TL;DR: Minnesota Paid Leave pays up to 90% of your wages — a maximum of $1,423 a week in 2026 — for up to 12 weeks of family leave and up to 12 weeks of medical leave, capped at 20 combined weeks per benefit year. Benefits started January 1, 2026, and there's no employer-size threshold, so nearly every MN worker who's earned at least $3,900 in their base period is covered. There's no confirmed hard filing deadline after leave starts, but you do need to give your employer 30 days' notice for planned leave. Here's exactly how the program works and how to apply.
If you work in Minnesota, you've probably heard MN Paid Leave mentioned but never gotten a straight answer on what it actually pays or who qualifies. That's fair — the state rolled out a brand-new program in 2026, and most of what's online is either outdated speculation or generic summaries that skip the details you actually need. This guide breaks down the real numbers straight from Minnesota's state leave law: what Minnesota Paid Leave pays, who's eligible, what "job protection" actually means versus the benefit itself, and the one notice deadline that does exist. You'll walk through quick stats, the full benefits and eligibility rules, the 30-day advance notice requirement, how to apply, and answers to the questions people ask most.
Quick Stats
Detail | Minnesota Paid Leave |
|---|---|
Program name | Minnesota Paid Leave |
Effective date | January 1, 2026 |
Family leave | Up to 12 weeks |
Medical leave | Up to 12 weeks |
Combined maximum | 20 weeks per benefit year |
Wage replacement | Up to 90% (progressive formula) |
Maximum weekly benefit | $1,423 (2026) |
Employer size threshold | None — applies to employers of any size |
Earnings requirement | At least $3,900 in your base period (2026) |
Tenure for job protection | 90 days with your current employer |
Advance notice | 30 days for foreseeable leave |
Filing deadline | No confirmed hard deadline — file as early as possible |
Where to apply |
Minnesota Paid Leave Benefits & Eligibility
How Much Does Minnesota Paid Leave Pay?
Minnesota uses a progressive wage-replacement formula, which means lower earners get a bigger percentage of their paycheck replaced:
90% of wages up to 50% of the state average weekly wage (SAWW)
66% of wages between 50% and 100% of the SAWW
55% of wages above 100% of the SAWW
All three tiers are capped at the maximum weekly benefit of $1,423 for 2026. In plain terms: the lower your wages, the closer you get to that full 90% replacement rate. Higher earners still qualify, but a smaller share of their income above the SAWW thresholds gets replaced — that's how the state keeps the program funded while still protecting workers who can least absorb a pay cut.
How Many Weeks Can You Take?
Minnesota splits its benefit into two buckets, and they don't automatically stack to 24 weeks:
Up to 12 weeks of family leave — bonding with a new child, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, or safety leave related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking
Up to 12 weeks of medical leave — your own serious health condition
20 weeks combined maximum per benefit year if you need both
So if you use 12 weeks of medical leave to recover from surgery, you'd have 8 weeks of family leave left in that same benefit year, not the full 12. Plan your leave around that combined cap, especially if you're anticipating both a medical need and a bonding or caregiving need in the same year.
One notable gap: Minnesota Paid Leave does not cover military exigency or military caregiver leave the way several other state programs do. If military family leave applies to your situation, check federal FMLA's eligibility rules and military caregiver provisions separately.
Who's Eligible for Minnesota Paid Leave?
Eligibility for the wage benefit itself is refreshingly simple compared to federal FMLA. You need to have earned at least $3,900 during your base period (the 2026 threshold). That's it — there's no minimum-hours test layered on top, and critically, there's no employer-size threshold. A worker at a five-person coffee shop and a worker at a 5,000-person company are eligible on exactly the same terms.
Self-employed Minnesotans and independent contractors can opt into the program voluntarily, which isn't true everywhere.
Job Protection vs. the Benefit Itself
This is where people get tripped up: qualifying for the wage benefit and having your job protected while you're out are two separate questions.
The wage benefit depends only on the earnings test above.
Job restoration (getting your same or an equivalent job back) requires that you've worked for your current employer for at least 90 days, and it applies to employers of any size — Minnesota doesn't carve out small businesses the way federal FMLA excludes employers under 50 employees.
If you're new to a job and haven't hit the 90-day mark yet, you can likely still collect the wage benefit if you meet the earnings test — you just don't have the same job-restoration guarantee until you clear that tenure threshold.
Advance Notice Requirement
Here's the part that surprises people: Minnesota doesn't publish a confirmed hard deadline for filing your claim after leave starts. That's different from states like New York or Washington, which give you a strict 30-day window from the start of leave to file. Minnesota's confirmed rule is a different kind of 30 days.
You must give your employer at least 30 days' advance notice for foreseeable leave — a scheduled surgery, a known due date, a planned family care situation. If your leave is unforeseeable (a sudden medical emergency, for example), you need to notify your employer as soon as practicable instead.
This is a notice-to-employer requirement, not a claim-filing deadline with the state. Don't confuse the two. Since no verified filing deadline exists in Minnesota's program rules, the safest move is still to apply as soon as you know you'll need leave — earlier filing means faster processing and fewer gaps in your pay, even without a hard cutoff forcing your hand.
How to Apply for Minnesota Paid Leave
Confirm you meet the earnings threshold. You need at least $3,900 in your base period (2026 figure) to qualify for the benefit.
Give your employer 30 days' notice if your leave is foreseeable. If it's not, notify them as soon as you reasonably can.
Create an account at paidleave.mn.gov — this is the state's official portal for Minnesota Paid Leave applications.
Submit your application with the required documentation for your leave type — medical certification for your own serious health condition, or supporting documentation for bonding, caregiving, or safety leave.
Track your claim through your paidleave.mn.gov account and respond promptly if the state requests additional information — delays in documentation are the most common reason claims stall.
For general Minnesota employment law questions outside the Paid Leave program itself, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry is the state agency to check.