Michigan Earned Sick Time: Employee Attendance

You may be risking fines of up to $1,000 and eight times employees' hourly wages for each ESTA violation. Let us walk you through text-based solutions for frontline teams that will make compliance easy:

• Simplify Sick Leave Call-In

Enable fast, lawful PPTO requests and display sick time accruals via text message, no app or login necessary.

• Customize Attendance Flows

Collect and store required information seamlessly — based on location, employee type, and other flexible variables.

• Streamline Communication and Transparency

Automatically deliver balance texts, send policy updates, and collect acknowledgements.

Make compliance easy

When the ESTA went into effect, we needed to start tracking a new type of absence, along with stricter confidentiality requirements, for non-union employees only, and quickly. TeamSense put that problem to bed. They helped us update our absence reporting and stay compliant without burdening our team.

Director of HR, Android Industries

Michigan ESTA Compliance - Employer FAQs

What are the most important actions employers need to take?

1. Update your attendance policies for Michigan-based employees to comply with ESTA standards.
2. Notify covered employees of these updates and their rights.
3. Implement a system to track and maintain records of earned sick time accrual and usage.

Who does the ESTA apply to?

• All non-federal employers, regardless of location.
• Nearly all paid employees located in Michigan, including hourly, but not unionized employees until their CBAs expire.

How does sick time accrue?

• Employees of large businesses earn one hour of paid sick leave per 30 hours worked, for a total of 72 hours per year.
• Employers can frontload all hours for immediate use, at a minimum that is proportional to the expected annual work hours.
• Sick time accrues from the first day of employment, with no limit on carryover.

How can employees use sick time?

• Personal or family health needs, including mental or physical illness, injury, or preventive care.
• Public health emergencies, such as school closures due to government orders.
• Domestic violence or sexual assault recovery, including seeking medical care, counseling, legal action, or relocation.
• School or childcare-related absences due to health concerns.

What are our obligations if we have 10+ employees?

• Provide notice to employees of your policies and their rights under ESTA.
• Display approved posters in the workplace.
• Track accrual and usage, maintaining records for three years.
• Pay employees for sick time at their normal hourly or base wage.
• Protect employees from adverse actions for using their earned sick time.

What restrictions can an employer place on the use of sick time?

• Usage may be restricted for the first 120 days of employment.
• Employers may set an annual usage limit of no less than 72 hours.

What notice and documentation can an employer require?

• The ESTA requires seven days’ notice for use if the reason is foreseeable. If not, notice must be provided “as soon as practicable.”
• For the first three days of absence, employees are not required to provide documentation or an explanation beyond notifying that they are using their earned sick leave.

Can an existing PTO policy suffice for compliance?

You will still need to track earned sick time accrual, but an employer’s paid time policy may be used as long as:

• it provides at least the same benefits as provided in the ESTA,
• it may be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions,
• time is accrued at at least the same rate.