What’s in MN’s $72B budget: Universal leave and paid sick time

Christopher Magan, Pioneer Press
·1 min read

Two new paid time-off benefits were created by the Legislature: a universal leave program that will launch in 2026, and an earned sick and safe time requirement that starts sooner.

Workers will be eligible for 12 weeks of paid leave for medical reasons or to care for a family members. A lot of the recipients are expected to be workers taking time off after a pregnancy or to bond with a new child.

Workers could take both family and medical leave in the same year with maximum of 20 weeks in benefits with some exceptions.

A 0.7 percent payroll tax that could be split with workers would raise about $1.4 billion a year to pay for the program’s benefits and the 400 workers the state will need to hire to administer it.

MORE: What’s in MN’s $72B budget and what else lawmakers approved

Workers would receive a portion of their salary while on leave with a minimum benefit of $200 and a maximum of about half of state’s average weekly wage, which is currently just under $1,300. Estimates show most workers would receive between $400 and $600 per week.

The earned sick time provision requires employers to provide one hour of time off for every 30 hours worked for an annual maximum of 48 hours.

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