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Minnesota legislators Reps. Dave Baker and Patricia Mueller were in Austin Friday morning at the Hormel Historic Home for a listening session.

The reason for the session was to hear directly from local employers about their challenges and the impact of recent legislative challenges.

The session was led by Baker, the committee chair for the Workforce, Labor and Economic Development Finance and Policy and was a chance for employers to give “real world” feedback on workforce and labor policies as well as an opportunity to shape conversations around future legislation.

During his presentation, Baker addressed issues such as working together to make the state competitive, especially regarding border counties.

In particular the session touched on concerns created by the Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST), which went into effect in 2024 and requires employers to ensure paid sick and safe time that can be used by the employee who is sick as well as to care for a sick family member.

However, for many small businesses this new law has been something of a burden as it adds excess financial strains.

“We understand that we can’t just repeal it (ESST), but we need to find something other than a one size fits all,” Baker said.

Some of the concerns raised included what employers can ask of employees, having difficulties with hiring some positions and jobs with highly grained positions that can not be filled by temporary employees.

Mower County Administrator Trish Harren Gjersvik brought up the idea of looking for a way to opt out due to the county already having negotiated time off that meets high standards.

Diane Baker, director of the YMCA at the Austin Area Community Recreation Center noted that the immediate goal should be to try and postpone the law so that there can be time to create customized plans that work for businesses of different sizes.