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Council introduces ordinance changes to align municipal code with Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act
Summary
Sterling Heights introduced amendments to city code sections 2‑175 and 2‑177 to align benefits for ordinance employees with the Michigan Earned Sick Time Act (Public Act 2 of 2025); staff said the city is already administering most required changes and will reconcile with union contracts as they expire.
Sterling Heights City Council on May 6 voted to introduce an ordinance amendment to chapter 2, article 5 (sections 2‑175 and 2‑177) of the city code to ensure the city’s ordinance-employee benefits comply with the Michigan Earned Sick Time Act (recently effective and amended by Public Act 2 of 2025).
Human Resources Director Kate Baldwin explained the ordinance addresses two employee buckets: employees hired before Sept. 1, 2022, who accrue traditional sick leave banks, and employees hired after that date who receive front‑loaded paid time off (PTO). "ESTA requires carry forward of unused sick time for accrual employees up to a statutory maximum," Baldwin said. For the court’s ordinance employees, the combination of accrual plus carry-forward yields a proposed maximum accumulation adjusted in city code to 22 days to account for state-protected carryover.
Baldwin said other required modifications in the proposed ordinance include notice and documentation rules: employers may require advance notice for foreseeable leave but may not require documentation until after three consecutive days of leave, and documentation costs may be the employer’s responsibility if the employee must obtain records after that threshold.
Why it mattered: The Michigan Supreme Court’s prior rulings and the subsequent state statute produced a complex compliance environment. Baldwin told council staff has been administering earned sick time provisions and that ordinance language will be used to conform local benefits for ordinance employees and will be reconciled with collective bargaining agreements as those contracts expire.
Council action: Councilwoman Zarko moved to introduce the ordinance amendments to comply with the Michigan Earned Sick Time Act as amended by Public Act 2 of 2025. The motion carried with no recorded objections. The measure was introduced for later adoption after required readings and any necessary coordination with collective bargaining expiration dates.
Next steps: The ordinance will proceed through the normal adoption process and staff will adjust union contract provisions at their next contract negotiations or upon expiration in accordance with state law.
