Minnesota Increases Protections for Parents, Pregnant Workers, and Nursing Workers

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Patricia Tsipras

June 28, 2023

Effective July 1, 2023, parents, pregnant workers, and nursing workers in Minnesota will enjoy greater protections at work.  See 2023 Minn. S.F. No. 3035.  Here are the nine things that employers need to know.

1. The new law expands the definition of “employer” to apply to entities with one or more workers.  Currently, provisions related to pregnant and nursing workers apply only to entities with at least 15 employees, and provisions related to parental leave apply only to entities with at least 21 employees.
2. Minnesota law currently requires employers to provide breaks to workers to express milk for 12 months following the birth of their child.  The new law removes the 12-month limitation.
3. Employers no longer will be able to deny breaks to a nursing worker by claiming that it will unduly disrupt business operations.
4. Nursing workers currently are required to take breaks to express milk concurrently with break time already provided to them.  The new law removes the “concurrent” requirement.
5. The new law requires that lactation spaces be “clean, private, and secure.”
6. The new law identifies the following additional reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers:  temporary leaves of absence, modifications in work schedule or job assignment, and more or longer break periods.
7. The new law expands job reinstatement rights for workers who take leave as a pregnancy accommodation.  Specifically, such workers are entitled to return to their former position or a position comparable in duties, hours, and pay.
8. Minnesota law currently requires a worker to meet certain length of service and hours requirements before being eligible to take unpaid parental leave.  The new law removes these requirements, thereby entitling workers to take 12 weeks of leave immediately  upon commencing employment.
9. Employers must provide notice to workers of their rights under the law at the time of hire and when a worker requests it.  If an employer maintains a handbook of policies for its workers, such handbook must include notice of workers’ rights and remedies under the law.

Employers:  Make sure that your policies and procedures are updated to comply with the new law, and that your human resources personnel and managers are trained on its requirements.

The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Minnesota or Pennsylvania, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.