Nearly One Year In: How Is ESTA Working for Your Business? Plus, Resources to Help

What’s happening: Michigan employers have now been operating under the new Michigan Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA) for nearly a year – with enforcement active and compliance questions continuing across industries and employer sizes.

• Share your experience in our short ESTA employer survey.

Why your feedback matters: Employers have worked in good faith to update policies, handbooks and procedures to meet ESTA requirements. At the same time, real-world implementation has surfaced practical challenges, administrative complexity and cost concerns – particularly for small and mid-size businesses.

• Hearing directly from employers will help us best understand:
  • What has been clear and workable
  • Where confusion or inconsistency remains
  • How compliance impacts day-to-day operations
  • What policymakers should consider for potential changes to the law

The reality check and bottom line: Compliance remains an ongoing responsibility. ESTA established continuing obligations, not one-time changes. Employers should regularly review whether their practices align with current requirements, including:

• Paid sick leave accrual vs. frontloading methodology
• Carryover and usage rules
• Employee notice, posting and record-keeping requirements
• Consistency between written policies and actual practice

To support employers, the Michigan Chamber has created a 2026 ESTA Compliance Checklist outlining the key areas businesses should review to reduce compliance gaps and enforcement risk.

• Access this checklist and resources now.

What’s next: Your experience – whether ESTA implementation has been manageable or challenging – provides critical insight into how the law is functioning on the ground. That feedback will help guide discussions with policymakers and help us find additional opportunities to make improvements to the law.