Summary: As we previously reported here, Minnesota passed a paid family and medical leave law in May 2023 (HF 2, and hereinafter referred to as "MN PFML"), effective January 1, 2026. MN PFML will provide partial wage replacement and job protections, paid by the state, for Minnesota-based workers unable to work for qualifying leave types.
With the passage of MN PFML, Minnesota became the first state in the Midwest to mandate employers provide paid family and medical leave to their Minnesota-based employees.
Read on for specific details on the MN PFML program and employer compliance next steps ahead of the January 1, 2026 effective date.
January 1, 2026
Employers covered under MN PFML include all employers in Minnesota (regardless of size) with one or more employees, except for:
NOTE: Employers excluded from Minnesota unemployment insurance (such as religious, non-profit, and agricultural employers) as well as Minnesota municipalities and local government entities are all covered under MN PFML.
Employees covered under MN PFML include all employees, including full-time and part-time employees, who:
Remote workers are covered under MN PFML if they work at least 50% of their time from a location in Minnesota, including employees who work from home in Minnesota or spend some time working in other states. Remote workers are not covered under MN PFML if they work more than 50% of their time in a different state.
If an employee does not work at least 50% of their time in any single state, they are covered under MN PFML if they live in Minnesota during at least 50% of the calendar year.
Example: If an employee splits their work time equally between Minnesota and two other states but lives in Minnesota, they are covered under MN PFML.
Seasonal hospitality employees are not covered under MN PFML. "Seasonal hospitality employee" under MN PFML means an individual who is employed for 150 (or fewer) days during any consecutive 52-week period in hospitality by an employer whose average receipts during any 6 months of the preceding calendar year were not more than 33% of its average receipts for the other 6 months of such year.
Hospitality employers are defined under applicable Minnesota state law and generally include restaurants, hotels, motels, lodges, resorts, food stands, food trucks, school or special event concession stands, and mobile and seasonal food businesses.
Seasonal Hospitality Employee Designation & Exemption: Employers must apply to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (MN DEED) and submit certifications (to be provided by the MN DEED) to have employees designated and exempted from MN PFML as seasonal hospitality employees.
Additionally, employers must also provide notice to their applicable seasonal hospitality employees informing them that they are not covered under MN PFML upon hire or by December 1, 2025 if they are already employed.
Click here for more details.
Covered employees may take up to 12 weeks for the different types of leave events outlined below. However, employees are limited to a combined maximum of 20 weeks in a benefit year.
Serious health condition is defined broadly under MN PFML to include an employee’s physical or mental illness, injury, impairment, condition, or substance use disorder that involves inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider.
Family member is defined broadly under MN PFML to include:
Military member is defined under MN PFML as a current or former member of the United States armed forces, including a member of the National Guard or reserves, who, except for a deceased military member, is a resident of Minnesota and is a family member of the employee taking MN PFML leave related to the qualifying exigency.
Except for bonding leave, qualifying leaves must last at least seven days and be certified by a health care provider or designated professional.
Benefit year generally means the period of 52 calendar weeks beginning when an employee’s leave starts, except for equivalent plans. For leave that begins on January 1, April 1, July 1 or October 1, the benefit year lasts 53 weeks.
Employees can take up to 480 hours (the equivalent of 12 weeks at 40 hours per week) of MN PFML leave intermittently each year.
Employees requesting intermittent leave must provide their employer with a schedule of needed workdays off as soon as practicable, and they must make a reasonable effort to schedule the leave so as not to unduly disrupt the employer’s operations. However, the employer cannot require the employee to change their leave schedule for this reason.
Leave taken intermittently must be taken in increments consistent with the employer’s policy for other types of leave, but the employer’s minimum increment cannot be more than one calendar day.
Employers are not required to provide more than 480 hours of intermittent MN PFML leave in any 12-month period. If an employee qualifies for the maximum 20 weeks of MN PFML leave in a year, employers can decide if that additional time can also be taken intermittently, or if it must be taken in one continuous block.
Eligible individuals can receive up to 90% wage replacement while taking MN PFML leave, up to a maximum value of $1,372 per week (equal to the statewide average weekly wage).
MN PFML benefits are paid for by premiums on employee wages, split between the employer and employees. Employers can begin to deduct the employee share of the premium on January 1, 2026, when benefits become available.
Employers will pay the first premiums to the MN DEED by April 30, 2026. First premiums will be based on wages paid from January 1, 2026 to March 31, 2026. Click here for a premium calculator tool provided by the MN DEED.
The premium rate will be 0.88% in 2026. The total premium rate includes both a Family Leave and a Medical Leave premium that can be split between employer and employee contributions. The premium rate will be set each year, subject to a maximum set in state law.
Starting in January 2026, employers will contribute a minimum of 50% of the total premium, though they may choose to pay up to 100% of the premium. Employers will be able to deduct the remainder from employee pay, up to a maximum of 50% of the premium.
MN PFML premiums rate will be capped at 1.2% of an employee’s wages up to the Social Security wage base.
NOTE: MN PFML premium deductions cannot result in an employee earning less than the required minimum wage under applicable law, which may require employers pay for more than half of the premium.
Small Employer MN PFML Reduced Premiums: Small employers pay a reduced premium rate under MN PFML if they employ 30 or fewer people and the average employee wage is less than 150% of the statewide average weekly wage.
Starting in January 2026, small employers will be eligible to apply for state-funded assistance grants of up to $3,000 per worker, capped at $6,000 annually per employer, to hire temporary employees or increase the wages of existing workers to cover for those employees taking MN PFML.
The table below from the MN DEED outlines the 2026 MN PFML contribution rates:
|
2026 Contribution Rates for MN PFML |
|
|---|---|
|
Total Premium Rate |
0.88% |
|
Maximum Employee Contribution Rate |
0.44% |
|
Minimum Employer Contribution Rate |
0.44% |
|
Minimum Small Employer Contribution Rate |
0.22% |
|
Maximum Weekly Benefit |
$1,372 |
When the need for leave under MN PFML is foreseeable, employees must provide 30 days' advance notice.
Employee notice may be provided to the employer verbally, by telephone, or text message, provided the notice is sufficient to make the employer aware that the employee needs MN PFML leave, along with providing the anticipated leave timing and duration.
When the need for leave is not foreseeable, employees must provide notice to their employer as soon as practicable and in accordance with the employer’s usual and customary notice requirements for requesting other leave, including the employer's attendance or call-out policies and procedures.
Employers may not require an employee to search for or find a replacement worker before taking MN PFML leave.
Employers may satisfy their MN PFML obligations by applying for approval of an equivalent plan from the state. The equivalent plan must provide all of the same benefits, rights, and protections to employees as the state program at the same employee contribution rate.
Click here for state guidance on equivalent plans, including how employers apply online for an equivalent plan substitution. Employers approved for an equivalent plan will not pay premiums to the state, but they must still comply with the MN PFML wage reporting and employee notification requirements, including a required poster (model equivalent plan poster accessed here) and a required equivalent plan employee notice (model notice can be downloaded here).
Additionally, employers with equivalent plans must pay a nonrefundable fee of $250, $500, or $1,000 (depending on employer size) upon the initial application for equivalent plan approval and when the employer applies to amend the plan. Click here for an equivalent plan guide.
Equivalent plans may be purchased from an insurance carrier or self-insured by the employer. Self-insured plans must be backed by a surety bond.
NOTE: Equivalent plans must cover former employees for 26 weeks after employment termination or until the individual is hired by a new employer (whichever is shorter), and may not cut off eligibility for a former employee during the course of an approved leave.
Paid Leave Benefits: Employers are allowed (but not required) to designate certain employer-provided paid leave benefits (such as salary continuation, paid time off, vacation, and/or sick time) as "supplemental benefits," which permits employees to choose to receive up to full salary continuation during their MN PFML leave. Any supplemental benefit payments combined with any MN PFML benefit payments received may not exceed the regular salary/wages of an employee.
Employers cannot force an employee to exhaust accumulated sick, vacation, or other paid time off before or while taking MN PFML leave.
FMLA: If the qualifying reason for taking MN PFML leave (including intermittent MN PFML leave) also qualifies for unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employers may require that both MN PFML and FMLA leaves run concurrently with each other.
MPLA: MN PFML does not replace the Minnesota Parental Leave Act (MPLA), which generally provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave during an employee’s pregnancy or upon the birth or adoption of their child. However, employers may require that leave taken under MN PFML run concurrently with leave taken for the same purpose under the MPLA.
Poster: Employers must post a workplace poster in a conspicuous place, providing notice of MN PFML benefits by December 1, 2025. The notice must be in English and any other language that is the primary language of five or more employees or independent contractors of that workplace, if a notice in that language is available from the MN DEED.
Notice: Employers must also provide each of their employees with the following written information provided by the MN DEED, in the primary language of the employee, by December 1, 2025:
The notice must be provided to each employee within 30 days from the start of their employment or 30 days before premium deduction collection begins, whichever is later.
The employee notices must be acknowledged in writing or electronically. They may also be provided electronically as long as the employer provides access to a computer during the employee’s regular working hours to review and print the required notice.
Click here to access the MN DEED model poster and sample employee notice.
Job restoration rights apply to employees who have been employed by their employer for 90 calendar days before taking MN PFML. An employee who has taken MN PFML leave must be restored to the same position or an equivalent position with the same pay, benefits, length of service, and seniority as prior to the date of leave.
Employers are required to maintain an employee’s existing health benefits for the employee (and their dependents) at the same employee contribution amount while taking MN PFML.
NOTE: Both MN PFML job restoration and health benefit continuation rights may be waived for construction employees working under a bona fide collective bargaining agreement (CBA) under certain circumstances, provided the waiver is set forth in clear and unambiguous terms in the CBA.
Employers are prohibited from discharging, disciplining, penalizing, interfering with, threatening, restraining, coercing, or otherwise retaliating or discriminating against an employee for requesting or taking MN PFML leave.
Violations are subject to penalties of $1,000 - $10,000 each, payable to the aggrieved employee. False statements by employers are subject to penalties of $500 or 50% of the amount of any resulting overpaid or underpaid benefits, whichever is greater.
Additionally, employees alleging employer violations of MN PFML may file civil suits for damages and injunctive relief.
The timeline below reflects key MN PFML dates:
Employers with Minnesota-based employees are advised to take the following steps to comply with MN PFML requirements:
For those employers interested in learning more about equivalent plan options or have additional questions regarding MN PFML, the Risk Strategies Absence Management team is here to help. Contact them directly here.
[1] Self-employed individuals and independent contractors may opt into MN PFML.