HF 4494

03/06/26   REVISOR  SS/EI  26-07492
This Document can be made available
in alternative formats upon request  State of Minnesota
  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
  H. F. No.  4494
03/18/2026     Authored by Baker
  The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy
1.1A bill for an act
1.2relating to employment; allowing a small business employer with a private paid
1.3leave plan to receive assistance grants; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section
1.4268B.29.
1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 268B.29, is amended to read:
1.7268B.29 SMALL EMPLOYER ASSISTANCE GRANTS.
1.8(a) Employers with 30 or fewer employees as calculated under section 268B.14,
1.9subdivision 5b, and an average wage for that employer under section 268B.14, subdivision
1.105c, less than or equal to 150 percent of the state's average wage in covered employment for
1.11the prior year may apply to the department for grants under this section.
1.12(b) The commissioner may approve a grant of up to $3,000 if the employer hires a
1.13temporary worker, or increases another existing worker's wages, to substitute for an employee
1.14on family or medical leave for a period of seven days or more.
1.15(c) The maximum total grant per eligible employer in a calendar year is $6,000.
1.16(d) Grants must be used to hire temporary workers or to increase wages for current
1.17employees. To be eligible for consideration for a grant under this section, the employer
1.18must documentation attest, in a manner and format prescribed by the commissioner, that:
1.19(1) the temporary worker hired or wage-related costs incurred are due to an employee's
1.20use of leave under this chapter;
1.21(2) the amount of the grant requested is less than or equal to the additional costs incurred
1.22by the employer; and
Section 1.  1
03/06/26   REVISOR  SS/EI  26-07492
2.1      (3) the employer meets the revenue requirements in paragraph (a).
2.2      (e) Applications shall be submitted and processed in a form and manner determined by
2.3  the commissioner within each calendar year until funding is exhausted. Applications received
2.4  after funding has been exhausted in a calendar year are not eligible for reimbursement.
2.5      (f) An employer who has an approved private plan is not eligible to receive a grant under
2.6  this section.
2.7      (g) (f) Unless additional funds are appropriated, the commissioner may award grants
2.8  under this section up to a maximum of $5,000,000 per calendar year from the family and
2.9  medical benefit insurance account.
2.10     EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Section 1.  2