Michigan Passes New Paid Leave Law with Posting Requirement

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By Kelsey Basten

Published on Jan. 10, 2019

Michigan enacted the Paid Medical Leave Act (PMLA) in December 19, 2018, effective March 29, 2019. The new law requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide paid medical leave for personal or family needs.

The Details

The leave may be used for:

• The employee’s or employee’s family member’s mental or physical illness, injury or health condition, including medical diagnosis, care or treatment and preventative medical care
• Medical or psychological care for physical or psychological injury or disability resulting from domestic violence or sexual assault, to obtain legal services or participate in related court proceedings
• Closure of the employee’s primary workplace or child’s school or daycare due to a public health emergency or if the employee or family member has been quarantined

The law does not apply to employees that are:

• Exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA because they are a bona fide executive, administrative or professional employee or an outside salesperson
• Not located in the state of Michigan
• Not employed for at least 25 weeks or more in a calendar year, or their job is scheduled for 25 weeks or less
• Those who worked, on average, fewer than 25 hours per week during the immediately preceding calendar year; or employees covered by collective bargaining agreements entered before March 2019

Employees will accrue one hour of leave for every 35 hours worked. Also, employers may limit an employee’s accrual to 40 hours of paid leave per year. Employers may require an employee to wait to use the paid leave until 90 days after their start date of employment.

Other states with paid leave laws include:

• Arizona
• California
• Connecticut
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• New Jersey
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Washington

Posting Requirement

Under the new law, employers are required to display a poster in a conspicuous area. The poster must include information about the amount of paid medical leave required from employers, the terms under which the leave may be used and the employee’s right to file a complaint with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs for any violation. As of the date of this article, (Jan. 10, 2019), the department has not released the posting yet.

This Labor Law News Blog is intended for market awareness only, it is not to be used for legal advice or counsel.