Minnesota has enacted legislation (House File 2) that will create a paid family and medical leave program in the state. Contributions to the program and wage-replacement benefits will begin January 1, 2026. Employers can opt to have a private plan to meet the requirements, provided the plan is approved by the state.
The Details
Covered Employers
The program covers all employers with at least one employee performing services for wages (covered employment). For the purposes of the law, covered employment means an employee's entire employment during the calendar year if 50 percent or more of the employment during the calendar year:
- Is performed in Minnesota;
- Isn’t performed in Minnesota or any other state, or Canada, but some of the employment is performed in Minnesota and the employee's residence is in Minnesota during 50 percent or more of the calendar year; or
- Isn’t performed in Minnesota or any other state, or Canada, but the place from where the employee's employment is controlled and directed is based in Minnesota.
Covered employment doesn’t include:
- A self-employed individual;
- An independent contractor; or
- Employment by a seasonal employee (as defined by the law).
Reasons for Leave
The program will cover the following absences:
- For pregnancy or to recover from giving birth (medical leave);
- For an employee’s own serious health condition (medical leave);
- To bond with a new child (bonding leave);
- To care for a family member with a serious health condition or a family member who is a military member (family care leave);
- A need arising out of a military member's active duty service or notice of an impending call or order to active duty in the United States armed forces, including providing for the care or other needs of the family member's child or other dependent, making financial or legal arrangements for the family member, attending counseling, attending military events or ceremonies, spending time with the family member during a rest and recuperation leave or following return from deployment, or making arrangements following the death of the military member (qualifying exigency leave); and/or
- So the employee or a family member may seek medical attention, victim services, counseling, relocation or legal advice because of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking (safety leave).
Under the law, “family member" is defined as:
- A spouse or domestic partner;
- A child, including a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis, is a legal guardian, or is a de facto parent;
- A parent or legal guardian of the employee;
- A sibling;
- A grandchild;
- A grandparent or spouse's grandparent;
- A son-in-law or daughter-in-law; and
- An individual who has a relationship with the applicant that creates an expectation and reliance that the applicant care for the individual, whether or not the applicant and the individual reside together.
Amount of Leave
The maximum number of weeks that an employee may receive benefits in a single benefit year for medical leave is the lesser of 12 weeks, or 12 weeks minus the number of weeks within the same benefit year that the employee received benefits for bonding, safety, family care or qualifying exigency leave plus eight weeks.
The maximum number of weeks that an employee may receive benefits in a single benefit year for bonding, safety, family care or qualifying exigency leave is the lesser of 12 weeks, or 12 weeks minus the number of weeks within the same benefit year that the employee received benefits for medical leave plus eight weeks.
An employer may require leave taken under this law to run concurrently with leave taken under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. However, employers are prohibited from compelling an employee to exhaust accumulated sick, vacation or personal time before or while taking paid family and medical leave.
With the exception of bonding leave, any claim for benefits must be based on a single qualifying event of at least seven calendar days. There is no minimum for bonding leave.
Employees may begin using leave January 1, 2026.
Employee Notice
If the need for leave is foreseeable, an employee must provide the employer at least 30 days' advance notice before the leave. If 30 days' notice isn’t possible, notice must be given as soon as possible. Whether leave is to be continuous or is to be taken intermittently, notice need only be given one time, but the employee must advise the employer as soon as possible if dates of scheduled leave change or are extended, or were initially unknown.
An employee must provide at least oral, telephone or text message notice sufficient to make the employer aware that the employee needs leave allowed under the law and the anticipated timing and duration of the leave.
An employer may require an employee to comply with the employer's usual and customary notice and procedural requirements for requesting leave.
Reinstatement
Upon return from leave, subject to certain limitations, an employee who has worked at least 90 days for an employer is entitled to be returned to the same position the employee held when leave commenced, or to an equivalent position with equivalent benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment. An employee is entitled to reinstatement, even if the employee has been replaced or the employee's position has been restructured to accommodate the employee's absence. See the text of the law for details on limitations on reinstatement rights.
Employer Notice
Effective November 1, 2025, employers must notify their employees about the program. Each employer must issue to each employee no more than 30 days from the beginning date of the employee's employment, or 30 days before premium collection begins, whichever is later, the following written information provided by the state Department of Employment and Economic Development in the primary language of the employee:
- An explanation of the availability of family and medical leave benefits provided, including rights to reinstatement and continuation of health insurance;
- The amount of premium deductions made by the employer;
- The employer's premium amount and obligations;
- The name and mailing address of the employer;
- The identification number assigned to the employer by the state Department of Employment and Economic Development;
- Instructions on how to file a claim for family and medical leave benefits;
- The mailing address, email address, and telephone number of the Department of Employment and Economic Development; and
- Any other information required by the Department of Employment and Economic Development.
Employers must also obtain a written or electronic acknowledgment of receipt of the information, or a signed statement indicating the employee's refusal to sign such acknowledgment.
The notice may be provided in paper or electronic format. For notice provided in electronic format only, the employer must provide employee access to an employer-owned computer during an employee's regular working hours to review and print required notices.
The state Department of Employment and Economic Development will prepare a uniform employee notice form for employers to use that provides the notice information required. The commissioner will prepare the uniform employee notice in the five most common languages spoken in Minnesota.
Wage Statements
In addition to the information already required, wage statements must include any amount deducted by the employer for the employee’s portion of the premium and the amount paid by the employer for their portion of the premium.
Employer Contributions
For 2026, the premium rate for the program is 0.7 percent of an employee’s wages, but will be adjusted based on usage in subsequent years. Employers must pay at least 50 percent of the applicable premium rate (that is 0.35 percent of an employee’s wages in 2026).
There is a small business exclusion through which employers with fewer than 30 employees will pay a reduced premium amount. See the text of the law for details.
Employee Contributions
Employees, through a deduction, must pay the remaining 50 percent (0.35 percent of their wages in 2026), of the premium not paid by the employer. Deductions for premiums are prohibited from causing an employee's wage, after the deduction, to fall below the rate required to be paid to the worker by law.
Small Employer Grants
Employers with 30 or fewer employees and less than $3,000,000 in gross annual revenues may apply to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development for grants. Grants must be used to hire temporary workers or to increase wages for current employees. The department may approve a grant of up to $3,000 if the employer hires a temporary worker, or increases another existing worker's wages, to substitute for an employee on family or medical leave for a period of seven days or more. The maximum total grant per eligible employer in a calendar year is $6,000.
Next Steps
- Review leave policies and update them if necessary.
- Watch for the sample notice that must be provided to employees.
- Once published, provide the sample notice to new hires and existing employees.
- Prepare to begin making contributions on January 1, 2026.
- Train supervisors on how to handle leave requests.
- Begin providing leave for the covered reasons by January 1, 2026.
Please contact your dedicated service professional with any questions.