Earned Safe and Sick Time

Effective January 1, 2025, temporary employees who are paid by Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS)on an hourly or daily basis earn Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) sick leave hours at a rate of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked up to an annual (calendar year) maximum of 48 hours. Unused hours can be rolled over for a maximum balance of 80 hours. (Employees working at an SPPS site, but paid by an outside temp agency, are eligible for ESST through their temp agency).

Regular employees receive sick time according to their union contract. A year for the purposes of employees’ earned sick and safe time accrual is the calendar year. Because the time off accrual in the union contracts is more generous than the ESST accrual, regular employees do not earn additional/separate ESST hours on their regular or additional temporary assignments. Employees can use sick time earned each calendar year according to the ESST usage rules. 

Please review the 2026 Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) Employee Notice and the Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) Frequently Asked Questions for a full list of what ESST time can be used for as well as other important information regarding this change.

If you have questions, please Email the Human Resources Department at hr.info@spps.org.