Time off, payments, and job protection
Minnesota Paid Leave gives you up to 20 weeks of time off each year to care for yourself and your family.
Time off
You can take:
- Up to 12 weeks of medical leave (for yourself) to take care of yourself for a serious health condition, including pregnancy, childbirth, recovery, or surgery.
- Up to 12 weeks of family leave (to care for someone else) to:
- Bond with a child through birth, adoption, or foster placement
- Care for a loved one with a serious health condition
- Support a military family member called to active duty
- Respond to certain personal safety issues such as domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or similar issues.
You can take both types of leave in the same year, but you cannot exceed 20 weeks total within a benefit year. Your benefit year starts the first day you take Paid Leave.
Can I split my leave, or do I need to take it all at once?
Yes, you can split your time and take intermittent leave.
You can:
- Take leave all at once in a single block
- Take leave on a regular schedule. For example, the same day each week for medical treatments for yourself or a family member
- Take leave only when you need it, for example to manage flare-ups of a chronic health condition
- Take leave at different times in a year, for the same condition or more than one condition.
Examples of the ways you can use Paid Leave
Medical leave combined with family leave (Birth and Bonding Leave)
Jackie has a baby. She takes:
- Eight weeks of medical leave for pregnancy-related medical care, childbirth, and recovery
- Twelve weeks of family leave to bond with her new child
Total = 20 weeks of Paid Leave
Family leave
Haley takes care of her mom, who had a stroke. She uses:
- One day a week for 7 weeks of family leave to care for her mom (one week total)
- Eleven weeks still available during that benefit year if needed
Payments
Paid Leave offers partial wage replacement. You'll be able to get a portion of your normal wage, but not the full amount. If you earn less, you'll get a bigger percentage of your pay. The most anyone can get is the average weekly wage in Minnesota, currently $1,372 per week. A calculator will be available on this website soon to help you estimate your payments.
How are my weekly payments calculated?
Payments are based on your average weekly wage. Different amounts you earn are replaced at different rates. Here is how it works:
- For weekly wages between $0 and $686 (half of the current state average), you get paid 90% .
- For weekly wages between $686 and $1,372 (the current state average), you get paid 66.
- For weekly wages above $1,372, you get paid 55%.
Weekly payments cannot exceed the state average weekly wage, $1,372. That means no matter how much you earn, the maximum weekly benefit stops at the state's average weekly wage.
Protections
While on Paid Leave, you have several important rights and protections.
- You keep your position at your job. This means you have the right to be restored to the same, or an equivalent, position when you return from leave.
- You keep your benefits and maintain coverage. This means that if your employer provides benefits like health insurance, life insurance, or retirement benefit accrual, you have the right to keep your coverage while on leave. Your employer must continue to pay health insurance premiums, and you will continue to pay your portion as if you were working.
- Your employer cannot punish you for taking leave or applying for leave. This means that your employer cannot retaliate against you for taking leave. Your employer cannot fire you, demote you, cut your hours, or discipline you because you took or requested leave under this program. Paid Leave cannot be counted against you for promotions or layoffs. Employers cannot interfere with or restrain your right to take Paid Leave.
Taking Paid Leave is not a career setback. Communicate clearly with your employer about your leave timing and return date. They may hire a temporary replacement worker or redistribute your duties while you're gone, but they must allow you to return to your role after your leave.
If you think your employer is violating your rights by not returning you to the same or similar job after your leave, not providing continued insurance, or retaliating against you for applying for or receiving paid leave, contact the Labor Standards Division at the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry at dli.laborstandards@state.mn.us or 651-284-5075. For all other inquiries related to Paid Leave, please, contact us: Paid Leave – Contact Us.
