Minnesota Paid Family and Medical Leave pays part of your wages when you take time off for your own serious health condition, to bond with a new child, to care for a family member, or for certain safety and military-related reasons. Benefits became available on January 1, 2026, with a maximum weekly payment of $1,423 and up to 20 combined weeks of leave per benefit year.1Minnesota House of Representatives. Family, Medical Leave Law Allows Workers Up to 20 Weeks of Annual Paid Time Off The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development runs the program, and it is funded by a payroll premium split between employers and employees.
Who Is Covered
Nearly every worker in Minnesota is in. If you perform services for a for-profit or nonprofit employer in the state, you are generally covered automatically. Your employer withholds your share of the premium and sends it to the state fund along with the employer share.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 268B – Family and Medical Benefits
Self-employed workers and independent contractors are not covered automatically but can elect in. A qualifying self-employed individual is a Minnesota resident who earned at least 5.3 percent of the state’s average annual wage in net self-employment income during a prior tax year.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes 268B.01 – Definitions
Federal employees are excluded because they have separate federal leave programs. One narrow exemption exists for seasonal hospitality workers employed for no more than 150 days in a 52-week period, and only if the employer meets a specific revenue-seasonality test and certifies the exemption. This is not a general seasonal-worker carve-out.4Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 268B – Family and Medical Benefits – Section: 268B.06 Subd. 9 and 268B.01 Subd. 35
Reasons You Can Take Leave
Qualifying events fall into two categories: medical leave and family leave. The event must last at least seven days to be eligible, but those days do not have to be consecutive.
Medical leave covers your own serious health condition, including conditions that require inpatient care or ongoing treatment, and it covers pregnancy and pregnancy recovery.1Minnesota House of Representatives. Family, Medical Leave Law Allows Workers Up to 20 Weeks of Annual Paid Time Off
Family leave covers four situations:
- Bonding with a new child after birth, adoption, or foster placement.
- Caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
- Safety leave for needs related to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking affecting you or a family member.
- Qualifying exigency related to a family member’s active-duty military service, such as short-notice deployment arrangements, updating legal or financial documents, childcare changes, or attending military-sponsored events.
The definition of family member is broad. It includes spouses, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings, and also extends to individuals whose relationship with you is equivalent to family.1Minnesota House of Representatives. Family, Medical Leave Law Allows Workers Up to 20 Weeks of Annual Paid Time Off
How Much You Get Paid Each Week
Your weekly benefit is calculated against the state’s average weekly wage, which is $1,423 for 2026. Three tiers stack together:5Minnesota Paid Leave. Estimate Your Payments
- 90 percent of the portion of your weekly wages up to $711.50.
- 66 percent of the portion between $711.50 and $1,423.
- 55 percent of any portion above $1,423.
The weekly benefit is capped at $1,423 no matter how much you earn.5Minnesota Paid Leave. Estimate Your Payments
To make that concrete: if you earn $1,000 per week, the first $711.50 pays at 90 percent ($640.35) and the remaining $288.50 pays at 66 percent ($190.41), giving you roughly $831 per week. A worker earning $600 per week would receive about $540. The tiered structure replaces a larger share of income for lower-wage workers.
How Long You Can Be Out
You can take up to 12 weeks of medical leave and up to 12 weeks of family leave in a single benefit year, but the combined total cannot exceed 20 weeks.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 268B – Family and Medical Benefits – Section: 268B.04 Subd. 5
Your benefit year is a rolling 52-week window that starts on the date of your first qualifying event. There is no waiting period before payments begin once your application is approved.
You do not have to take leave all at once. Intermittent and reduced-schedule leave is allowed, which works for recurring medical treatments or a gradual return to work. If your intermittent leave exceeds 480 hours in a benefit year, your employer may require you to take the remainder as a continuous block.
How to Apply
Apply through the Minnesota Paid Leave portal at pl.mn.gov. Create a secure account, complete the application, and upload your supporting documentation. You will get a tracking number to check the status of your claim. Paper applications are available if you cannot use the online portal.
Documentation depends on your type of leave:
- For medical leave, a healthcare provider must complete a certification form covering the start date and expected length of the condition, the medical facts, how the condition affects your ability to perform essential job functions, and the leave schedule you need.7Minnesota Paid Leave. Providers and Certifiers
- For bonding leave, a birth certificate, adoption decree, or foster care placement records.
- For safety leave, relevant protective orders, police reports, or statements from qualified professionals.
- For qualifying exigency, active-duty orders or other military documentation.
You will also need your Social Security number, your employer’s contact information, and your employer’s tax identification number. Recent pay stubs help verify your wage history, though the state pulls wage data from its own records.
If your application is denied, the determination notice will explain the reason. You can provide additional documentation and reapply, or you can file a formal appeal.
Your Job While You Are Out
When you return from paid leave, you are entitled to your same position or one that is virtually identical in pay, benefits, duties, and working conditions. Your employer cannot eliminate your role or restructure it while you are on leave and then claim there is nothing to return to.8Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 268B – Family and Medical Benefits – Section: 268B.09 Subd. 6
Reinstatement goes further than a general promise. You are entitled to any unconditional pay increases that happened while you were gone, such as cost-of-living adjustments. If your job included overtime or shift differentials, you return to a job with the same pay premiums, unless those premiums were reduced for all similarly classified employees during your absence. If your leave caused you to miss a required certification, license renewal, or similar condition, your employer must give you a reasonable chance to fulfill it after you return.8Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 268B – Family and Medical Benefits – Section: 268B.09 Subd. 6
Employers are prohibited from interfering with your right to apply for or use paid leave. They cannot retaliate against you for filing a claim, discourage you from taking leave, or use your leave as a negative factor in hiring, promotion, or discipline. Counting paid leave absences under a no-fault attendance policy would violate the law.
What You Pay Through Payroll
The program is funded by a 0.7 percent payroll premium on employee wages, split into 0.4 percent for medical benefits and 0.3 percent for family benefits. Employers must pay at least half. They can cover more, or all of it, but they cannot push more than 50 percent onto employees. Your contribution is deducted from wages and cannot bring your pay below minimum wage.9Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 268B – Family and Medical Benefits – Section: 268B.14 Subd. 3
For a worker earning $1,000 per week, the total premium is $7.00. If the employer covers the minimum, your share is $3.50 per week.
Federal Taxes on Your Benefits
How your benefits are taxed at the federal level depends on which type you receive. The IRS addressed this in Revenue Ruling 2025-4.10Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Ruling 2025-4
Family leave benefits (bonding, family care, safety leave, qualifying exigency) are fully included in your federal gross income, but they are not subject to Social Security or Medicare tax. The state reports these payments to you and the IRS on a Form 1099.
Medical leave benefits are split based on who paid the premiums. The portion tied to your own employee contributions is excluded from federal gross income entirely. The portion tied to your employer’s contributions is taxable and treated as third-party sick pay for employment tax purposes.10Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Ruling 2025-4
Because Minnesota employers must pay at least 50 percent of the premium, at least half of any medical leave benefit will typically be taxable. If your employer voluntarily covers more than 50 percent, a larger share of your medical leave benefit becomes taxable. You can elect to have Minnesota Paid Leave withhold 10 percent for federal taxes and 5 percent for state taxes from your benefit payments to avoid a surprise at filing.
How This Works With Federal FMLA
Minnesota Paid Leave and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act overlap but are not the same. FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year and applies only to employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Minnesota’s paid leave covers nearly all employers regardless of size.11U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28 – The Family and Medical Leave Act
If you qualify for both, expect your employer to run them concurrently. Your 12 weeks of FMLA leave and your Minnesota paid leave will typically count against each other at the same time rather than stacking to give you 24 weeks. The practical benefit of dual eligibility is that FMLA requires your employer to maintain your group health insurance on the same terms as if you were still working, adding a layer of protection beyond Minnesota’s reinstatement rights.11U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28 – The Family and Medical Leave Act
If you work for a small employer with fewer than 50 employees, FMLA likely does not apply to you at all. Minnesota’s paid leave still does.