March 11, 2016

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Family & Medical Leave
Senate Introduces Paid Family & Medical Leave Program; Hearing Set For Monday

On Thursday DFL Senator Katie Seiben introduced legislation (S.F. 2558) requiring employers and employees contribute into an insurance program that would provide pay during times of family and medical leave. Although the bill language been accessible for less than two days the Senate has scheduled a hearing for the bill this Monday at 2:00 p.m. before the Committee on State and Local Government.

The bill would create a payroll tax paid 50/50 by employers and employees. Employees could draw on the fund for up to twelve weeks for medical leave with an apparent potential for an additional twelve weeks for parenting leave.

MnRA is actively engaged and monitoring this legislation and will provide updates as they become available.       
Pharmacy
90 Days At Retail Pharmacy Bill Introduced In The Senate; House Hearing Scheduled This Wednesday

Legislation allowing for dispensing of an extended supply (up to 90 days) of prescription medication was introduced this week by Senator Julie Rosen. In addition, MnRA worked to secure a hearing in the House Health and Human Services Policy Committee Wednesday, March 16, 12:45 p.m.  Representative Roz Peterson is the chief author carrying the same bill in the House.

This legislation would allow a patient to receive up to a 90 day supply of certain medication by streamlining communication between a pharmacist and a prescribing physician when multiple refills have been authorized.  Studies have shown this could increase medication adherence and improve customer satisfaction.

90 days at retail is a top priority for MnRA in the 2016 legislative session. 
Online Sales Tax
Online Marketplace Sales Tax Collection Bill Introduced In The Senate

Senator Ann Rest, Chair of the Committee on Tax Reform, introduced a bill (S.F. 2374) this week that would require facilitators of online marketplace sales to collect state sales tax on third party transactions. This language was also introduced in the House this week by Representative Joe Atkins.

No hearings have been scheduled for the bills at this time. 

Local Update
Minneapolis Sick/Safe Leave Recommendation Goes To City Council March 16; St. Paul Study Group Met For First Time This Week   

Minneapolis:
A 19-member Minneapolis work group, including MnRA president Bruce Nustad who serves as an alternate, has been meeting since December in an effort to craft a sick/safe leave recommendation to the City Council.  That report is due to the Council on March 16.  The group next meets March 14 to review a draft of the recommendation report.

St. Paul:
St. Paul's 26-member Earned Sick and Safe Time Task Force met this week for the first time. Click here for a list of taskforce members. The group is charged with preparing a recommended local approach to mandated sick and safe leave.
 
MnRA has special distribution lists on each of these local initiatives. Members can request to be added to the lists by e-mailing bruce@mnretail.org.
 
sick Leave
Will St. Paul Be Pressured To Follow Minneapolis' Lead On Mandatory Paid Leave?

From Minnpost.com, Peter Callihan, March 11, 2016

"With a work group in Minneapolis just completing its examination of paid leave - and a similar effort in St. Paul just getting underway - it appears both cities could adopt mandatory leave policies for local businesses this year.

But as the state's two largest cities - home to an estimated labor force of 485,000 - move toward requiring employers to provide paid leave, a bigger question is emerging for those who employ people in both cities: will the rules be similar enough to make the administration of the law easier, if not exactly easy? After all, business owners who employ workers in and outside the city of Minneapolis have already complained about the potential headaches of having some employees accruing sick leave under the law while others don't.

There is also an even more complicated possibility. Employers who have workers in Minneapolis, in St. Paul, and elsewhere in the metro could essentially have three categories of workers - those accruing leave under a policy in Minneapolis, those accruing leave under different rules in St. Paul, and those not accruing at all.

Bruce Nustad, the president of the Minnesota Retailers Association, which has members in both cities is an alternate member of the Minneapolis task force, said it is important for the rules to be the same. Doing things differently would lead to confusion for workers and difficulty for employers. But he said he thinks St. Paul will take its own path and that to reconcile the two will require conversations between the two cities. Given the timing, it could require Minneapolis to change some of its rules.

That potential is a reason why Minneapolis should have a longer implementation period for whatever ordinance it adopts - perhaps up to a year, Nustad said."

Read the full article. 
Week 1
Bill Introductions
 
Below is a digest of bills introduced this week that may impact Minnesota retailers and consumers.
 
House of Representatives
 
Lesch, Metsa, Schultz, Davnie and Pugh introduced:
H. F. 2385, A bill for an act relating to data privacy; protecting applicant's and employee's personal usernames and passwords from access by employers; providing for civil enforcement; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 181. The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Civil Law and Data Practices

Atkins introduced:
H. F. 2769, A bill for an act relating to taxation; sales and use; modifying requirements for collecting sales and use tax; amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 297A.66, subdivisions 1, 3, 4, by adding subdivisions.  
 
 
Senate   
 
Senators Sieben, Pappas, Franzen, Bakk and Hawj introduced: 
S.F. No. 2558: A bill for an act relating to paid family medical leave benefits; establishing a family and medical leave benefit insurance program; imposing a wage tax; authorizing rulemaking; creating an account; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, sections 13.719, by adding a subdivision; 268.19, subdivision 1; 290.01, subdivision 19b; Minnesota Statutes 2015 Supplement, section 177.27, subdivision 4; proposing coding for new law as Minnesota Statutes, chapter 268B. Referred to the Committee on State and Local Government.   
 
Senators Dziedzic, Sheran, Dahms and Hall introduce:
S.F. No. 2584:A bill for an act relating to human rights; establishing demand letter requirements for disability discrimination actions related to accessibility; providing for accessibility audits or plans; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 363A.28, subdivision 3; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 363A. Referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
 
Senator Rosen introduced:
S.F. No. 2548: A bill for an act relating to health; allowing pharmacists to dispense a 90-day supply of a prescription drug under certain circumstances; amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 151.21, by adding a subdivision.Referred to the Committee on Health, Human Services and Housing.

Senator Rest introduced:
S.F. No. 2374: A bill for an act relating to taxation; sales and use; modifying requirements for collecting sales and use tax; amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 297A.66, subdivisions 1, 3, 4, by adding subdivisions. Referred to the Committee on Taxes.
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Minnesota Retailers Associaiton
400 Robert Street North, suite 1540
St. Paul, MN 55101
Tel. (651) 227-6631 - mnretail.org - mnra@mnretail.org