Minnesota Paid Leave: Important steps for employers

Reminder: MN Paid Leave begins Jan. 1, 2026! 

*The information below is provided from a Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development email update for employers. BIA-RRV recommends you subscribe to their updates via https://mn.gov/deed/paidleave/. 

Important Steps: 

1. Designate a Paid Leave Administrator and set up your account.

• You will need an employer account (uimn.org) and a paid leave administrator account (paidleave.mn.gov). 
• A paid leave administrator is your connection to paid leave, they can review applications, see determinations, access tax information, etc. 
• To designate a paid leave administrator, go to your employer account at uimn.org and designate one person or multiple. A step-by-step guide is available here: uimn.org/employers/paid-leave. After you designate an administrator, go to paidleave.mn.gov to create your paid leave administrator account.

2. November 15 - last day to request an Equivalent Plan Substitution for Jan. 1

Equivalent plan substitution requests opened this summer, and can be submitted at any time. Equivalent plans can go into effect at the start of any quarter. For the quarter beginning Jan. 1, 2025, Paid Leave has extended the submission date from Nov. 10 to Nov. 15, 2025. For your equivalent plan to take effect starting January 1, 2025, your request must be received by Paid Leave by this date. If you submit your request after November 15, the earliest your equivalent plan could be start is April 1, 2025 (the start of the next quarter)

Visit their website to learn more.

3. December 1- Notify your employees about Paid Leave

By Dec. 1, 2025, employers must notify employees about Paid Leave directly in their primary language and display a poster in English and any other language spoken by five or more workers. Employees should also acknowledge that they received the notice. 

Sample notices and the workplace poster can be downloaded here: Employer resource toolkit / Minnesota Paid Leave

Cass County Commission updates economic incentives process

The Cass County Commission made changes to their incentives approval process at the Oct. 20 meeting. Changes stemmed from a desire to have a clearer policy for developers to understand and to be conscious of the 3% property tax cap from the state. 

Click here to read the policy memo.

The following are some of the larger changes:

• Incentives for primary sector businesses (those selling mostly outside the region) will generally be supported as submitted. 
• For those that are non-primary sector businesses, 
  • Municipalities are encouraged to limit 100% abatements to five years. 
  • Projects within a 5-year window do not require county approval.
  • Applications for non-primary sector existing facility expansions or remodels won't be considered.
• Tax Increment Financing and Payment in Lieu of Taxes applications not covered by other sections will generally be approved at no more than 50% of the requested amount.
• There is still strong support for federally backed low- and moderate-income housing projects, especially those using Low Income Housing Tax Credits. 

Even with these changes, the commission retains the right to evaluate each application individually. They will also continue to be notified of municipal incentives exceeding five years.

National Association of Home Builders requests feedback on International Residential Code

Members are encouraged to submit feedback on the IRC by Friday, Nov. 14. NAHB requests that you include the phrase “IRC Review Feedback” in the subject line of your email.

Fill out the survey here.

If you have any questions or need more time to complete the survey, contact Gary Ehrlich, NAHB director of construction codes and standards, at gehrlich@nahb.org.

NAHB has developed a 2024 I-Codes Adoption Kit which includes a list of significant changes in the 2024 IRC, a cost impact study for adoption of the 2024 IRC and recommended amendments for states and jurisdictions considering adoption the 2024 IRC.

Click here to read the request.

Minnesota Independent Contractor Act lawsuit update

In April, 2025, the BIA Board of Directors decided to submit an amicus brief on behalf of the Association in the case against the state's Independent Contractor Act that the Associated Builders and Contractors of Minnesota filed. 

The District Court denied the challenge to its constitutionality, and the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld that denial. The denial stemmed from the claim that they were unable to determine whether or not the Act’s penalties were unconstitutionally excessive. They argued that the Court had to be presented with an actual penalty that was assessed under the Act; otherwise, the Court held that its decision would be based on speculation.

In the amicus brief, BIA argued that according to the Act, a contractor is in violation of the law whether or not the Department of Labor and Industry chooses to seek prosecution or assess a penalty, so violation of the statute isn’t a decision that rests with the discretion of DOLI. According to the attorneys involved in the case, the Court mentioned the points we raised in our amicus brief during oral argument, but did not mention in its opinion. 

While not the outcome BIA-RRV desired, the case brought up important items to consider regarding the law.

It's important to be aware of this Act and its implications. For more details, follow this link: https://www.dli.mn.gov/misclassification-construction. 

October Building Industry Connect recap

We were joined by Rocky Schneider, Downtown Community Partnership and Melissa Beach, Minnkota Power Cooperative for BIC on Oct. 15. 

They shared insights on economic development efforts, the importance of vibrant downtowns, the need for a diversified housing stock, and various programs supporting rural communities. We also appreciated the updates on Fargo and regional initiatives.

It was great to hear each of their perspectives!