St. Paul's proposed rules for citywide paid sick leave could end up looking a lot like those Minneapolis approved in May.

Business owners who have employees in Minneapolis and St. Paul asked for the two sets of regulations to be as closely aligned as possible, City Council Member Chris Tolbert said. So he and two other council members, Dai Thao and Russ Stark, plan to suggest numerous changes to St. Paul's draft sick leave ordinance Wednesday.

The ordinance would ensure that workers could earn paid sick leave to take care of themselves or a family member when they are ill or if certain emergencies arise. A task force including business owners, labor representatives and advocates created St. Paul's draft regulations. Members of the group said they anticipated the City Council would make changes to those rules.

But one of the council members' recommended amendments is particularly contentious: It would remove employees' ability to take their employer to court if the employer violates sick leave rules.

Instead, the council members are suggesting that aggrieved employees go through an administrative process with the city. After that process, if the worker believes city officials are not enforcing the rule, they can appeal in court, Tolbert said. That approach could save both workers and employers from paying attorneys' fees and prevent frivolous complaints, he said, and it is in line with the Minneapolis procedure.

Rose Roach, co-chairwoman of the task force and executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association, said she will advocate for the city to keep a worker's right to sue his or her employer in the ordinance. But, she added, she wants to learn more about the proposed administrative process.

Roach is also concerned about an amendment that says sick leave rules would not apply to workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement until after the current agreement expires. Most workers who are in unions get sick time — but not everyone, Roach said, and those employees "shouldn't be left out in the cold."

The council members' proposed amendments would also allow employees to immediately start earning paid leave, as Minneapolis' ordinance allows. The task force had proposed that employees should work 80 hours before they could start earning the leave.

The amended ordinance lists a few new situations under which someone could use paid leave, such as the closing of a workplace due to public health emergency. Minneapolis also allows paid time off for that reason.

However, one key difference between the two cities' ordinances remains: St. Paul would require all businesses to offer paid sick leave, while Minneapolis exempted those with fewer than six workers.

Tolbert said he hopes St. Paul's final ordinance "threads that needle" between protecting public health and not being overly burdensome for employers.

Jessie Van Berkel • 612-673-4649