1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to employment; providing for voluntary paid 
  1.3             parental leave; appropriating money; proposing coding 
  1.4             for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 268. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [268.154] [VOLUNTARY PAID PARENTAL LEAVE 
  1.7   PROGRAM.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [CREATED.] The commissioner of economic 
  1.9   security shall reimburse an "employer" as defined in section 
  1.10  268.035, subdivision 14, that provides qualified paid parental 
  1.11  leave.  "Qualified paid parental leave" or "leave" is an 
  1.12  employer-paid leave of absence to an employee who is a natural 
  1.13  or adoptive parent in conjunction with the birth or adoption of 
  1.14  a child.  Qualified paid parental leave does not include sick 
  1.15  leave or vacation leave.  Qualified paid parental leave must 
  1.16  occur within the first year of birth or during the first year in 
  1.17  which the employee becomes an adoptive parent.  To qualify for 
  1.18  reimbursement under subdivision 2, an employer must pay an 
  1.19  employee at least $200 per week of qualified paid parental leave 
  1.20  unless the employee's preleave salary was $300 or less, in which 
  1.21  case the employer must pay at least $100 per week.  Qualified 
  1.22  paid parental leave must be at least six consecutive weeks in 
  1.23  duration. 
  1.24     Subd. 2.  [REIMBURSEMENT AMOUNT.] Reimbursement is one-half 
  1.25  the employer weekly leave payment; except that, for employees 
  2.1   with weekly preleave wages below $300, reimbursement is $100 if 
  2.2   the employer pays qualified paid parental leave of at least that 
  2.3   much.  Except for employees with a preleave salary of $300 or 
  2.4   less, reimbursement cannot exceed one-third of an employee's 
  2.5   preleave salary.  Reimbursement is limited to 26 weeks.  
  2.6   Reimbursement is subject to a maximum of $250 per week.  The 
  2.7   commissioner shall adjust the maximum reimbursement annually by 
  2.8   the United States All-Items Consumer Price Index to reflect 
  2.9   inflation.  Benefits received under this section are income for 
  2.10  the purposes of section 119B.061.  
  2.11     Subd. 3.  [NOTIFICATION.] The commissioner of economic 
  2.12  security shall notify employers of the voluntary paid parental 
  2.13  leave program through the department's newsletter, Web site, and 
  2.14  other communications with employers.  
  2.15     Subd. 4.  [EVALUATION.] By February 1, 2004, the 
  2.16  commissioner of economic security shall report to the 
  2.17  legislature on the number of employers requesting paid parental 
  2.18  leave reimbursement, including an estimation of the number, 
  2.19  size, and industry type of employers obtaining reimbursement; 
  2.20  the number of employees who have taken parental leave under the 
  2.21  program; the average and range of leave lengths reimbursed; and 
  2.22  average and ranges of payments, as well as implementation issues 
  2.23  identified by the commissioner.  In addition, the commissioner 
  2.24  shall obtain a sample of at least 30 participating families to 
  2.25  provide additional information on employee's and employer's 
  2.26  experiences, including information on the salary ranges of 
  2.27  participating employees, employee and employer satisfaction or 
  2.28  dissatisfaction with the program, and other information 
  2.29  identified by the commissioner. 
  2.30     Subd. 5.  [APPROPRIATION.] There is annually appropriated 
  2.31  from the general fund to the commissioner of economic security 
  2.32  sums sufficient to make the payments required under this 
  2.33  section.  Up to five percent of the appropriation may be used 
  2.34  for administration.  
  2.35     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.36     Section 1 is effective July 1, 2001, and applies to 
  3.1   employer-paid leave benefits paid on or after that date.