Minnesota Paid Family and Medical Leave
Key facts and how employers can prepare for 2026
Nicole Schnell | August/September 2025 Footnote
Editor's note: Updated July 24, 2025
There’s a lot of buzz around Minnesota paid leave — and for good reason! Minnesota’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program, launching in January 2026, will make it the 13th state to offer statewide paid leave. With implementation just months away, now is the time for employers to prepare. This article provides an overview of the program (as it stands as of publication) and what employers need to know now to get ready for compliance.
Although a bill to delay implementation was introduced in early 2025, it was tabled without a vote. As such, the program remains on track for its January 2026 launch. For more up-to-date information, we recommend monitoring
Minnesota’s paid leave website.
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Overview of the PFML program
Minnesota’s PFML program is designed to provide employees with paid leave for family and medical reasons. This includes bonding with a new child, caring for a family member with a serious health condition or addressing one’s own serious health condition. Paid leave is intended to help employees across the state focus on what matters, while ensuring at least partial payment of wages and job protection for the time they need to be away.
Nearly every employee in Minnesota will be eligible for paid leave — as many as 12 weeks — under this program. Employees may even take both types of leave (medical leave for themselves and leave to care for a family member) in the same year but will be limited to 20 weeks total within a 12-month period.
Eligibility and benefits
Nearly all employers in the state, regardless of size, will be required to comply with the PFML regulations, with few exceptions. Self-employed people and independent contractors are not covered under PFML, but they may choose to opt into the program. Small employers — with 30 or fewer employees — may be eligible for reduced premiums and small business assistance.
Employees who meet the eligibility criteria may receive as much as 90% of their wages during the leave period. Benefit levels will be calculated based on an individual’s weekly wages but are not to exceed the state’s average weekly wage of $1,372.
Employer responsibilities
Employers have some key obligations, which include reporting wages and paying premiums, administering the leave, and educating and informing employees about the benefits under the new program. So, what does that mean practically?
1. Reporting wages and paying premiums
Employers are to use the state’s existing unemployment insurance (UI) system to report quarterly wage detail reports. If your employees are already covered under UI, then no additional action is required and you are likely already satisfying this requirement (which went into effect in October 2024). Premium payments will be paid through an employer’s UI/paid leave account.
Beginning in January 2026, when benefits become available, employers may start to deduct the employee share of the premium through payroll deductions. The premium rate for 2026 will be 0.88% of an individual employee’s wages, which can be split between employer and employee. The employer is required to pay at least 50% of the total premium.
For example, if an employee earns $1,200 per week, the total premium would be $10.56 per week. The employer must pay a minimum of $5.28 and may deduct the remaining $5.28 from the employee’s paycheck.
Prepare for Jan. 1, 2026, by determining what your company will collect (if anything) from employees via payroll deduction. Employers may choose to pay the full cost of the premium or they may deduct any amount up to 50% of the premium from employee pay. Company leadership will need to decide what the cost split will be and apply it consistently across employee groups. Employers should partner early with their payroll departments, third-party payroll providers or individuals who run payroll to prepare to manage the deductions ahead of the compliance deadline.
2. Administering the leave
Employees will be able to apply for and take leave beginning in January 2026; the application process is still being developed by the state. Employers can prepare to receive leave requests under PFML by taking these actions:
- Understand how PFML will work in coordination with supplemental benefits (short-term disability, personal time off, vacation, sick time, etc.) and other types of leave available through your organization (FMLA, Minnesota Parental Leave Act).
- Brush up on return-to-work best practices.
- Refresh documentation, policies and procedures around workplace accommodations.
3. Educating and informing employees
Employers are obligated to notify their employees of their rights and benefits under Minnesota PFML. Do this by embedding information about PFML into the onboarding and orientation process for newly hired employees and hanging posters in common areas. Posters and other communication resources will be provided by Minnesota Paid Leave later this year — so monitor the PFML program website for those resources!
Implementation timeline
The PFML program will be implemented in phases, with specific dates for different milestones of the program. Key dates are outlined in the table.
Get moving to ensure a smooth rollout
Minnesota PFML will have a significant impact on employers and employees in the state — it’s a complex program with a lot of details both set and still to be determined by the program office.
By staying up to date on program news and doing what you can to get ahead of the compliance deadline, you and your company will be in a better position to respond to employee questions and enact company processes to best comply — on time. Stay informed by subscribing to updates from Minnesota Paid Leave and begin internal planning discussions now to ensure a smooth rollout.
Nicole Peterlin Schnell, SHRM-CP is a results-driven leader with a proven track record of improving employee engagement, optimizing operational efficiency and driving strategic growth. Nicole holds an MBA with a finance concentration from Augsburg University and a B.S. in business with a focus on human resources and industrial relations from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.
