Senate Passes Bill Establishing Paid Family Leave Program

A bill to establish a new state program that will allow Minnesotans to take partial paid leave to welcome a new baby, to care for a critically ill loved one or to heal from their own significant illness or injury is headed to the desk of Governor Tim Walz. On a vote of 34-32, the Senate passed HF 2 Thursday, May 18.

Bill sponsor Senator Alice Mann, DFL-Edina, a physician who has worked on this legislation for several years, was unable to present the bill for final passage due to her own unexpected health emergency, providing the DFL majority a prime example of why they believe that workers need the program.

Senate Republicans argued against the measure, critical of its one-size-fits-all approach and the potential impacts on small employers. The GOP repeatedly touted their approach to a paid leave plan, which would require the state to authorize the necessary insurance products for employers to buy and to make participation by employers optional.

The new program will be funded by a payroll tax on employers and employees. Upon implementation, workers will be eligible for sixty percent wage replacement for qualifying events up to twelve weeks per event. The maximum leave for two qualifying events is twenty weeks per year.