Minnesota Paid Leave is live: 0.88% premium and up to 20 weeks of benefits

What changed Minnesota's Paid Leave program (enacted in 2023) began providing benefits on January 1, 2026. Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of paid medical leave and up to 12 weeks of paid family leave, capped at 20 combined weeks in a single benefit year. Who it applies to Virtually all Minnesota employers with at least one employee working in the state, regardless of size. There is no 50-employee threshold like FMLA — small employers are covered too. The money For most employers the 2026 premium rate is 0.88% of wages up to the Social Security wage base ($185,000). Employers may deduct up to half (0.44%) from employee wages and must pay the rest. Employers with 30 or fewer employees and average wages below the state threshold may qualify for a reduced small-employer premium rate and for grants toward wage-replacement and training costs. What HR needs to do - Confirm your payroll provider is calculating, withholding and remitting the premium correctly, and that quarterly wage detail reports are being filed. - Post the required Paid Leave notice and give written notice to employees. - Update your leave policies so Paid Leave, FMLA, Minnesota ESST and any company-paid parental leave are coordinated rather than stacked by accident. - Decide whether a private plan (equivalent or better) makes sense instead of the state plan, and document the approval. - Train managers: leave is job-protected and retaliation is prohibited. Watch for Interaction with existing short-term disability and company parental leave is where most employers get burned. Reconcile those plans before the first large claim, not after.