---
title: "Minnesota Paid Family and Sick Leave 2026"
description: "Minnesota Paid Leave benefits go live 1 January 2026: a 0.88% premium funds up to 20 weeks, plus ESST at 1 hour per 30 worked. FMLA holds the job."
canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/united-states/minnesota/paid-family-and-sick-leave
---

United States · Minnesota · Leave family

Served by Teamed US Inc., Delaware · Payroll via SUNA Solutions

# What *paid family and sick leave* does Minnesota require in 2026?

Minnesota Paid Leave is new for 2026: benefits go live 1 January, funded by a 0.88% payroll premium with up to 20 weeks of benefit. Earned Sick and Safe Time adds 1 hour of sick leave per 30 hours worked. Federal FMLA holds the job; the state pays the wages.

Last reviewed 6 June 2026 · Minnesota, United States guide

![The Minneapolis skyline at dawn reflected in the Mississippi River, the Stone Arch Bridge in the foreground and a runner crossing it in soft winter light.](/cluster-assets/country-hiring-guides/united-states/minnesota/paid-family-and-sick-leave/images/hero.webp)

Illustration · Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minnesota entered 2026 as a paid-leave state. The [Minnesota Paid Leave](https://paidleave.mn.gov) programme began paying benefits on **1 January 2026**, funded by a **0.88% payroll premium** you and your employee split evenly. Earned Sick and Safe Time sits on top, accruing from the first hour worked, with no headcount threshold on either.

Run a national FMLA-only policy in Minnesota and you're short from the first paycheque of 2026. Paid Leave replaces up to **90% of wages** for as long as **20 weeks**, and sick leave reaches every employer regardless of size. [Federal FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) decides who holds the job. The state writes the cheque.

## What paid leave must Minnesota employers provide in 2026?

Two state programmes now stack on top of federal law: the new statewide [Minnesota Paid Leave](https://paidleave.mn.gov) programme, whose benefits began 1 January 2026, and [Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST)](https://www.dli.mn.gov/sick-leave), in force since 2024.

Both reach every employer from your first Minnesota hire, with no 50-employee threshold. Premium collection started 1 January 2026 and the first remittance was due 30 April 2026, so the 0.88% payroll line is already live.

| Programme | What it provides | Who pays in 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Minnesota Paid Leave](https://paidleave.mn.gov) | Up to 20 weeks of paid leave, up to 90% wage replacement | 0.88% premium; employer 0.44% / employee 0.44% |
| [Earned Sick and Safe Time](https://www.dli.mn.gov/sick-leave) | 1 hour accrued per 30 hours worked | Employer-funded; no premium |
| [Federal FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) (floor) | 12 weeks unpaid, job protected | Unpaid; applies at 50+ employees |

The gap that catches out-of-state employers is the 50-employee assumption. [Federal FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) hits at 50 employees, but Minnesota Paid Leave and ESST apply from your first Minnesota hire. A three-person Minneapolis team carries the same 0.88% premium and sick-leave accrual as a 3,000-person enterprise, with only a reduced premium rate available to genuinely small employers. Compare how a state without a paid-leave programme handles this in our [Iowa paid family and sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/iowa/paid-family-and-sick-leave) guide.

## How does Minnesota Paid Leave work in 2026?

Minnesota Paid Leave gives eligible employees up to **12 weeks of medical leave** and up to **12 weeks of family leave**, capped at **20 weeks combined** in a benefit year. Benefits became payable on 1 January 2026 via [paidleave.mn.gov](https://paidleave.mn.gov).

Your 2026 premium is **0.88% of wages** up to a taxable wage base of $185,000. You and your employee split it evenly at 0.44% each, and you may deduct the employee half from pay.

The benefit replaces wages on a sliding scale that favours lower earners, paying up to 90% of average weekly wage at the bottom band and tapering for higher pay, with a weekly maximum of **$1,423** for 2026. The state pays the benefit directly, so your payroll runs unchanged through the leave. Check the [Minnesota employer cost calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost) to see how the premium lands against total employment cost.

Small employers with 30 or fewer employees pay a reduced premium of 0.66% rather than the standard 0.88%, and may recover a larger share from employees. Job protection attaches after 90 days of employment, meaning a worker draws Paid Leave wage replacement before the role itself is protected. If you're weighing the full cost of a Minnesota hire, the [Minnesota wage and overtime guide](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/minnesota/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law) covers what you owe under the Minnesota Payment of Wages Act alongside this premium.

| Paid Leave dimension | 2026 rule |
| --- | --- |
| Medical leave | Up to 12 weeks per benefit year |
| Family leave | Up to 12 weeks per benefit year |
| Combined cap | 20 weeks in a 52-week period |
| Premium | 0.88% of wages to $185,000 (0.66% for small employers) |
| Wage replacement | Up to 90%, max $1,423 per week |

## How much paid sick leave does Minnesota require?

Every Minnesota employee accrues [Earned Sick and Safe Time](https://www.dli.mn.gov/sick-leave) at **1 hour for every 30 hours worked**, with no employer-size threshold, up to **48 hours a year**.

ESST has applied since 1 January 2024 and holds for 2026. Unused hours carry over year to year up to a balance of 80 hours.

Covered uses are broad under the [Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry](https://www.dli.mn.gov/sick-leave) rules: an employee's own illness, care for a family member, and safe time tied to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Minnesota's family definition reaches beyond the federal one, so the same accrued hours cover a wider set of caregiving situations than a national policy expects.

For 2026 the state added a front-load option: you may advance the estimated ESST a worker will accrue rather than tracking hour by hour, provided the advanced amount meets what actual hours would have earned. A national sick-leave policy that accrues less than 1 hour per 30 worked is short on every Minnesota payroll. Minneapolis and St. Paul both have local ordinances that predate the state floor, so location-specific rules apply. See what a comparable hire in Wisconsin costs without statewide paid leave in our [Wisconsin paid family and sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/wisconsin/paid-family-and-sick-leave) guide.

## How does federal FMLA interact with Minnesota leave?

[Federal FMLA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) gives up to **12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave** at employers with **50 or more employees** within a 75-mile radius. In Minnesota it runs concurrently with Paid Leave.

Paid Leave pays the wages; FMLA holds the job. Your employee files a Paid Leave claim and takes FMLA at the same time, not one after the other, so the weeks don't stack.

US DOL Wage and Hour Division · FMLA

Run FMLA concurrently and your employee draws Paid Leave wages while the job-protection clock ticks. The 50-employee threshold counts your entire US workforce, and eligibility needs 12 months of tenure and 1,250 hours worked in the prior year. Minnesota Paid Leave uses its own eligibility test, so a worker can draw Paid Leave wages before they qualify for FMLA protection.

Source: [US Department of Labor, Family and Medical Leave Act](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla)

FMLA extends to 26 weeks for military caregiver situations. The [Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)](https://www.eeoc.gov/pwfa), enforced by the [EEOC](https://www.eeoc.gov), requires reasonable accommodation at any employer with 15 or more employees, separate from any leave entitlement. If you're hiring at a point where FMLA and the Minnesota termination rules both apply, the [Minnesota termination law guide](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/minnesota/termination-law-and-at-will-exceptions) covers the reinstatement obligations that attach to a leave return.

## How Teamed runs Minnesota leave end to end

Teamed becomes your [employer of record](/employer-of-record) in Minnesota for [**from $599 per employee per month flat**](/pricing), with **Zero FX** on every currency conversion. We run Paid Leave premium collection and the 0.44% / 0.44% split, ESST accrual, and FMLA tracking.

Everything runs on **one platform** with **real HR and legal experts** who know Minnesota employment law. **An actual person**, not a chatbot or a pooled queue.

What that looks like day to day: a Paid Leave claim specialist files the employer verification with [Minnesota Paid Leave](https://paidleave.mn.gov) and tracks the 20-week clock against the $185,000 wage base; the sick-leave ledger accrues 1 hour per 30 worked up to 48 hours and applies the Minneapolis or St. Paul overlay automatically by work location; and the 0.88% premium is collected and remitted on the [state portal](https://paidleave.mn.gov) schedule. Verify your Minnesota tax obligations alongside leave costs in the [Minnesota state tax and unemployment insurance guide](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/minnesota/state-income-tax-and-unemployment-insurance).

There is **no setup fee and no exit fee**, and statutory employer cost **passes through at cost, itemised** on every invoice. Contractor onboarding, EOR payroll, and entity graduation all live on **one platform**: a Minnesota contractor who converts to W-2 keeps their record, and that same employee can **graduate** to your own US entity when the model no longer fits, without switching systems. Use the [Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator) to see the month the model flips, or [talk to an expert](https://www.teamed.global/contact) about your first Minnesota hire. EOR is the right model, **until it isn't**.

Teamed Legal Operations

Minnesota crossed over to a paid-leave state on 1 January 2026, and the premium line is already on payroll. Paid Leave and ESST both apply from your first Minneapolis hire, with no 50-employee threshold to hide behind. The compliance work is not deciding whether to offer leave, it is administering the new programme correctly and running Paid Leave concurrently with FMLA so you do not double-count the weeks. Get the concurrency wrong and you give away leave the statute never required.

A note from Tom Price-Daniel

Minnesota stopped leaving paid leave to the offer letter. Starting 1 January 2026, the state runs it.  
A 0.88% premium funds up to 20 weeks. Sick time accrues from the first hour worked.  
An FMLA-only handbook is short from the first paycheque. The question is whether you administer [Paid Leave](https://paidleave.mn.gov) and [ESST](https://www.dli.mn.gov/sick-leave) correctly.

Tom Price-Daniel · Co-founder, Teamed

## Related United States guides

- [Minnesota state tax & unemployment insurance](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/minnesota/state-income-tax-and-unemployment-insurance)sibling
- [Minnesota wage, overtime & meal break law](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/minnesota/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law)sibling
- [Minnesota termination law & at-will exceptions](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/minnesota/termination-law-and-at-will-exceptions)sibling
- [Hiring in the United States, overview](/country-hiring-guides/united-states)country parent
- [Iowa paid family & sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/iowa/paid-family-and-sick-leave)neighbour (state-PFML contrast)
- [Wisconsin paid family & sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/wisconsin/paid-family-and-sick-leave)neighbour (no statewide PFML contrast)
- [Employer of Record overview](/employer-of-record)core
- [Pricing, Zero FX Fixed](/pricing)core
- [EOR vs Entity Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator)tool
- [Minnesota employer cost calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost)tool
- [Talk to an expert](https://www.teamed.global/contact)CTA

A note on this page.

This is a guide, not legal advice. Minnesota's Paid Leave premium, benefit weeks and weekly maximum, the taxable wage base, and the ESST rules update over time, and several cities add their own ordinances. Confirm specific figures with Minnesota Paid Leave at paidleave.mn.gov, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry or your Teamed US specialist before relying on any number here.