Minnesota · Paid Leave · Updated April 2026

City ESST: most-favorable rule across three jurisdictions.

Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington each run their own Earned Sick and Safe Time ordinances on top of the state law. Coverage applies to workers performing 80+ hours per year inside city boundaries — the same threshold as state coverage. Employers must follow the requirements most favorable to the employee. The 2025 amendments (Saint Paul Nov 16, 2025; Minneapolis Dec 31, 2025) aligned the cities more closely with the state framework, but residual differences persist — most notably St. Paul's harassment-related leave accommodation, broader than state.

Cities
Mpls, StP, Bloomington
Coverage Trigger
80+ hrs/yr in city
Rule
Most favorable to employee
Active

City ESST Most-Favorable Routing

Tracks worker hours in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington against city coverage thresholds. Applies most-favorable rule per worker. Routes harassment-related leave per St. Paul's broader scope.

Flag · 80+ hrs/yr in city triggers coverage
Critical · St. Paul harassment leave broader than state
Always running

What those rules do at city threshold crossings.

The hero card configuration: Flag on coverage threshold, Critical on city-specific scope.

Flag · 80+ hours per year in city triggers coverage

When a worker accumulates 80+ hours of work in Minneapolis, St. Paul, or Bloomington in any benefit year, the worker is covered by that city's ESST ordinance. The threshold tracks state coverage threshold (80 hours/year) with city-specific geographic boundaries.

Critical · St. Paul harassment leave accommodation

St. Paul's ESST ordinance accommodates leave requests related to harassment, even where state law would not require ESST coverage. Workers in St. Paul can use ESST for harassment-related circumstances; in Minneapolis or under state law, the same circumstance might not be covered.

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The rule, plainly stated

Three city ordinances, state law on top — most-favorable rule decides.

The three cities share a common 80-hour coverage threshold and a 1-per-30 accrual rate. Differences come from use cases, documentation thresholds, and increment-of-use rules.

Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington ESST Ordinances: An employer with employees who work at least 80 hours in a year within Minneapolis, St. Paul, or Bloomington shall provide earned sick and safe time at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked, with city-specific provisions where more favorable to the employee.

80-hour coverage threshold

All three city ordinances cover workers performing at least 80 hours of work in city boundaries during any benefit year. The threshold mirrors the state ESST coverage threshold (80 hours/year). A worker who hits 80 hours in Minneapolis is covered by Minneapolis ESST in addition to state ESST. A worker hitting 80 hours in St. Paul is covered by St. Paul ESST. The thresholds are independent — a worker can be covered by all three ordinances if they hit 80 hours in each city.

Most-favorable rule

Where the city ordinance and state law differ, the employer must apply the requirements most favorable to the worker. In practice: if a city ordinance provides more generous accrual, broader use cases, longer documentation thresholds, or shorter increments-of-use, the city rule applies. Employers cannot 'cherry-pick' provisions; they apply the city ordinance in full where the city is more favorable.

On autopilot

Teambridge tracks city coverage and applies the most-favorable rule.

The post-2025 alignment narrowed the gap between state and city rules; the residual differences (especially St. Paul harassment) still require per-jurisdiction handling.

01 · 80-hour coverage tracking per city

Cumulative hours per benefit year.

Each worker's hours are tracked separately against Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington boundaries. Crossing 80 hours in any city triggers ESST coverage by that city ordinance.

02 · Most-favorable rule application

City vs state requirements compared.

For workers covered by a city ordinance, requirements are compared against state law. Most-favorable rule applied per requirement (accrual, use cases, documentation, increments).

03 · St. Paul harassment-leave routing

Broader use case enabled in St. Paul only.

Workers in St. Paul who request ESST for harassment-related circumstances are accommodated. The same request from a worker in Minneapolis or outside city boundaries is evaluated against state-law use cases (which may not cover harassment specifically).

04 · Per-paystub display

City coverage indicated.

Each worker's pay statement indicates which ESST regime governs (state, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, or multiple). Balance and usage tracked accordingly.

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FAQ

People also ask.

Which Minnesota cities have ESST ordinances?
Three: Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington. All three apply to workers performing 80+ hours per year inside city boundaries.
How do city ESST ordinances coordinate with state law?
The most-favorable rule applies: where the city ordinance provides better terms (accrual, use cases, documentation thresholds, increments of use), the city rule controls. Where state law is more favorable, state rule controls.
What's different about St. Paul ESST?
St. Paul accommodates leave requests related to harassment — including by an employer or co-worker. State law does not enumerate harassment as a covered use case. Workers in St. Paul can use ESST for harassment-related needs.
Did 2025 amendments change the city ordinances?
Yes. St. Paul amended its ordinance effective November 16, 2025; Minneapolis effective December 31, 2025. Both aligned more closely with state law on documentation threshold (more than 2 consecutive workdays, down from 3) and increment-of-use rules.
How is city coverage determined?
By work location and the 80-hour-per-year threshold. A worker performing 80+ hours in city boundaries during a benefit year is covered by that city's ordinance. Multi-city workers can be covered by multiple ordinances simultaneously.