Purpose

Provide small employers with financial assistance to cover costs that arise when a employee takes family or medical leave. The goal is to help small businesses manage pay and staffing by enabling temporary help or wage increases during the leave period.

Main Provisions

• Creates Small Employer Assistance Grants under Minnesota Statutes to help certain small employers.

• Eligible employers:

  • Have 30 or fewer employees (as calculated under a specific wage/employee method).
  • Have an average wage not more than 150% of the state's average wage in covered employment for the prior year.

• Grant details:

  • Up to $3,000 per grant.
  • Maximum of $6,000 in total grants per eligible employer per calendar year.
  • Grants must be used to hire a temporary worker or to increase wages for current employees.

• How a grant is triggered and used:

  • The grant amount must be used to cover costs caused by an employee’s use of family or medical leave.
  • The grant amount cannot exceed the additional costs incurred by the employer due to the leave.
  • The employer must meet revenue requirements to be eligible.

• Application process:

  • Applications must be submitted and processed in a form/manner determined by the commissioner.
  • Applications are eligible only within the calendar year until funding runs out; after that, no reimbursement.

• Eligibility limitations:

  • Employers with an approved private paid leave plan are not eligible for a grant.

• Funding source and cap:

  • The program can award up to $5,000,000 per calendar year from the family and medical benefit insurance account, unless additional funds are appropriated.

Notable Changes to Law

• Introduces a new grant program to assist small employers with costs related to employee leave, specifically targeting employers with 30 or fewer workers and lower-to-mid wage levels.
• Sets explicit grant amounts and annual caps per employer, along with a limit on total annual funding from a designated insurance account.
• Adds eligibility restrictions related to private paid leave plans, requiring that employers with such plans cannot receive these grants.
• Establishes a defined application and funding process tied to the calendar year and funding availability.

Implementation Observations

• The program depends on annual funding availability and administrative rules set by the commissioner.
• It ties eligibility to both workforce size and wage benchmarks, meaning changes in average wage or employment levels could affect eligibility year to year.

Relevant changes also hinge on the interaction with existing leave benefit provisions and the Financial/insurance account from which grants are funded.

---

Relevant Terms small employer; 30 or fewer employees; average wage; 150 percent; state’s average wage in covered employment; prior year; family and medical leave; grant; temporary worker; wage increases; seven days or more; private plan; private paid leave plan; revenue requirements; documentation attestation; commissioner; form and manner; funding account; family and medical benefit insurance account; calendar year; funding exhausted.