MINNESOTA – PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ROLLOUT, CLARIFICATION

On January 1, 2026, Minnesota officially rolled out its Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML). PFML provides job protection and payments to individuals who need time off to care for themselves or loved ones, including qualifying medical reasons, bonding, military, caring, or safety. As with all new programs, the recent Minnesota Paid Leave rollout has created many questions.

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Read on for additional information and clarification associated with Minnesota Paid Leave.

Who is Considered a Small Employer?

• To be classified as a small employer, an employer must meet the following requirements during the basis period, which is currently October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025:
  • Have 30 or fewer employees in each quarter of the basis period; AND
  • Have an average employee wage equal to or less than 150% of the statewide average wage during the quarter of the basis period in which the most covered wages were paid to employees working in Minnesota.
    • The statewide average wage will be calculated each year and is currently $27,745.88 per quarter.

Premiums

• The small employer, reduced employer premium rate is 0.66% of employee wages up to the Social Security withholding limit. For larger employers, the premium rate is 0.88%. Both employer types can collect up to 0.44% of the premium from employees.
• Minnesota has issued a premium rate notice to each employer who is covered by Unemployment. If you did not receive the rate notification, information is available within your Minnesota Employer Account as well as the Paid Leave Account Administrator Account (see below for additional details).
• Premiums will be set annually by July 31 moving forward. The premium cannot be more than 1.1% per law.

Accounts

• Employers must have access to both an Employer Account (uimn.org) and Paid Leave Administrator Account (paidleave.mn.gov) for different actions associated with Paid Leave.
• You likely already have an Employer Account, as Minnesota Paid Leave partnered with Unemployment Insurance (UI) to use their system, which already collects wage reports and premium payments for the UI program. Under the Employer Account, you will be able to submit quarterly wage detail reports, pay Paid Leave premiums, and designate a Paid Leave Administrator.
• The Paid Leave Administrator Account, however, is a new and additional account needed for administration of the Paid Leave program. This account is not automatically created—you must designate a Paid Leave Administrator from your Employer Account and subsequently create the Paid Leave Administrator Account from this designation. It will provide your organization access to review leave applications, view Paid Leave determinations, access tax filing information, and more, associated with Paid Leave.
• Additional information about these accounts and roles can be found here.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Minnesota Paid Leave has created a website dedicated to the new program, including Frequently Asked Questions.