Nearly 12K Minnesotans apply for paid leave after law went into effect

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Tens of thousands of Minnesotans have applied for Paid Leave, which gives employed residents up to 12 weeks of paid family or medical leave a year. 

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) will be holding a press conference at noon on the news. The press conference can be watched on the player above. 

12k apply for Minnesota paid leave program

What they're saying:

DEED says that since they rolled out bonding leave for parents who had a child in 2025 in early December, 11,883 Minnesotans have applied for paid leave as of Friday morning. 

This week, DEED fully launched the paid leave application, which includes medical leave, caring leave, bonding leave, safety leave and military family leave. 

DEED has completed reviewing 6.393 leave applications. 

"Receiving nearly 12,000 early Paid Leave applications shows just how motivated people are to engage with this new program," said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek. "Our website is managing traffic well and our contact center team is prepared to answer questions from Minnesotans who need assistance. We’re proud and excited to implement this program for Minnesota." 

State officials project that there will be about 130,000 approved leave claims in the first year of the program. 

Paid leave funding and benefits

The backstory:

The program initially received an $800 million boost from the 2023 budget surplus.

Eventually, it will be funded through payroll tax deductions of 0.88% of most salaries, with employers covering at least half of that amount. For small employers, it’s a total of 0.66%, but employees may still be responsible for as much as 0.44%.

Under the law, Minnesotans can take up to 12 weeks of family or medical leave, with a maximum of 20 combined weeks per year. The wage replacement is partial, capped at the state's average weekly wage of about $1,423.

READ MORE: Minnesota's new paid leave law: What you need to know