What employees and employers need to know about the new paid family and medical leave

NINA MOINI: In exactly one month, Minnesota will introduce a new benefit for most workers in the state. It's a paid family and medical leave program that guarantees access to paid time off for new parents, to recover from a medical issue, or to care for a sick family member. It's a big change for Minnesota's employers and the workers who can take advantage of it.

Here to explain what you need to before the launch is Evan Roe. He's deputy commissioner of workforce services at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, or DEED. Evan, thanks for your time this afternoon. Really appreciate it.

EVAN ROE: Thanks for having me on, Nina. Great to be here.

NINA MOINI: So with a month left in this rollout, I'd love to know a little bit about what your work is looking like, what kind of happens during this final countdown.

EVAN ROE: Well, it's a busy time, to be sure, but we've been doing a lot of work, obviously, for the last few years to get this program ready. And we're feeling really good about having a successful, smooth launch on January 1. And we're planning to open up some applications even earlier than that. Bonding leave applications we anticipate opening in the coming days so that folks who've had a baby in 2025 can apply.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and I wonder, too, what would a smooth rollout look like for this, in particular. Is it employers being ready? Is it paperwork issues? What would it look like for it to go smoothly for you?

EVAN ROE: Well, hopefully it's all the above. I think we've been out on the road a ton, working with employers. I think we've connected with over 23,000 employer representatives over the last couple of years. So that's a critical part of it. And we've put lots of tools and resources on paid leave for employers to be able to use.

We want future applicants to know about the program. Obviously you need to be able to apply for the program for there to be a program. And I think that we're definitely starting to see a lot more interest, a lot more conversations happening, people talking about this with their families, with their friends, with their employers, with their communities. So again, lots of information on our website as well there. And as we look to these final few weeks before the formal rollout on January 1, it's double checking and making sure that our systems are good to go-- we feel really good about that-- and just making sure that all operational things were ready to go.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, what if an employer is not ready by January 1? I'd love for you to just break down what's changing on the part of the employer starting next month.

EVAN ROE: So what we've really tried to emphasize is that there's just a few things that employers need to do around the state. The first is to create a paid leave employer account. Many employers have already done that and are good to go.

The second is to notify their employees. Today is the statutory deadline to let employees about the paid leave program. And we have lots of tools and resources available on our website so that employers can share that information with their employees.

And then the third thing that employers need to do, or can do, but don't necessarily have to do, is think about their workplace policies, updating those because this is a big new benefit, as you noted. But those are really the three things. And then once the program launches, employees under the law are required to go to their employer to talk to them before they take leave.

And the information that we get, obviously, from the applicant, as well as from the employer, will help us promptly process any application for paid leave. So I think employers, we've really worked hard to try to make sure they have the tools they need. And if folks have questions, and it's totally reasonable that they do, we have lots of online resources at paidleave.mn.gov. And we have a customer call center where they can reach out and get any more detailed questions.

NINA MOINI: And so at DEED, you all track the workforce, the economy of the state. What do you think-- it's been years in the making. There were people for it, people against it. But for folks who don't know, what do you see at the state level as the economic benefit to this policy? How does it help the state economy?

EVAN ROE: Well, I think there's a lot of different ways it helps the state economy in that way. So first of all, I think it's worth noting the United States is one of eight countries in the world that does not have some sort of a paid family or a paid medical leave program. So the United States is the outlier.

But that being said, Minnesota's going to be the 13th state to launch a program like this in the US. So we've had the chance to learn from a lot of other states, some of whom have had these programs going back a couple decades, others who have launched these programs, say, since late 20-teens, early 2020s. And what the research shows in these states is paid leave programs are really good for labor force participation, especially for women.

They help women stay in the workforce because it means being able to take time, whether to care for a new child or to care for a loved one. Oftentimes these caregiver burdens fall disproportionately on women. And having a paid leave program allows you to take time without having to choose between a job and a family member's care, a loved one's care. So studies have shown that it helps women stay in the workforce.

It leads to really positive outcomes in terms of childhood development. It helps children grow and develop better. And I think that's an economic push. It's good for our state's economy over time to have healthier children. It's also something that's going to help Minnesota be the best place in the country to raise a family, which certainly is an objective of this administration.

NINA MOINI: And so there are different situations. I understand the parental leave applications are already open. You mentioned people can apply ahead of time. But also I was reading today about this, the thing about if you had a baby in this year of 2025, looking ahead for some benefits that would apply to you in 2026. Can you just explain that for people who may not know?

EVAN ROE: Yeah. So in taking bonding leave, you can take bonding leave up to a year after the birth of the child. So essentially, if your child was born on January 1, 2026, you'd be able to take leave through December 31 of 2026. You're at a year to take parental leave under the law.

So if you had a baby in 2025, can look back in that period. So let's say you had a baby on July 1 of 2025. You could take bonding, leave up until June 30 of 2026 under the paid leave law. And that's something that's been the case in pretty much any state that has rolled out a paid leave program, is you do have this look-back period when the program launches.

NINA MOINI: So important for people to make sure that they know their rights, that they're talking to their employers. And we'll see how it goes. I'm wishing you all the best with the rollout, Evan. Thank you.

EVAN ROE: Thank you so much, Nina.

NINA MOINI: That was DEED Deputy Commissioner of Workforce Services, Evan Roe.