Minnesota paid leave launches with 11,883 early applications and phased rollout
After a December soft roll‑out limited to parental bonding for children born in 2025, Minnesota’s Paid Family and Medical Leave officially launched Jan. 1, 2026 and DEED reported 11,883 early applications (6,393 reviewed so far), projecting about 130,000 users in year one with roughly 400 staff and funding from an $800 million surplus plus a 0.88% payroll tax (employers may pass up to ~0.44% to employees). Benefits generally replace 55–90% of wages up to $1,423/week with event caps of 12 weeks per qualifying event (20 weeks combined annually) and a $3,900 prior‑year earnings threshold, and DEED says layered fraud controls — LoginMN ID plus live selfie, electronic health‑record verification, unemployment‑insurance data flags, analytics and random audits — will be used to deter abuse.
📌 Key Facts
- DEED reported 11,883 Minnesotans had applied for Paid Family and Medical Leave after an early December bonding rollout and the program’s official Jan. 1, 2026 launch; DEED says it has completed review of 6,393 applications so far.
- Rollout was phased: a limited bonding-leave soft launch in early December for parents of children born in 2025, followed by a full launch on Jan. 1, 2026 that opened applications for all leave types (parental bonding, medical, caregiving, safety, and military family leave).
- Eligibility and benefit levels: workers must have earned at least $3,900 in the prior year to qualify; wage replacement generally ranges from 55%–90% of regular wages with a maximum weekly benefit of about $1,423; each leave type is capped at 12 weeks with a combined annual maximum of 20 weeks, and leave may be taken intermittently; job-restoration protections begin after 90 days of employment.
- Funding and projections: the payroll tax rate is 0.88% (0.66% for small employers), with employers able to collect up to ~0.44% from employees; an $800 million initial surplus allocation was provided; DEED projects roughly 130,000 approved claims in year one, estimates program costs near $1.6 billion, and plans to administer benefits with about 400 state employees.
- Excluded groups: the program does not cover federal or tribal employees, seasonal hospitality workers, independent contractors, self‑employed workers, and postal and railroad employees.
- Fraud prevention and verification: DEED requires LoginMN account verification (government ID plus a live selfie) to deter identity theft and AI impersonation, will integrate electronic health records for provider certification, leverage unemployment-insurance data to flag suspected compromised accounts, employ a data-analytics team, conduct random audits, and maintain a program-integrity unit to track linked or overlapping claims.
- Operations and demand response: state officials say the website and contact center are handling early demand well; the early application volume has prompted monitoring and has drawn business-community pushback alongside evidence of strong worker demand.
- Policy context and lessons learned: program architects say Minnesota benefited from launching after other states (the 13th state to implement paid leave) and set a higher initial tax rate to support long-term solvency, informed in part by other states’ fiscal and staffing challenges.
📊 Relevant Data
In Minnesota, based on 2016-2020 data, 84% of non-Hispanic White mothers worked for pay during pregnancy, compared to 77% of U.S.-born African American mothers, 60.9% of American Indian mothers, and 51.3% of Hispanic mothers.
Maternity Leave after Childbirth: Access and Barriers to Paid and Unpaid Leave, Minnesota Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (MN PRAMS), 2016-2020 — Minnesota Department of Health
In Minnesota, based on 2016-2020 data, non-Hispanic White mothers had a median maternity leave length of 10.6 weeks, nearly twice as long as the median for all other racial/ethnic groups combined.
Maternity Leave after Childbirth: Access and Barriers to Paid and Unpaid Leave, Minnesota Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (MN PRAMS), 2016-2020 — Minnesota Department of Health
In Minnesota's Twin Cities Metro area, based on 2020-2022 data, Black claimants were overrepresented in lower-pay occupations such as Home Health & Personal Care Aides, comprising 66.3% of claimants in that occupation despite being 15.6% of the total claimant population.
Did the Post-Recession Recovery Improve Racial Wage Equity? — Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
In Minnesota, racial and ethnic wage gaps are partially explained by differences in educational attainment and occupation, with claimants of color showing slower earnings progression across age cohorts compared to White claimants.
Did the Post-Recession Recovery Improve Racial Wage Equity? — Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
📰 Sources (9)
- Confirms that the paid family and medical leave program officially launched Thursday (Jan. 1, 2026) after an early bonding‑leave soft launch in December.
- Frames the pre‑launch interest as 'nearly 12,000' applications filed before the official start date, echoing and reinforcing the earlier 11,883 figure.
- Reports business‑community pushback alongside evidence of strong worker demand, adding employer‑reaction context to the raw application numbers.
- DEED specifies that 11,883 Minnesotans had applied for Paid Leave as of Friday morning, after early rollout in early December.
- Clarifies that the bonding leave rollout in early December was only for parents with children born in 2025, and that this week DEED fully launched applications for all leave types (medical, caring, bonding, safety, military family).
- DEED reports it has completed review of 6,393 leave applications so far.
- DEED reiterates its projection of about 130,000 approved leave claims in the program’s first year and says its website and contact center are handling early demand well, with a noon press conference scheduled.
- Article restates funding details: initial $800M surplus allocation, ongoing 0.88% payroll tax (0.66% for small employers) with at least half paid by employers and up to 0.44% possibly paid by employees.
- Nearly 12,000 people applied for Minnesota’s Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits in the first days after the program’s official Jan. 1 launch.
- The article likely breaks out how many of those initial applications are for parental leave, medical leave, caregiving or safety leave, giving an early picture of demand mix.
- It reports early operational details from state officials (e.g., any initial website load issues, call-center volume, or comments on whether the application pace is in line with projections).
- Clarifies that most workers will receive between 55% and 90% of their usual wages while on leave, with a maximum weekly benefit of $1,423 (the state average wage).
- Spells out that each leave type (family leave and medical leave) is capped at 12 weeks, with a combined maximum of 20 weeks per year, and that leave can be taken intermittently.
- Restates and emphasizes that employers may collect up to 0.44% of wages from employees to cover the premium, using a concrete example ($4.24/week for a $50,000 salary).
- Provides a clearer list of qualifying events, including safety-related leave for domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking affecting the worker or a family member.
- Explicitly lists excluded worker categories (federal, tribal, seasonal hospitality, independent contractors, self‑employed, postal and railroad workers) and the $3,900 prior‑year earnings requirement.
- Step‑by‑step instructions for how workers can apply for Minnesota Paid Family and Medical Leave before Jan. 1, 2026 (e.g., online portal URL, account setup, what documents are needed).
- Clarification of which types of leave reasons (parental bonding, medical, caregiving, safety leave, etc.) are available for early applications and which dates of leave can be requested now.
- Additional practical details for Twin Cities residents and employers such as call‑center hours, language access, and how early applications interact with the 0.88% payroll tax deductions starting Jan. 1.
- Eligibility threshold: workers must have earned at least $3,900 in the prior year to qualify for benefits.
- Wage replacement detail: benefits typically replace 55%–90% of regular wages, capped at about $1,423 per week.
- Coverage/exclusions clarified: most Minnesota employees are covered; exclusions listed include federal and tribal employees, seasonal hospitality workers, independent contractors, self‑employed workers, postal and railroad employees.
- Event caps clarified: up to 12 weeks per qualifying family or medical event, with a combined annual maximum of 20 weeks.
- Job protections: restoration to the same or equivalent position; protections begin 90 days after hire.
- Employee premium reminder: employers may collect a 0.44% employee premium starting in January to fund the program.
- DEED says Minnesota’s PFML system is on track and is already accepting early applications for parental bonding leave.
- Minnesota’s payroll tax is set at 0.88% (employers may charge employees up to about half, ~0.44%, or cover all).
- Program architect Greg Norfleet says Minnesota benefits from being the 13th state to launch and started with a higher rate to support long‑term solvency.
- Comparative context: Washington state’s paid leave has faced staffing/payment delays and projected deficits ($346M by 2029; nearly $1B by 2030) under tax‑rate caps trending to 1.2% by 2027.
- DEED detailed layered fraud controls: LoginMN account verification requiring a government ID and a live selfie to deter identity theft and AI-driven impersonation.
- Minnesota will be the first state to integrate electronic health records into its paid leave verification process; all claims must be certified by a health care provider or appropriate professional.
- DEED will leverage unemployment insurance data (with a strong fraud-prevention track record per a 2022 Legislative Auditor report) to flag and lock suspected compromised accounts.
- A data‑analytics team will monitor system-wide trends; the state will conduct random audits of claims.
- Program scale update: about 130,000 expected users in year one at an estimated cost of $1.6 billion, administered by roughly 400 state employees.
- Republican legislators pressed on potential abuse via multiple caregivers and intermittent leave; statute sets no hard cap, but DEED said complex family situations will be reviewed and claim linkages tracked by a program integrity unit.
- Quotes: DEED Deputy Commissioner Evan Rowe on 'overlapping controls' and MNIT Deputy Commissioner Jon Eichten on selfies to prevent AI identity scams.