Minnesota Paid Leave Law: Eligibility, Benefits, and Job Protection

The Minnesota paid leave law, in effect for benefits starting January 1, 2026, replaces part of your wages when you need time off for your own serious health condition, to care for a family member, to bond with a new child, to address domestic abuse or a similar safety issue, or to handle a military family member’s active-duty situation. The program is run by the state, funded by a premium split between you and your employer, and claims are filed through pl.mn.gov.¹

Who Is Covered

Almost every employer in Minnesota participates, no matter the size and whether nonprofit or for-profit. Federal agencies are the main exception, because state law cannot force them to join.² If most of your work happens inside Minnesota, you’re covered even when your employer is based elsewhere.

The definition of “family member” is unusually wide. It covers spouses, children, parents, siblings, grandchildren, grandparents (including your spouse’s grandparents), and children- or parents-in-law. It also reaches anyone you have a personal relationship with that creates an expectation of caregiving, whether or not you share a home.³

Independent contractors and self-employed workers aren’t in automatically. You can opt in, but the commitment lasts at least 104 consecutive weeks, and you’ll need to show net self-employment earnings from your most recent tax year. Cancellation is only effective January 1 and requires 30 days’ notice.⁴

Reasons You Can Take Leave

The law recognizes five categories of qualifying leave:³

Medical leave for your own serious health condition, including inpatient care, ongoing treatment, or pregnancy-related medical needs.
Family care leave when a family member has a serious health condition and needs your care.
Bonding leave after the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child, generally used within the first year.
Safety leave to deal with domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking, including medical care, legal help, or securing housing.
Qualifying exigency leave tied to a family member’s active-duty military service or impending call to service.

How Long the Leave Runs and How Much It Pays

You can take up to 12 weeks in a benefit year for any single qualifying reason. If more than one qualifying event hits in the same year, you can stack different leave types up to a combined 20 weeks in a 52-week period.² Someone recovering from surgery who then needs to care for an ill parent could use medical leave followed by family care leave up to that 20-week cap.

Leave doesn’t have to be continuous. You can take it intermittently, in individual days or partial days, for at least 480 hours in a benefit year. Beyond 480 hours, remaining time may have to be taken continuously depending on the reason.

There’s no waiting period before payments begin, though the state starts processing your payment on day eight of your leave.⁵ The weekly benefit uses a progressive formula tied to the state average weekly wage:⁶

90% of your average weekly wages up to 50% of the state average weekly wage
66% of the portion between 50% and 100% of the state average
55% of any wages above 100% of the state average

The weekly maximum equals the state average weekly wage and adjusts each year. Most workers land between 55% and 90% wage replacement. Payments come from the state insurance fund, not from your employer’s payroll.⁷

What It Costs You

The program runs on a premium of 0.88% of wages for 2026.⁸ Employers must pay at least half and can choose to pay all of it. If your employer splits the cost, your share is withheld from your paycheck, but the deduction can’t drop your pay below the applicable minimum wage. Small employers with 30 or fewer employees whose average wage is at or below 150% of the state average may pay a reduced premium and cover a smaller share, and they can’t deduct their portion from employee pay.⁹

Giving Notice and Applying

When your need for leave is foreseeable, give your employer at least 30 days’ notice before it starts. When it isn’t foreseeable, such as a medical emergency or sudden change, notify your employer as soon as practicable.¹⁰ Missing the 30-day window when you could have given notice doesn’t automatically disqualify you.

Applications go through pl.mn.gov. Set up an account, submit your information, and upload documentation.¹ You’ll need your Social Security number or ITIN, wage history, and your employer’s contact information. Health-related claims need a certification form signed by a healthcare provider; the forms mirror federal FMLA paperwork, and the state accepts FMLA certification forms directly.¹¹ Military exigency claims need a separate certification of the family member’s active-duty status. If you can’t get online, you can request a paper application. A denial can be appealed through your portal account.

Your Job When You Come Back

Your employer can’t retaliate against you for requesting or using paid leave. That covers firing, demotion, hour cuts, and any other adverse action tied to your leave.¹²

Once you’ve been on the job 90 calendar days, you have a statutory right to return to the same position, or an equivalent role with the same pay, benefits, and working conditions. Your employer can’t pressure you into a different position, though it can accommodate a voluntary request for a different shift.¹²

Violations carry penalties of $1,000 to $10,000 per violation, payable to the affected employee. Any agreement that tries to waive your future rights under the program is void, so an employment contract or separation agreement can’t sign them away.¹²

How This Fits With Federal FMLA

Minnesota Paid Leave and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act are separate laws, and they can run at the same time. When your leave qualifies under both, your employer can require the weeks to run concurrently, meaning the same time counts toward both entitlements rather than stacking. Minnesota’s program reaches situations FMLA does not, including safety leave and care for a broader set of family members, and it applies to employers of every size, while FMLA generally applies only to employers with 50 or more employees.

Taxes on Your Benefits

Benefits are included in your gross income for federal tax purposes. The portion tied to your employer’s premium contribution is treated similarly to sick pay under federal tax law.¹³

For calendar year 2026, the IRS has extended a transition period that relaxes certain third-party sick pay withholding and reporting rules. Your benefits are still taxable, but federal tax may not be withheld automatically, so set aside money for tax season if you receive payments in 2026.¹³

Employers Offering a Private Plan Instead

Your employer may run an equivalent private plan, fully insured or self-insured, in place of the state plan for family leave, medical leave, or both. An approved plan has to match or exceed the state plan’s weekly payments and total leave, can’t impose extra eligibility rules, can’t charge employees more than the state plan would, must allow intermittent leave on the same terms, and must continue coverage for 26 weeks after you leave the job or until you start a new one, whichever comes first.¹⁴ If your employer covers only one type of leave privately, it still has to participate in the state plan for the other. Your rights and benefit levels can’t drop below what state law provides.

1
Minnesota Paid Leave. Minnesota Paid Leave
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Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 2023 – 268B.01 Definitions
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Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 268B.01 – Definitions
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Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 268B.11 – Self-Employed and Independent Contractor Election of Coverage
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Minnesota Paid Leave. Common Questions
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Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 268B.04 – Financial Eligibility and Benefits
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Minnesota Paid Leave. How Paid Leave Works
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Minnesota Paid Leave. Premium Rate and Contributions
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Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 268B.14 – Premiums
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Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 268B.085 – Notice to Employer and Schedules
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Minnesota Paid Leave. Providers and Certifiers
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Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 268B.09 – Employment Protections
13
Internal Revenue Service. Extension of Transition Period to Calendar Year 2026 for Certain Requirements in Revenue Ruling 2025-4
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Minnesota Paid Leave. Equivalent Plans for Paid Leave