Minnesota’s new paid family and medical leave program is off to a steady start, with more than $30 million in payments and 13,700 benefit approvals in its first month, according to data state officials shared Monday.
The 13,700 approvals are slightly above pace for the 130,000 people the Department of Employment and Economic Development expects in the first year. Though the number is boosted in part by early applications for child bonding leave — something known in paid leave circles as a “baby bump.”
That initial bump is expected to even out over time.
“We’ve seen weekly applications start to trend down over time … in line with experience in other states,” DEED Deputy Commissioner Evan Rowe said in a call with reporters Monday.
Paid family and medical leave was approved by the Democratic-Farmer-Labor-controlled Legislature in 2023. It officially launched Jan. 1 and is the 13th state program of its kind. Applications for bonding leave opened in November, inflating the first month’s numbers, according to DEED, which is tasked with running the program.
About 4,500 of the approved applications were from the soft launch in November and December of 2025. The total number of applications from January that got state approval was closer to 9,200 though there are still pending applications for that month.
How it works, how much is it expected to cost?
The new paid leave benefit requires most employers to offer employees 12 weeks of family leave and 12 weeks of medical leave. Annual time off will be capped at 20 weeks. Events like having a child, a serious illness, or caring for a sick family member are eligible for coverage.
It’s expected to cost Minnesota around $1.6 billion in its first year and is covered by a 0.88% payroll tax split between employers and employees. Asked Monday how long that rate would stand, DEED officials said that would depend on an actuarial analysis expected in the coming months.
The state will have to send employers updated premium rates by July 31, so there will need to be an official estimate before then, Rowe said.
The maximum benefit payout is $1,432 per week — roughly the average wage in Minnesota. The average weekly payout for approved leave in January was around $1,132 per week, according to DEED.
The first round of payments was scheduled to start on Jan. 12. Close to 3,000 Minnesotans received payments in the first round.
Applications
So far, the state has received 38,000 paid leave applications and made more than 21,000 approvals, denials and cancellations. Phone wait times for paid leave assistance remained under 5 minutes, according to DEED officials.
Rejections for paid leave applications were largely due to employees already having access to a similar benefit through their employer, state officials said. Other reasons for rejection included a lack of proper documents.
So far, most leave requests have been for bonding with a child — around 48%. Medical leave was at 41% for the first month and continues to grow, according to Rowe. In the coming months, that proportion likely will continue its climb.
The remainder of approved leave requests broke down as follows — 10% was leave to care for a relative or loved one, and less than 1% each for military and personal safety-related issues.
Average leave durations parental bonding were for nine weeks, medical leaves for six and a half weeks and care for relatives six weeks.
Other types of leave, such as for military service or personal safety did not have enough applicants to show meaningful trends in January, according to DEED.
Fraudulent claims
There have been some attempts at fraud in the program in its first month, Rowe said. Though it may be too early to demonstrate any significant vulnerabilities to the system.
DEED has forwarded possible fraud cases to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. State officials did not have a number of fraud attempts or details about any particular cases on Monday, though Rowe said some applicants had attempted to supply false information in order to obtain benefits.
Minnesota paid leave requires significant levels of verification for an applicant to qualify for payments.
DEED uses existing data from Minnesota’s unemployment insurance program, which has a strong reputation for fraud prevention, to identify and lock accounts suspected of being compromised by hackers or impostors.
To access benefits
To access benefits, applicants must submit identification and take a photo of themselves to sign up through an online platform called LoginMN, a centralized sign-in site for state services. All claims must be certified by a health care provider or other appropriate professional.
A team with access to data analytics to spot overall trends in the paid leave system will review claims. Minnesota will be the first state to integrate electronic health records into its paid leave system. The state will also conduct random audits of claims.
State officials in November said they expect cybercrime and identity theft to be among the main forms of fraud they’ll face. But they’ll also need to ensure applicants are telling the truth on claims. Multiple points of validation will help combat dishonest applicants, Rowe told lawmakers at the time.
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