As more and more states pass mandatory paid family and medical leave (PFML) laws, others stand firm in their decision to keep leave at the individual employer level. North Dakota is one of those states.
If you run a business in North Dakota or employ remote workers in the Peace Garden State, you may not have any state leave laws to abide by, but you do have to follow federal leave guidelines. Keep reading for a summary of all your responsibilities.
Employee leave laws in North Dakota
North Dakota doesn’t have any statewide employee leave laws requiring employers to give workers paid or unpaid leave. That includes parental leave, caregiving leave, medical leave, short-term disability, earned sick time, and vacation; none of it is mandatory.
In fact, North Dakota even passed a law in 2021 (HB 1398) prohibiting counties and cities from passing their own paid leave ordinances. They didn’t want cities to have the power to require local employers to give people leave privileges beyond state and federal offerings.
How federal leave works in North Dakota
All US employers with at least 50 employees have to adhere to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA, which went into effect in the 90s, requires covered employers to give their workers 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying life events.
4 reasons employees can take FMLA leave
Bonding with a newborn, adopted, or fostered child
Caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition
Managing a serious personal health condition
Managing affairs when a spouse, child, or parent is on or called to active duty
Who’s eligible to take FMLA leave?
To qualify for FMLA leave, employees have to meet all three criteria:
Work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles
Work for a covered employer for at least 12 months, consecutively or non-consecutively
Work at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before leave begins
What do employers have to do to comply with FMLA?
Here are your obligations as a covered employer. (Remember: to be a covered employer, you have to employ at least 50 people who work within a 75-mile radius.)
1. Educate employees about their FMLA leave rights
Just like with overtime and minimum wage laws, employees have a right to know what they’re legally entitled to in the workplace. That’s where you come in. You need to:
Hang a poster in a prominent area of your workplace that explains what FMLA leave is, who can take it, and how.
Give written notice to all your FMLA-eligible employees (aka people who’ve worked for you for at least a year and have performed 1,250 hours of work). The notice should include instructions on how and when to request a leave.
Give written notice to new hires explaining what they need to do to become eligible for leave.
2. Review leave requests and distribute FMLA documents
After an employee requests leave, the paperwork begins. There are two documents you’ll fill out, then pass along to your employees to review and complete:
Rights and Responsibilities Notice: Due to your employee within five business days of their leave request
This form confirms:
The reason your employee needs to take leave
The 12-month period they’re allowed to take leave
The tentative leave start and end dates
Their hours of work service and length of work service
Leave certification requirements
Employee rights and responsibilities under FMLA leave
Designation Notice: Due to your employee within five days of turning in the Rights and Responsibilities Notice
This form:
Officially approves or denies an FMLA leave request
Indicates whether or not you’ll require employees to use their paid time off during leave
3. Maintain your employees’ jobs and health insurance during leave
There are two important protections to uphold when you’re a covered FMLA employer:
Maintaining your employee’s health insurance during leave and
Restoring their job when they return from leave.
4. Keep thorough records of leave requests and approvals
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recommends keeping the following papers for at least three to four years:
Employment contracts
Employee contact information
Employee job classification
Job start date
Timesheets
Payroll receipts
Documentation of employees requesting leave
Copies of all FMLA notices
Copies of leave certification paperwork
How do employees in North Dakota take employee leave?
Without any guaranteed government support, here’s what North Dakota workers rely on when they inevitably need time off work:
Employer-provided leave: Some employers in North Dakota provide paid leave in the form of earned sick time, vacation days, or short-term disability insurance. It’s rare for employees to have access to several consecutive paid weeks off, though.
FMLA leave: Some employees qualify for FMLA leave—if they work for a covered employer and meet all the eligibility requirements. That’s unfortunately not quite as common. According to data gathered by the National Partnership of Women and Families, 62% of North Dakotans don’t have access to FMLA leave. Even those who do qualify might not be able to take 12 weeks without a paycheck.
Unfortunately, those are the only two options employees have. In the best-case scenario, assuming someone has a considerate employer and qualifies for FMLA leave, they can take at most two-ish weeks of paid time off and another 10 weeks of unpaid time off. In the worst-case scenario, an employee might cobble together a few days of PTO before having to return to work—or forfeit their job.
Neither of those choices supports your workers, and by extension your business.
The power of paid leave
Upfront, paid leave might seem like an impossible employer sacrifice: you contribute a portion of payroll to let your workers pause their jobs for three months. Where’s the benefit to you? But the reality is there’s a massive, well-documented benefit to businesses that provide paid leave.
You have to look beyond the initial sacrifices to see the bigger picture. Besides the fact that paid leave keeps people physically, mentally, and financially healthier, paid leave is a long-term investment in the well-being of your workers, the longevity of your business, and the strength of your bottom line.
Paid leave has been shown to:
Increase workplace morale
Raise employee satisfaction, engagement, and productivity rates
Increase retention rates and reduce turnover
Give businesses a competitive edge
Where to start with offering paid leave
The simplest way to begin offering paid leave is to research paid family leave insurance products. Just like with health insurance, you can split premiums with your employees or pass on the full premium cost to your workers. Either way, you invite your employees to opt in.
Most state programs provide the following as a baseline:
Bonding, caregiving, personal medical leave, and military-related leave
12 weeks of leave
A weekly benefit of 50-90% of an employee’s usual wages while on leave
Continued health insurance during leave
Job protection during leave
If you need more concrete details or inspiration, check out the policies in Maryland, Colorado, and Delaware. Then browse our guide to building a paid leave policy.
North Dakota business guides
Save these resources to make sure you’re taking advantage of state offerings and keeping compliant along the way.
