Paid Leave

+ When is a Minnesota employer in violation of the Paid Leave law?

There are several ways an employer can violate Minnesota's Paid Leave law:

• Interference: An employer interferes with an employee's rights by discouraging the employee from applying for or using Paid Leave, interfering with an application, or otherwise making it more difficult for an employee to exercise rights under the law.
• Retaliation: An employer cannot terminate, discipline, penalize, threaten, discriminate against, or otherwise retaliate against an employee for requesting or obtaining Paid Leave or exercising another right protected by the law.
• Failure to reinstate: After protected leave, an eligible employee generally must be returned to the same position or an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits, duties, and other terms and conditions of employment.
• Failure to maintain insurance: An employer generally must continue its share of group health insurance coverage while an employee is on protected Paid Leave.
• Improper premium deductions: An employer cannot deduct more than the employee's permitted share of Paid Leave premiums from wages or make deductions that reduce wages below the minimum wage.
• Waiver of rights: An employer cannot require an employee to waive rights to Paid Leave benefits or leave.

+ What can I use Minnesota Paid Leave for?

Medical leave may be available when an employee has a serious health condition, needs medical care related to pregnancy, or otherwise meets the medical eligibility requirements of the law.

Family leave may be available for bonding with a new child, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, dealing with a qualifying military-related exigency, or taking safety leave related to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. The law also provides qualifying leave for certain other family-care circumstances.

+ How much Minnesota Paid Leave can I take?

Generally, an eligible employee can receive up to 12 weeks of medical leave and up to 12 weeks of family leave in a benefit year. However, an employee who uses both types of leave is generally limited to a combined maximum of 20 weeks in the same benefit year.

For example, an employee who takes 12 weeks of medical leave may have up to eight additional weeks of family leave available during the same benefit year. Similarly, an employee who takes eight weeks of family leave may generally have up to 12 weeks of medical leave available, subject to the statutory limits.

Leave may be taken continuously or, when the applicable requirements are met, intermittently. The rules governing intermittent leave can be particularly important for employees who need periodic time away from work because of their own medical condition or to care for a family member.

+ How much does Minnesota Paid Leave pay?

Minnesota Paid Leave provides a percentage of an employee's average weekly wage rather than necessarily replacing the employee's entire paycheck. The benefit calculation is designed to provide a higher percentage of wages to lower-wage workers and a lower percentage to higher-wage workers, subject to a statewide maximum weekly benefit.

For 2026, the weekly benefit is generally calculated using 90% of wages below 50% of the state's average weekly wage, 66% of wages between 50% and 100% of the state average, and 55% of wages above the state average, subject to the maximum weekly benefit.

+ Can my employer fire me for taking Minnesota Paid Leave?

Generally, no. Minnesota law prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining, penalizing, threatening, coercing, interfering with, or otherwise retaliating or discriminating against an employee because the employee requested or obtained Paid Leave or exercised another right protected by the law.

These protections are important because an employer may not retaliate simply because an employee has applied for benefits or intends to take qualifying leave. The law specifically protects employees who make a good-faith application for benefits.

+ Can my employer give my job to someone else while I am on Paid Leave?

Generally, an employer cannot permanently replace an employee's position simply because the employee took protected Minnesota Paid Leave. An employee who has the right to reinstatement must generally be returned to the same position or an equivalent position after leave, even if the employer replaced the employee or restructured the position to accommodate the employee's absence.

An equivalent position generally must have substantially equivalent pay, benefits, duties, responsibilities, working conditions, privileges, and status. The employee ordinarily must also be returned to the same or a geographically proximate worksite and the same or an equivalent shift or work schedule.

There are exceptions. For example, an employer may be able to deny reinstatement if it can establish that the employee would not otherwise have been employed at the time the employee sought to return to work, such as in certain legitimate layoffs.

+ When does my right to reinstatement under Minnesota Paid Leave begin?

Unlike some other Minnesota leave protections, the right to reinstatement under Minnesota Paid Leave generally begins 90 calendar days after the employee's date of hire.

The other employment protections under the Paid Leave law, including protection against retaliation and interference, generally apply from the beginning of employment. This distinction can be particularly important for employees who have recently started a new job.

+ Does my employer have to continue my health insurance while I am on Paid Leave?

Generally, yes. During protected Minnesota Paid Leave, an employer must maintain group health insurance coverage for the employee and the employee's dependents on the same basis as if the employee were still working. The employee remains responsible for paying the employee's share of the insurance cost.

An employer's failure to maintain the required coverage can therefore constitute a violation of Minnesota's Paid Leave employment protections.

+ How do I prove a Minnesota Paid Leave retaliation claim?

The evidence will depend on what happened, but we generally want to establish that you exercised or attempted to exercise a right protected by Minnesota Paid Leave and that your employer responded by taking an adverse employment action or otherwise interfering with your rights.

Important evidence can include your Paid Leave application, communications with your employer, medical or other documentation supporting the leave, the dates you requested or took leave, disciplinary records, performance evaluations, attendance records, changes in your pay or hours, and communications concerning your return to work.

Timing can also be important. For example, if an employee applies for Paid Leave and is shortly afterward disciplined, demoted, has their hours reduced, or is terminated, the close timing may be evidence supporting a retaliation claim. Other evidence, including inconsistent explanations from the employer or different treatment of employees who did not request Paid Leave, may strengthen the claim.

+ What if my employer says I was fired for another reason?

An employer can still discipline or terminate an employee for a legitimate reason unrelated to Minnesota Paid Leave. The fact that an employee took leave does not give the employee greater protection from a legitimate employment action that would have occurred regardless of the leave.

However, an employer cannot use a false or pretextual reason to disguise retaliation for exercising Paid Leave rights. When evaluating a potential case, we will look at the employer's stated reason, whether the facts support that explanation, how the employer treated similarly situated employees, and the timing and circumstances surrounding the adverse employment action.

+ Can I take Minnesota Paid Leave and FMLA at the same time?

Potentially, yes. Minnesota Paid Leave and the federal FMLA are separate laws, but qualifying leave under the two laws may run concurrently when the same absence qualifies under both laws.

This can be important because FMLA generally provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for eligible employees, while Minnesota Paid Leave provides wage replacement and its own employment protections. An employee may therefore have rights under both laws during the same period of leave.

Other Minnesota leave laws may also apply. For example, Minnesota's Pregnancy and Parenting Leave law provides separate protections, and Minnesota law generally requires certain unpaid pregnancy and parenting leave to run concurrently with FMLA or Minnesota Paid Leave when the leave is taken for the same qualifying reason.

+ Can I use vacation, sick leave, or PTO while receiving Minnesota Paid Leave?

In some circumstances, yes. Minnesota law permits employees to use vacation, sick leave, or other paid time off in lieu of Minnesota Paid Leave benefits, subject to the requirements of the law. Employers may also provide supplemental benefits in addition to Minnesota Paid Leave in certain circumstances.

Because using employer-provided paid time off can affect the amount of the state Paid Leave benefit, employees should understand how the different benefits interact before deciding how to structure their leave.

+ How much is a Minnesota Paid Leave case worth?

The value of a Minnesota Paid Leave case depends on the nature of the violation and the financial harm caused by the employer's actions.

Minnesota law provides several potential remedies for violations of the employment protections, including damages, interest, liquidated damages, injunctive relief, and other equitable relief. The Commissioner of Labor and Industry may also impose a penalty of between $1,000 and $10,000 per violation for certain retaliation or interference violations.

If an employee was terminated, demoted, had their hours reduced, lost benefits, or otherwise suffered financial harm because of a Paid Leave violation, the potential damages may be substantially greater than the value of the Paid Leave benefits themselves.

+ Can I bring a Minnesota Paid Leave claim if I quit?

Potentially. An employee who resigns may still have a claim if the employer's conduct violated the employee's rights under Minnesota Paid Leave.

For example, if an employer created intolerable working conditions or made it clear that an employee would be terminated or otherwise punished for exercising Paid Leave rights, the circumstances surrounding the resignation may be relevant to a potential claim. Whether a viable claim exists depends on the specific facts and whether the employer's conduct violated Minnesota law or another applicable employment law.

+ What should I do if my rights under Minnesota Paid Leave have been violated?

Write everything down: what happened; when you applied for or requested Paid Leave; the dates of your leave; what you told your employer; who you notified; what your employer said in response; whether you were disciplined, demoted, terminated, or had your pay or hours reduced; what reason your employer gave for its actions; and who witnessed the relevant events.

Gather documents, including your Paid Leave application and benefit determinations, communications with Minnesota Paid Leave, medical or other certification documents, pay stubs, time records, attendance records, performance evaluations, disciplinary notices, employee handbooks, leave policies, and any letters, text messages, or emails from your employer concerning your leave or return to work.

You should also preserve evidence concerning your return to work. If your employer does not return you to the same or an equivalent position, document your former and new job duties, compensation, benefits, work location, schedule, title, and responsibilities.

Minnesota's Department of Labor and Industry enforces the employment-protection provisions of the Paid Leave law. An employee may contact the Labor Standards Division regarding retaliation, interference, reinstatement, insurance continuation, or other employment-protection violations. Minnesota law also provides remedies through the legal system for employees whose rights have been violated.