Minnesotans who welcomed a child this year were able to start applying this week to the state's new paid family and medical leave program to take time off in 2026.

Gov. Tim Walz signed the bill during the 2023 legislative session, creating a program to provide 12 weeks of leave with partial pay for employees to care for a newborn and 12 weeks to tend to a sick family member or to recover from their own serious illness. Benefits will be capped at 20 weeks a year for those who take advantage of both. The benefits are also available to those responding to a personal safety issue, such as stalking or domestic violence. 

The applications that went live on Wednesday are part of a phased start; officials hope this will reduce demand when the program officially launches on Jan. 1. Minnesotans with newborns will have a year to take advantage of the benefits.

The Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has already begun processing an estimated 5,000 leave requests for parents who had babies born or adopted in 2025.

According to Matt Varilek, the commissioner of DEED, the office has been running a beta test for over a month already in an effort to protect the program from possible fraud. He added that there are "multiple layers of validation" to verify a person's identity and need for leave.

"At every step along the way, we will be using all the information we have to make sure that these are legitimate claims," Varilek said Tuesday morning. 

Varilek was with Walz and the owners of Marty's Deli in northeast Minneapolis to discuss the rollout of the initiative.

The system was built by the same group that implemented a similar program in Massachusetts, and are "some of the best folks in the country to do this," Walz said.

The program is funded by a 0.88% payroll tax increase that's split between employers and employees, according to state officials. That premium is higher than the 0.7% that the initial 2023 law anticipated. Minnesotans who are self-employed can enroll as well. They will have to pay the payroll tax and have to guarantee they will be in the program for two years.

An estimated quarter of Minnesota employees already have access to a similar paid family leave program through their employer. Private companies must meet the standards for benefits outlined in the bill and can avoid the payroll tax increase by paying a fee. 

Varilek says applications are reviewed by some of the 350 new employees hired specifically for the program.

The state decided on the leave, but the biggest wait will go towards what your doctor recommends for you. You will not receive 100% of your pay; the lower your income, the higher the percentage you will get. Most people will get between 55% and 95% of their paycheck. The highest you can be paid is $1,423 a week. You'll have job security once your leave ends.

"It's partial wage replacement, it's not even your full salary. That's one, I think, reassuring factor for anyone who is worried that folks are going to try and get rich on this. You won't get rich," said Varilek.

Supporters of the program say that it leads to greater employee retention, better morale and higher performance. Republicans earlier this year tried to delay the program's start by a year, but the effort was eventually tabled.

"Even as excited as I am to be able to use this program myself I'm more excited to be able to share it with my staff," said Martha Polacek, owner of Marty's Deli, who had her child, Nell, just five weeks ago. "This small, shared contribution is so much less than what it would cost me to offer this kind of leave to my employees, so that's really important to me."

Twelve other states currently offer a similar paid family leave benefit, which Walz said is their "most popular program in state government."

"Having this benefit available for Minnesotans will allow us to take the time we need in some of life's most important moments. To have that bonding, to care for someone that is sick, to care for yourself. These are the moments we all remember. But if those moments involve great financial insecurity, obviously that's a hardship for the three-quarters of Minnesotans that haven't had this benefit before," Varilek said.

In the lead-up to the Jan. 1 launch, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce is holding seminars and working with hundreds of the state's employers to prepare them. According to the state, more than 132,000 applications for leave are expected to be filed in 2026.