Minnesota sends first paid leave checks to 2,600 workers

Average Payment Tops $1,100 Weekly

Minnesota workers are getting paid to stay home with new babies and sick family members, and the checks just started landing.

The state sent its first round of payments on Friday, January 10, 2026, making good on a promise that took nearly three years to build.

Over 2,600 residents got money in this first batch, and the state expects 130,000 claims throughout the year.

25,000 Applications in First Days

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says more than 25,000 people applied for paid leave benefits in the first days of January.

The agency has made decisions on over 10,000 of those applications so far, and about two-thirds were approved. The average approved leave is running just under nine weeks.

Most of the early applications came from new parents looking to bond with babies born in late 2025.

Workers Get Up to 12 Weeks

The program gives workers up to 12 weeks of paid medical leave for their own health conditions, including pregnancy and childbirth recovery. They can also take up to 12 weeks of family leave to bond with a new child or care for a sick relative.

If someone needs both types in the same year, the total is capped at 20 weeks. Leave can be taken all at once or broken into smaller chunks.

Paychecks Range From 55% to 90%

How much you get depends on how much you normally earn.

Lower-wage workers receive up to 90% of their usual pay, while higher earners get a smaller percentage. The maximum anyone can receive is $1,423 per week, which matches the state average wage.

The first batch of payments averaged $1,153. Workers can choose direct deposit or a prepaid debit card.

2025 Parents Still Qualify

Parents who had babies, adopted children, or took in foster kids during 2025 can still apply for bonding leave in 2026. The catch is that they have to use the leave within 12 months of when the child arrived.

A parent whose baby was born in June 2025 would need to finish their leave by June 2026.

This provision created a wave of early applications from parents who were already home with newborns when the program launched.

Walz Signed the Law in 2023

Governor Tim Walz signed the paid leave bill on May 25, 2023, surrounded by lawmakers and union leaders.

The law took two and a half years to implement because the state had to build an entirely new system to handle applications, verify eligibility, and process payments.

Minnesota recruited key leadership from Massachusetts’ paid leave program and contracted with Nava, the same firm that built the Massachusetts system.

The program launched on time.

Employers and Workers Split the Cost

The program runs on a 0.88% payroll tax, split evenly between employers and employees.

For someone earning $50,000 a year, their share works out to about $220 annually, or roughly $4 per week.

Small businesses with 30 or fewer employees that also meet wage requirements pay a reduced rate of 0.66%.

Employers send their first premium payments to the state by April 30, covering wages paid in the first quarter.

More Than Just Baby Bonding

Medical leave covers serious health conditions, chronic illnesses, injuries, and surgeries that keep someone out of work for at least seven days.

Family leave goes beyond new babies to include caring for a spouse, parent, child, or grandparent with a serious health condition.

The program also covers time off for domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking situations, as well as leave to support family members called to active military duty.

Jobs Are Protected Too

Workers who have been with their employer for at least 90 days get job protection while on leave.

That means the employer cannot fire them, demote them, or cut their hours because they took time off.

The protection applies to nearly all Minnesota employers regardless of size, unlike the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which only covers companies with 50 or more workers.

The State Expects 130,000 Claims

The Department of Employment and Economic Development projects about 130,000 Minnesotans will file paid leave claims in 2026.

The agency expects higher-than-normal demand in the first year because of parents with 2025 babies who can now access benefits. Claims should level off in future years.

The system was tested in December with early applications before opening fully on January 1.

Delaware and Maine Join In

Minnesota is one of three states launching paid leave programs in early 2026.

Delaware started paying benefits on January 1, and Maine will begin in May. Maryland has a program in the works, but pushed its launch to 2028.

That brings the total to 12 states plus Washington, D.C., currently paying benefits, with two more programs on the way.

Colorado launched in 2024, Oregon in 2023, and Connecticut in 2022.

America Still Has No National Policy

The United States is the only country among the 38 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development without a national paid family leave law.

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave, but only for companies with 50 or more employees.

Multiple attempts to pass federal paid leave have failed in Congress.

For now, state programs like Minnesota’s are the only option for most American workers.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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