State employee unions and Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) negotiated the specifics of a six-week paid parental leave policy following the birth or adoption of a child and approval of the MOU is likely coming this fall.
Currently, new mothers and fathers have no access to paid parental leave, but can go on short term disability or use their accrued sick leave - up to 12 weeks for the birth parent, five days for the non-birth parent. Once the MOU goes into effect, employees will be able to take six consecutive weeks of paid parental leave. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) covers both mothers and fathers who are state employees.
The MOU will go to the legislative Subcommittee on Employee Relations (SER) for a vote once all the bargaining units have completed their processes to approve MOU’s between the union and the State. Upon receipt of the MOU, SER members will have 30 days to meet and make a recommendation on the MOU. This procedure mirrors our contract approval process:
- If SER fails to meet in that time frame, the paid parental leave MOU will go into interim effect.
- If SER meets and recommends that the full Legislature pass our paid parental leave MOU, the MOU goes into interim effect.
- If SER’s vote ends in a tie, then no recommendation goes to the Legislature, but our MOU still goes into interim effect.
- If SER recommends that it not pass, the MOU will not go into effect unless the full Legislature passes legislation approving the MOU.
The ratified MOU should reach SER sometime in September. Based on the various scenarios above, the benefit could be implemented by this November, retroactive to July 1, 2016 for those who meet the eligibility requirements.
Stayed tuned for progress updates.
