The following changes to Minnesota employment law take effect on January 1, 2026, and apply to employers of all sizes, unless otherwise noted. Longer write-ups on each of these changes are available in individual law alerts on the platform.

STATE SICK AND SAFE TIME
Employers will be allowed to require documentation from employees to support their use of earned sick and safe time (ESST) when leave is used for more than two consecutive scheduled workdays (currently, it’s more than three consecutive workdays).

Action Item
If your policy currently says you can require documentation after three days, and you’d rather use the new minimum of more than two days, update your policy. If you use our Smart Employee Handbook and want the more than two days rule, accept the update if you haven’t yet.

MEAL AND REST BREAK RULES
The meal and rest break laws, which apply to nonexempt employees, will be expanded as follows:

For meal breaks, employers need to provide a 30-minute meal period to employees who work six or more consecutive hours (currently, it’s required after eight consecutive hours).
For rest breaks, employees need to be given 15 minutes, or enough time to use the nearest convenient restroom, whichever is longer.
Action Item
Adjust your meal and rest break policies to reflect these changes as needed. If you use our Smart Employee Handbook, accept the updates if you haven’t yet.

MINNEAPOLIS SICK AND SAFE TIME
Beginning December 31, 2025, Minneapolis’s sick and safe time ordinance will better align with the state’s ESST law. These updates shouldn’t require significant changes to your current administration of sick and safe time since you were (hopefully) already following any state law provisions that were more generous to employees.

One notable change to the Minneapolis ordinance is that, like the state ESST law, employers will be able to require documentation if an employee is absent for more than two consecutive scheduled workdays instead of three.

Action Item
Update your leave policy as needed. If you use our Smart Employee Handbook, accept the policy update if you haven’t yet.

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES
Statewide
The minimum wage will increase to $11.41 per hour.

Minneapolis
The minimum wage will be $16.37 per hour.

St. Paul
The minimum wage for employers with 101 or more employees will be $16.37 per hour.

REMINDER: PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE BEGINS JANUARY 1
Minnesota’s paid Family and Medical Benefit Insurance Program (Paid Leave), will provide job-protected leave for employees beginning January 1, 2026. Employers should begin deducting the employee share of the premium on that date. The first premiums must be paid to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) by April 30, 2026. You can find more information about employers’ Paid Leave responsibilities on the Minnesota Paid Leave website.