As of January 1, 2026, Minnesota employees have guaranteed paid family and medical leave to use in an array of situations. This imminently implemented law, Minn. Stat. §§ 268B.01, et seq., requires employers to provide paid leave to their employees under the following circumstances: (1) so employees’ can deal with their own serious health condition, including pregnancy, (2) so they can care for a family member with a serious health condition, (3) so they have time to bond with a new child, (4) so they can address needs when they or a family member experiences sexual or domestic violence, and (4) so they can deal with the impact of a family member’s military deployment. These important legal developments follow historic and positive changes to labor & employment law and civil rights statutes at the State level since 2023, as summarized below.

New Laws That Significantly Expand Employee Protections And Civil Rights

• Prohibiting enforcement of any non-compete agreement that limits an employee’s ability to accept a job with a different employer in the field in which they work and any non-compete term in a service agreement that prevents a customer from hiring a vendor’s employees in, for example, the residential property management field when a homeowners association changes property management companies (Minn. Stat. § 181.988; Minn. Stat. § 181.9881);

• Creating a cause of action regarding employee misclassification and, moreover, authorize substantial remedies that include the recovery of compensatory damages – such as back pay, benefits, and employer contributions to, for example, Social Security – and up to $10,000 in financial penalties per violation per employee (Minn. Stat. § 181.722, Subd. 4; Minn. Stat. § 181.723, Subd. 7);

• Protecting employees in the construction industry from wage theft by obligating general contractors to pay any earned wages and benefits that their subcontractors fail to pay for any reason, including without limitation when misclassifying employees as independent contractors (Minn. Stat. § 181.165);

• Compelling warehouse employers like Amazon to provide warehouse employees with written information about all applicable performance standards in clear terms and in each employee’s preferred language, bar those employers from terminating or otherwise disciplining an employee based on an undisclosed performance standard, empower employees to obtain their own performance data from their employers, guarantee warehouse employee breaks, and enable employees to sue their employers for violations of this provision to obtain injunctive and compensatory relief and reimbursement of reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs (Minn. Stat. § 182.6526);

• Establishing new safety and pandemic protection measures in the meat processing industry, authorize employees to refuse to work under dangerous conditions while still being paid, and enable employees to sue their employers for violations of this provision to obtain injunctive and compensatory relief and reimbursement of reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs (Minn. Stat. §§ 179.87, et seq.);

• Banning any mandatory employee meeting about an employer’s religious and/or political views, including anti-union captive audience meetings, and prohibit any adverse action against an employee who refuses to attend any such meeting (Minn. Stat. § 181.531);

• Mandating that large warehouse distribution centers, meat and poultry packing plants, and health care facilities develop and implement meaningful ergonomics programs to reduce the risk of repetitive strain injuries (Minn. Stat. § 182.677); and

• Creating an industry standards board for the nursing home sector that establishes minimum wage rates and benefits for employees working in that essential field (Minn. Stat. §§ 181.211, et seq.).

Amended Laws That Significantly Enhance Employee Protections And Civil Rights

• Expanding leave opportunities for employees while reinforcing anti-retaliation protection by codifying the right to (1) 12-week unpaid parental leave regardless of employee tenure (Minn. Stat. §§ 181.940, et seq.) and (2) one hour of paid sick and safe leave time for every 30 hours they work – up to 48 hours each year (Minn. Stat. §§ 181.9445, et seq.);

• Explicitly prohibiting discrimination because of “traits associated with race, including but not limited to hair texture and hair styles such as braids, locs and twists” (Minn. Stat. § 363A.03, Subd. 36a);

• Enhancing employee rights to reasonable accommodations regarding pregnancy, nursing, and lactation through, for example, sufficient leave time, adequate breaks, and improved lactation rooms (Minn. Stat. § 181.939);

• Explicitly prohibiting considering or even inquiring about a job applicant’s pay history to determine compensation (Minn. Stat. § 363A.08, Subd. 8);

• Empowering educators to bargain to reduce class sizes, improve staffing ratios, and limit the use of standardized testing not required by applicable law (Minn. Stat. § 179A.03, Subd. 19);

• Requiring employers with 30 employees or more to post pay ranges or specific pay rates, as applicable, and a general description of employee benefits (Minn. Stat. § 181.173);

• Compelling public employers to allow the representative union to meet with bargaining unit employees within 30 days of hire and, moreover, to communicate on a continuing basis via employer-issued email accounts regarding collective bargaining, administration of collective bargaining agreements, grievances and other workplace-related issues, and internal matters involving union affairs (Minn. Stat. § 179A.07);

• Requiring employers of migrant employees to provide employment notices in the employees’ preferred language (Minn. Stat. § 181.86);

• Precluding employers from testing job applicants for cannabis or denying employment on the basis of cannabis test results unless otherwise required by applicable law, from prohibiting employee cannabis use when not working and not on employer property, and from testing employees for cannabis on the basis and with the frequency done in the past (Minn. Stat. §§ 181.950, et seq.);

• Eliminating the cap on punitive damages that can be awarded under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“MHRA”) regarding all non-governmental defendants (Minn. Stat. § 363A.33, Subd. 8(a));

• Explicitly recognizing that the damages multiplier under the MHRA, which authorizes triple damages, applies to emotional distress damages in addition to economic damages and, moreover, that a jury rather than a judge decides all damages questions under the MHRA (Minn. Stat. § 363A.33, Subd. 8(a));

• Explicitly prohibiting intersectional discrimination under the MHRA – that is, discrimination based on more than one protected class (Minn. Stat. § 363A.02, Subd. 1);

• Explicitly updating the definition of gender identity and deletes statutory language that erroneously linked sexual orientation to criminal conduct as well as language that allowed nonprofit organizations to discriminate based on sexual orientation (Minn. Stat. § 363A.03, Subd. 44; Minn. Stat. § 363A.20, Subd. 3);

• Explicitly recognizing that episodic impairments and impairments in remission are disabilities under the MHRA (Minn. Stat. § 363A.03, Subd. 12);

• Explicitly confirming that familial status as a protected class under the MHRA includes people who have legal status or custody of a minor or who reside with and care for a person who is unable to care for themselves (Minn. Stat. § 363A.03, Subd. 18);

• Explicitly recognizing that the reference to “exclusive” remedies under the MHRA pertains only to the administrative process of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (“MDHR”) and that those remedies are available in addition to all other remedies permitted at law and/or equity (Minn. Stat. § 363A.04);

• Explicitly tolling the limitations period while the MDHR investigates claims under the MHRA filed with the MDHR and, moreover, extends the limitations period to file claims under the MHRA in court to 90 days after the MDHR dismisses a charge filed under the MHRA with the MDHR (Minn. Stat. § 363A.29, Subd. 2; Minn. Stat. § 363A.33, Subd. 1); and

• Explicitly prohibiting harassment based on any protected class under the MHRA (Minn. Stat. § 363A.03, Subd. 13).