Early lessons from Minnesota's new Paid Family and Medical Leave program

Minnesota’s Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) program officially launched on January 1, 2026, and many municipal utilities are now experiencing the shift from preparation to day‑to‑day administration.

In this webinar, we’ll take a practical look at how Minnesota PFML is unfolding in its early months. Drawing on early implementation guidance and what employers across the state are encountering, we’ll walk through what organizations are seeing related to demand for leave, common types of claims, the claims experience, and the administrative realities for employers.

 What you'll learn:

• Early demand and utilization trends: This provides a high-level look at how employees are using Minnesota PFML and the types of qualifying events utilities are experiencing.
• Types of claims and coordination with other leave: This covers how medical, family, bonding, and other qualifying leave claims are appearing and how PFML coordinates with PTO, ESST, FMLA, and existing utility policies.
• The claims experience: This explains what the state-administered process looks like in practice, what notifications employers receive, and where confusion most often occurs.
• What utilities are learning so far: This highlights key lessons from early implementation, including the importance of clearly defined internal roles, thorough documentation, and supervisor readiness.
• Top employer mistakes during rollout: This outlines common issues utilities are encountering—such as assuming payroll vendors manage everything, underestimating communication needs, or failing to align policies with PFML—and how to avoid them.
  
  

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how MN PFML is working in practice, what to watch for as usage continues, and concrete steps utilities can take now to strengthen administration and reduce disruption.

This webinar is free to all municipal utility personnel as a benefit of your membership with MMUA. Non-members can register for a nominal fee.

MMUA's Director of Organizational Development and Human Resources Shelly Dau will be presenting.