MARSHALL — New state legislation passed this year meant Lyon County needed to make some policy changes affecting how employees accrue sick leave. But the changes weren’t big ones, county staff said this week.

“It’s a little bit of a change, but still there’s no extra hours, and we’re not taking any hours away. There’s just a few different reasons they can use their sick time,” said Lyon County Human Resources Director Tegan Lindsley.

County commissioners voted to approve new policies for Earned Sick and Safe Time.

“Effective January 2024, we are required to offer Earned Sick and Safe Time,” under new state laws passed this year, Lindsley said.

Under the new law, employees are eligible for sick and safe time if they work at least 80 hours in a year for an employer in Minnesota, and are not an independent contractor. Earned sick and safe time can be used when an employee is ill or getting medical treatment, but also if an employee is caring for a sick family member, or is absent due to other situations like domestic abuse, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry said.

Lindsley said the county’s current sick leave policy already met most of the standards the state required. The proposed policy changes wouldn’t affect the overall amount of sick leave county employees accrued, either.

“(Full-time) employees will still earn 96 hours of sick time each year, it will just look a little bit different on their time sheets. And there are a few different reasons that employees can use this time,” Lindsley said. “It won’t make a significant change. It is just something that we now have to offer.”

Under the proposed new county policy, the first 48 hours of sick leave accrued by county employees each year will be accrued as Earned Sick and Safe Time. If the need to use the ESST is foreseeable, employees are asked to give notice a week prior to when they will be absent.

Lindsley said the county would post information outlining ESST uses and eligibility, and she also planned to notify county employees about the changes.

“This is a pretty simple fix for us,” said Commissioner Rick Anderson. The board voted to approve the ESST policy changes.