Minnesota Session Laws - 1990, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1990 

                        CHAPTER 577-S.F.No. 409 
           An act relating to employment; providing for certain 
          employee leaves of absences; amending Minnesota 
          Statutes 1988, sections 181.940; 181.941; 181.942; 
          181.943; and 181.944; proposing coding for new law in 
          Minnesota Statutes, chapter 181. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 181.940, is 
amended to read:  
    181.940 [DEFINITIONS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE.] For the purposes of sections 
181.940 to 181.944, the following terms defined in this section 
have the meanings given to them in this section. 
    Subd. 2.  [EMPLOYEE.] "Employee" means a person who 
performs services for hire for an employer from whom a leave is 
requested under sections 181.940 to 181.944, for at least 12 
consecutive months preceding the request, and for an average of 
20 or more hours per week during those 12 months, and includes 
all individuals employed at any site owned or operated by an the 
employer.  Employee does not include an independent contractor. 
    Subd. 3.  [EMPLOYER.] "Employer" means a person or entity 
that employs 21 or more employees at at least one site and, 
except that, for purposes of the school leave allowed under 
section 3, "employer" means a person or entity that employs one 
or more employees in Minnesota.  The term includes an 
individual, corporation, partnership, association, nonprofit 
organization, group of persons, state, county, town, city, 
school district, or other governmental subdivision.  
    Subd. 4.  [CHILD.] "Child" means an individual under 18 
years of age or an individual under age 20 who is still 
attending secondary school.  
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 181.941, is 
amended to read: 
    181.941 [PARENTING LEAVE.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [SIX-WEEK LEAVE; BIRTH OR ADOPTION.] An 
employer must grant an unpaid leave of absence to an employee 
who has been employed by the employer for at least 12 months and 
who is a natural or adoptive parent in conjunction with the 
birth or adoption of a child.  The length of the leave shall be 
determined by the employee, but may not exceed six weeks, unless 
agreed to by the employer. 
    Subd. 2.  [START OF LEAVE.] The leave shall begin at a time 
requested by the employee.  The employer may adopt reasonable 
policies governing the timing of requests for unpaid leave.  The 
leave may begin not more than six weeks after the birth or 
adoption; except that, in the case where the child must remain 
in the hospital longer than the mother, the leave may not begin 
more than six weeks after the child leaves the hospital.  
    Subd. 3.  [NO EMPLOYER RETRIBUTION.] An employer shall not 
retaliate against an employee for requesting or obtaining a 
leave of absence as provided by this section. 
    Subd. 4.  [CONTINUED INSURANCE.] The employer shall must 
continue to make coverage available to the employee, while on 
leave of absence, under any group insurance policy, group 
subscriber contract, or health care plan for the employee and 
any dependents.  Nothing in this section requires the employer 
to pay the costs of the insurance or health care while the 
employee is on leave of absence. 
    Sec. 3.  [181.9412] [SCHOOL CONFERENCE AND ACTIVITIES 
LEAVE.] 
    (a) An employer must grant an employee leave of up to a 
total of 16 hours during any school year to attend school 
conferences or classroom activities related to the employee's 
child, provided the conferences or classroom activities cannot 
be scheduled during nonwork hours.  When the leave cannot be 
scheduled during nonwork hours and the need for the leave is 
foreseeable, the employee must provide reasonable prior notice 
of the leave and make a reasonable effort to schedule the leave 
so as not to disrupt unduly the operations of the employer. 
    (b) Nothing in this section requires that the leave be 
paid; except that, an employee may substitute any accrued paid 
vacation leave or other appropriate paid leave for any part of 
the leave under this section.  
    Sec. 4.  [181.9413] [SICK CHILD CARE LEAVE.] 
    An employee may use personal sick leave benefits provided 
by the employer for absences due to an illness of the employee's 
child for such reasonable periods as the employee's attendance 
with the child may be necessary, on the same terms the employee 
is able to use sick leave benefits for the employee's own 
illness.  This section applies only to sick leave benefits 
payable to the employee from the employer's general assets. 
    Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 181.942, is 
amended to read: 
    181.942 [REINSTATEMENT AFTER LEAVE.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [COMPARABLE POSITION.] (a) An employee 
returning from a leave of absence shall be under section 181.941 
is entitled to return to employment in the employee's former 
position or in a position of comparable duties, number of hours, 
and pay.  An employee returning from a leave of absence longer 
than one month must notify a supervisor at least two weeks prior 
to return from leave.  An employee returning from a leave under 
section 181.9412 or 181.9413 is entitled to return to employment 
in the employee's former position.  
    (b) If, during the a leave under sections 181.940 to 
181.944, the employer experiences a layoff and the employee 
would have lost a position had the employee not been on leave, 
pursuant to the good faith operation of a bona fide layoff and 
recall system, including a system under a collective bargaining 
agreement, the employee is not entitled to reinstatement in the 
former or comparable position.  In such circumstances, the 
employee retains all rights under the layoff and recall system, 
including a system under a collective bargaining agreement, as 
if the employee had not taken the leave. 
    Subd. 2.  [PAY; BENEFITS; ON RETURN.] An employee returning 
from a leave of absence shall under sections 181.940 to 181.944 
is entitled to return to work employment at the same rate of pay 
the employee had been receiving when the leave commenced, plus 
any automatic adjustments in the employee's pay scale that 
occurred during leave period.  The employee returning from a 
leave shall is entitled to retain all accrued preleave benefits 
of employment and seniority, as if there had been no 
interruption in service; provided that nothing in sections 
181.940 to 181.943 181.944 prevents the accrual of benefits or 
seniority during the leave pursuant to a collective bargaining 
or other agreement between the employer and employees. 
    Subd. 3.  [PART-TIME RETURN.] An employee, by agreement 
with the employer, may return to work part time during the leave 
period without forfeiting the right to return to employment at 
the end of the leave period, as provided in sections 181.940 to 
181.943 181.944. 
    Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 181.943, is 
amended to read: 
    181.943 [RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LEAVE.] 
    (a) The length of parental leave provided by sections 
181.940 to 181.944 under section 181.941 may be reduced by any 
period of paid parental or disability leave, but not accrued 
sick leave, provided by the employer, so that the total leave 
does not exceed six weeks, unless agreed to by the employer. 
    (b) Nothing in sections 181.940 to 181.943 prevents any 
employer from providing parental leave benefits in addition to 
those provided in sections 181.940 to 181.943 181.944 or 
otherwise affects an employee's rights with respect to any other 
employment benefit. 
    Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 181.944, is 
amended to read: 
    181.944 [INDIVIDUAL REMEDIES.] 
    In addition to any other remedies otherwise provided by 
law, any a person injured by a violation of sections 181.940 to 
181.943 may bring a civil action to recover any and all damages 
recoverable at law, together with costs and disbursements, 
including reasonable attorney's fees, and may receive injunctive 
and other equitable relief as determined by a court. 
    Presented to the governor April 28, 1990 
    Signed by the governor May 4, 1990, 11:20 p.m.