. Olaf faculty and exempt employees (such as professional and salaried staff) have existing sick time plans which can continue to be utilized – but the new state law requires that we now separately accrue and report this earned benefit. At St. Olaf, the scope or reason to take time off is expanded but is not tracked the same as non-exempt staff, halftime staff and working students.
How much sick and safe time can employees earn with this new benefit?
An employee earns one hour of sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked and can earn a maximum of 48 hours each year.
Under the new law, what can earned sick and safe time be used for?
- An employee’s mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventive care
- The mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventive care of an employee’s family member
- Absence due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking of an employee or their family member
- Closure of an employee’s workplace due to weather or public emergency or closure of their family member’s school or care facility due to weather or public emergency; and
- When determined by a health authority or health care professional that an employee or their family member is at risk of infecting others with a communicable disease
Which family members are included?
Employees may use earned sick and safe time for the following family members:
- Their child, including foster child, adult child, legal ward, child for whom the employee is legal guardian, or child to whom the employee stands or stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent);
- Their spouse or registered domestic partner;
- Their sibling, stepsibling, or foster sibling;
- Their biological, adoptive or foster parent, stepparent, or a person who stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent) when the employee was a minor child;
- Their grandchild, foster grandchild, or step-grandchild;
- Their grandparent or step-grandparent;
- A child of a sibling of the employee;
- A sibling of the parents of the employee;
- A child-in-law or sibling-in-law;
- Any of the family members listed in 1 through 9 above of an employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner;
- Any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship; and
- Up to one individual annually designated by the employee.
How do I know if I am employed by St. Olaf?
Please check your pay stub or bank deposits. If you are an employee of the college, your pay stub will be from “St. Olaf College.”
Do I need to document and track my time off?
Starting January 1, 2024, faculty can continue to use their existing processes for sick time. However, if they choose to utilize the new Sick/Safe program for a qualified use, they can choose to track their time in Oracle, our new St. Olaf enterprise system. View Oracle updates at stolaf.edu/oracle.
This new time recording process is being created as an addition into our Oracle system and will be available for you to enter your sick/safe time use sometime in January (not yet prepared for January 1).
How do I know if the new Earned Sick and Safe Time law impacts me?
A St. Olaf employee is eligible if they:
- Work at least 80 hours in the 12-month calendar year for an employer
- Are not an independent contractor or federal employee
How are employees working less than half time and not currently eligible for benefits impacted by this new benefit?
To implement this new law, St. Olaf will now provide accrued time off for the reasons listed below to staff working more than 80 hours in a year. This is a new benefit for part time staff and it will be tracked and reported through Oracle as part of your pay statement.
How much sick and safe time can employees earn with this new benefit?
An employee earns one hour of sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked and can earn a maximum of 48 hours each year.
Under the new law, what can earned sick and safe time be used for?
- An employee’s mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventive care
- The mental or physical illness, treatment, or preventive care of an employee’s family member
- Absence due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking of an employee or their family member
- Closure of an employee’s workplace due to weather or public emergency or closure of their family member’s school or care facility due to weather or public emergency; and
- When determined by a health authority or health care professional that an employee or their family member is at risk of infecting others with a communicable disease
Which family members are included?
Employees may use earned sick and safe time for the following family members:
- Their child, including foster child, adult child, legal ward, child for whom the employee is legal guardian, or child to whom the employee stands or stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent);
- Their spouse or registered domestic partner;
- Their sibling, stepsibling, or foster sibling;
- Their biological, adoptive or foster parent, stepparent, or a person who stood in loco parentis (in place of a parent) when the employee was a minor child;
- Their grandchild, foster grandchild, or step-grandchild;
- Their grandparent or step-grandparent;
- A child of a sibling of the employee;
- A sibling of the parents of the employee;
- A child-in-law or sibling-in-law;
- Any of the family members listed in 1 through 9 above of an employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner;
- Any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship; and
- Up to one individual annually designated by the employee.
How do I know if I am employed by St. Olaf?
Please check your pay stub or bank deposits. If you are an employee of the college, your pay stub will be from “St. Olaf College.”
How much sick and safe time can employees earn with this ?
An employee earns one hour of sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked and can earn a maximum of 48 hours each year.
How can I document and track my time off?
Starting January 1, 2024, all time will be tracked in Oracle, our new St. Olaf enterprise system. This coincides with non-exempt staff employed by the college (such as hourly employees and student employees) entering their time into Oracle starting the new year. View Oracle updates at stolaf.edu/oracle.