DFL leaders push for paid family and medical leave to take effect Jan. 1, 2026, reject GOP delay efforts

Representative Dave Pinto, DFL lead on the Workforce, Labor and Economic Development Committee, opened a Capitol event by saying Minnesotans “have been waiting for years for the benefits of paid family and medical leave. Waiting another year is not an option.”

DFL lawmakers and supporters used the event to describe how the statewide paid family and medical leave program will work, press the case that the law should take effect as written and outline features meant to limit costs for small employers. They also criticized Republican lawmakers for pursuing repeal or delay measures and said the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) will run the program.

Why it matters: The program creates a state-administered, premium-funded benefit that the DFL says will expand paid leave access to millions of Minnesotans who do not now have it. Lawmakers at the event repeatedly warned that efforts to postpone or undo the law would leave families without paid leave and urged Republicans to negotiate improvements instead of seeking repeal.

The bill and rollout: Speakers said the law is scheduled to begin paying claims Jan. 1, 2026. Representative Cedric Frazier of District 43A said, “paid family medical…