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hires. Commissioner Stewart reported that committee members determined adjustments <br />should be focused on the lower tenured employees and provided a proposed schedule <br />outlined in document 5.3b. <br />Commissioner Westgaard asked if Minnesota's new law for earned sick and safe time <br />leave was considered when the proposed changes were discussed. Ms. Karpinski <br />explained that ERMU's plan is more robust than what is being required by the state. She <br />noted that the only work group that will be affected by the new law will be <br />temporary/seasonal hires. ERMU typically has only one or two employees per year in this <br />category. <br />Ms. Zachman clarified the impact of the new state mandate to ERMU stating that 48 <br />hours of sick and safe time leave would need to be offered to our temporary, seasonal, or <br />part-time employees only. <br />Chair Dietz asked for clarification regarding what happens to a temporary or seasonal <br />employee's accrued sick and safe time hours if they leave and then return to the <br />company. Ms. Zachman replied that if the employee returns during the same calendar <br />year the statute states the employee would be able to access those hours. <br />Mr. Hanson stated that staff will provide specific sick and safe time details at the <br />November or December commission meeting. He assured the Commission that the impact <br />to budget will be minimal since it only applies to the one or two seasonal employees per <br />year and not the 46 full time employees. <br />Commissioner Stewart presented staff's request for changes to the night work and rest <br />time policy, citing safety as their main concern. <br />Commissioner Bell asked if the qualified sleep time rate of pay is time and a half. Mr. <br />Geiser replied that qualified sleep time is paid at the regular pay rate. <br />Commissioner Stewart asked if overnight work is a rare occurrence. Mr. Geiser replied <br />that it is. <br />Chair Dietz expressed his concern regarding the proposed vacation policy as it compared <br />to the City of Elk River's vacation policy. Further discussion revealed a discrepancy <br />between the City's vacation policy information provided to Chair Dietz and that which was <br />provided to the ERMU general manager and human resources generalist. <br />Chair Dietz presented the proposed bereavement leave update. The committee supports <br />more inclusive verbiage but felt the current three days were appropriate given the <br />proposed changes to the vacation accrual schedule. The committee also supported adding <br />a tier for uncles, aunts, and cousins for one day. <br />Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes <br />October 10, 2023 <br />Page 5 <br />37 <br />