Minnesota Paid Leave Compliance: What City Employers Need to Do First

January 12, 2026

As you continue to get your city ready for Minnesota Paid Leave, you don’t have to figure it out all at once. You may find it useful to start with the state’s employer prep checklist and keep the League’s MN Paid Leave FAQ webpage bookmarked for quick guidance.

At a high level, the state is asking all covered employers to, at a minimum, complete the following steps.

Step 1: Confirm quarterly wage detail reports are being submitted

The first report was due Oct. 30, 2025

Take a moment to confirm that your city has submitted its quarterly wage detail reports for all employees, including employees who may not typically be covered by unemployment insurance (UI) but are covered by Paid Leave (such as paid elected officials, election judges, and similar roles).

To do:

Review your current wage detail reporting process and confirm it includes all Paid Leave-covered roles.
Double check due dates and requirements using the resources below.

Helpful resources:

If you have questions or run into any issues while submitting the quarterly wage detail reports, Minnesota Unemployment Insurance can help by phone (651-296-6141) or by sending a secure online message through your employer account.

Steps 2-3: Have your council designate a Paid Leave Administrator and determine a premium split (if any)

Designate a Paid Leave Administrator: Your council should designate a Paid Leave Administrator who will serve as the city’s primary point of contact with the state for the MN Paid Leave Program.
Decide whether (and how) you’ll split premiums: The council needs to decide how the program’s premiums will be shared, if at all. Under statute, employers may share up to 50% of the state’s premium with employees. View Q6 of the League’s MN Paid Leave FAQ to learn more.

Your council should consider the following when deciding how to handle premiums:

Tax implications: If your city chooses to pay more than the required employer share (more than 50%), the additional amount is considered extra compensation to the employee and must be included in the employee’s federal gross income as wages. View the Minnesota Paid Leave tax guidance for more details.
Small employer reduced premium rate: The state has begun notifying eligible small employers if they qualify for a reduced premium rate. For more information, see Q6 on the LMC Paid Leave FAQ page.
Minimum wage employees: If your city plans to share premiums with employees (see Q5 and Q17), review positions subject to federal, state, or local minimum wage requirements to ensure that employee premium deductions do not cause wages to fall below the required minimum. See Q27 from the League’s MN Paid Leave FAQ.

Step 4: Report your designated Paid Leave Administrator in your UI employer account

Before an employer can create a Paid Leave Administrator account, your city must first report the designated paid leave administrator(s) through its UI account.

Complete these tasks:

Log in to your city’s UI account
Follow the step-by-step instructions (including helpful screenshots) available on the Minnesota Unemployment Insurance website
Watch for an email sent to your designated Paid Leave Administrator(s) with instructions for signing on the Minnesota Paid Leave website

Step 5: Create your Paid Leave Administrator account

Once you’ve been designated as the Paid Leave Administrator in your city’s UI account, you can create the employer Paid Leave account and enter your contact information. As the Paid Leave Administrator, you’ll serve as your city’s primary point of contact for program matters.

Helpful resources:

Step 6: Provide required employee notices

Your city will need to complete two notice-related steps for employees:

Post a required poster in the workplace
Provide an individual notice to each employee and be sure to obtain acknowledgement that the notice was received

View the state’s sample posters and notice forms available in its employer resource toolkit.

Additional resources

The League’s MN Paid Leave Law FAQ page is a reliable “one-stop” reference. If you’re looking for sample policy to integrate into your personnel policies, the League provides a customizable sample policy in Article XX11 (Leaves of Absence), Section 12.01 of the League’s Model Personnel Policy Template.

As questions come up, the League of Minnesota Cities is here to help with FAQs, sample policies, and practical guidance for our member cities.