Missed Part 1 where we covered the basics? Check it out here.
The clock is ticking for employers as we work to check off the final action items on our Minnesota Paid Leave To-Do lists! Since our October post, we have continued to sort through ever-updating information and resources, finalize our own implementation plans, and are back sharing a few more thoughts on what you know to be ready for January 1, 2026.
The Final Countdown
By now, your focus should be shifting from determining how you will comply with and implement paid leave for your company to communicating and supporting your employees in preparation for January 1, 2026. This isn’t just about being an understanding employer, it’s also about legal compliance.
Let’s start with legally required communication and what you need to know to be ready.
Required Workplace Poster
What: Plan posters must be displayed in English and in any other language that is the primary language for five or more of your employees.
Need posters?
State plan posters in multiple languages are available for download here. More languages are being added all the time so check back often or reach out to DEED to let them know what you need.
Equivalent plan posters should be provided to you by your plan carrier. If you don’t have them yet, now is the time to reach out and ask. You may also create your own equivalent plan poster using the state provided template available here.
When: As part of the required employee communication, these should be available to employees no later than December 1, 2025.
How: Make sure you have posters displayed in a place where employees can easily see it. If you already have an area where other employment law posters are available add your Paid Leave poster there. This includes both physical and online locations. For example, you may have physical posters in a break room and online version on your internal website for employees and/or emailed to employees who work remotely.
Required Individual Employee Notice
What: All covered employees must receive and acknowledge individual notices about your Paid Leave plan in their primary language.
When: As part of the required employee communication, these must be distributed to employees no later than December 1, 2025.
How: These notices must be distributed in a way that also allows employees to acknowledge that they received the notice. As an employer you should also establish a way of tracking and storing acknowledgements for easy proof of compliance.
Once again, the state has stepped in to provide standardized notices, eliminating the need for any of us to develop these on our own. The state notice documents also include helpful and detailed instructions on the first few pages, along with the notice template itself.
If you are using the state plan, the standard notice can be do downloaded here.
Equivalent plan notices may be sent to you by your plan carrier though you can also create your own from the state’s equivalent plan notice available here.
Understanding Premiums and Payments
Part of communicating with your employees is understanding and being able to explain premiums and benefit pay. This is a work in progress for all of us!
Premiums: If you have chosen to share part of the premium cost with employees, they need to know the “how much” and the “when” in advance, so they aren’t caught off guard when an extra deduction shows up on their pay stub. Although premium payments to the state are not due until the end of the first quarter, payroll deductions from paychecks are expected to begin with the first payroll of the new year.
The premium amount is set as a percentage of the individual’s wages with the 2026 state plan rate set at 0.88. If you have negotiated a private plan, your rate can be no higher than the state rate and may be lower. According to current guidance, employers may share the premium costs with employees but should not require more than 50% of the state’s rate.
Premiums are due on all covered employees and individuals may not opt out of coverage.
Payments: Beginning January 1, 2026, covered employees become eligible to take paid family or medical leave or a combination of the two. Leave pay is calculated based on average weekly wages as reported to the state. Keep in mind that this includes all wages paid to an individual from all employers. If you have an employee who worked or works for other employers during the wage reporting period, all wages will be taken into consideration when determining the benefit pay amount.
Whether you are using the state’s plan or a private plan, benefit amounts to be paid to an employee should be calculated for you. However, it doesn’t hurt to know the formula:
- 90% of wages that do not exceed 50% of state average weekly wage (AWW)
PLUS
- 66% of wages between 50% and 100% of AWW
PLUS
- 55% of wages that exceed state’s AWW
Weekly payments will not be more than the state average weekly wage which has been set at $1,423 for 2026.
More Resources
Learn more about premiums, leave pay and access calculator tools for both on the state website.
Premium information and calculator
Benefit Pay information and calculator
Aligning your other Leave Policies and Benefits
Finally, as you work through the last details of how you will implement the new state paid leave, don’t forget to review all your other paid time off plans and benefits. These could include:
- Vacation / Sick Time
- Paid Time Off
- Short Term Disability
- Paid parental leave
If you have a formal STD or similar wage continuation plan, state paid leave is considered primary and will pay first. You can choose to have STD supplement or pay on top of the state leave pay.
Other types of paid time off (sick, vacation, PTO, parental leave, etc.) would be considered primary with state paid leave as the supplement unless an employer specifically chooses to allow them to be used to supplement payments received from state paid leave.
If you choose not to allow supplementation, employees can choose to use your paid leave instead of receiving state benefits though they still cannot opt out of paying the premiums.
If you want to allow supplementation then you need to update your other paid leave policies to state this and ensure that all employees receive updated information. Consider issuing the revised policies, or an updated employee handbook containing them, along with the December 1, 2025, state plan required notices.
However you design your other paid time off policies around the state paid leave plan remember … employees on state paid leave cannot be required to use employer paid leave.
Our October 16, 2025, webinar covered some of this information and much, much more. Check it out here!