Image: Saline Human Resources Director Elle Getschman explains the new sick leave law to the city council at its December 16, 2024 meeting. Image: City video screenshot.

At a recent meeting, the Saline City Council reviewed updates to the city’s personnel policies, particularly regarding part-time and seasonal employee sick leave. The changes stem from Michigan’s new Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA), which takes effect February 2, 2025.

Saline Human Resources Director Elle Getschman explained that the new law requires employers to provide sick time to all employees—including part-time, irregular, and seasonal staff—at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked.

Currently, the city’s robust full-time sick leave policy meets ESTA requirements, but adjustments were necessary for part-time employees. These adjustments include a rolling sick time bank for part-time staff that accrues annually without payout. While the policy change will create a long-term budget liability, the immediate financial impact is expected to be minimal.

The memo presented to the council estimates an additional annual liability between $13,447 and $23,285, depending on employee hours and wages. This liability accounts for accrued sick leave hours based on the past year’s data.

Getschman also highlighted changes to part-time holiday pay policies, which previously caused confusion. “Right now, our regular [policy] just kind of says that regular part-time employees are going to get holiday pay, but it doesn’t really outline how we do that,” she noted. To ensure consistency, the ambiguous language will be removed.

Council members acknowledged the memo and discussed whether to proceed immediately or postpone action to account for potential legislative changes before the law takes effect. At the Council’s December 16 meeting, Mayor Brian Marl confirmed that the legislature still had three days in session, leaving room for further amendments.

Ultimately, the council postponed final approval until January 13, 2025, agreeing that the policy will appear on the consent agenda unless significant changes occur.