Perspectives

Is your company ready for the next wave of 2026 employment law deadlines?

For employers, compliance usually brings to mind wage laws, leave requirements, handbooks, or workplace investigations.

But one of the employment law trends worth watching in 2026 is much easier to overlook: what employers are required to tell their employees-and when. 

Across the country, states are adding requirements for written disclosures, workplace notices, pay information, accommodation rights, onboarding materials, and other employee communications. For small and mid-sized employers, keeping track of those requirements can be difficult. Add remote employees in multiple states, and it gets even more difficult.

An employer doesn’t necessarily need an office in a state for that state’s employment laws to matter. If you have an employee working remotely in another state, you may have compliance obligations there.

And with several requirements already in effect and another group taking effect October 1, 2026, now is a good time to make sure your employee communications have kept pace.

California: Requirements That Should Already Be on Your Radar

California’s Workplace Know Your Rights requires employers to provide employees with a stand-alone written notice addressing several workplace rights and protections. The law also created requirements related to employee emergency contacts. Current employees were required to have an opportunity to designate an emergency contact by March 30, 2026, and new employees must be given that opportunity at the time of hire.

Employers should also have procedures in place for notifying an employee’s designated emergency contact if the employee is arrested or detained under certain circumstances.

For companies with employees working remotely in California, this is a good example of why a one-size-fits-all onboarding process may no longer be enough.

Connecticut: October 1 is an Important Date

Connecticut employers have several significant changes taking effect October 1, 2026.

Among them:

Pay Transparency: Job postings must include not only the wage or salary range, but also a general description of benefits and other compensation.

Overtime Pay Code Guide: Employers with at least 100 employees must create a written guide explaining overtime requirements and commonly used pay differentials.

Accommodation Notices: Employers must provide new employees with written notice of their right to reasonable workplace accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Existing employees must receive the notice by January 29, 2027, and an employee who notifies the employer of a disability must receive it within 10 days.

Lactation Accommodations: Employers must provide reasonable break times, in addition to scheduled breaks for those seeking this accommodation.

Connecticut’s expanded pay transparency requirements are particularly important for multi-state employers. The law applies to employees working in Connecticut as well as certain employees working outside the state who report to a Connecticut-based employer or supervisor.

With October 1 approaching, employers affected by these changes should be reviewing job posting templates, onboarding materials, payroll communications, and accommodation procedures now.

Washington: New I-9 Audit Notification Requirements Begin October 1

Washington employers also have an October 1, 2026, deadline approaching.

Under the state’s Immigration Worker Protection Act, employers that receive notice of a federal I-9 audit must notify employees within 5 business days.

That notice must contain specific information, including a copy of the federal audit notice, the agency conducting the audit, the date the notice was received, the records being requested, and contact information for a Washington organization provided immigration information and advocacy.

Employers will also have notification responsibilities after an audit. Affected employees must receive information about identified deficiencies and the time available to correct them, among other information.

The state is expected to provide a model notice for employers to use. For employers with employees in Washington, this is a good time to determine who within the organization would handle an I-9 audit and whether that person knows about the five-business-day notification window. 

Don’t Overlook the “Small” Compliance Requirements

Not every employment law change requires a complete rewrite of your handbook. Sometimes it’s a new poster. Sometimes it’s one additional disclosure in a job posting. Sometimes it’s a document that needs to be added to onboarding.

Those requirements can be easy to dismiss as administrative details, but they’re also easy to miss.

Pennsylvania, for example, requires employers with at least 50 full-time employees in the state to physically or electronically display a workplace poster addressing veterans’ rights and available resources.

Maine’s pay transparency requirements also took effect on July 29, 2026. Employers with at least 10 employees must now include the anticipated pay range in job postings, subject to the law’s requirements and exceptions.

Individually, changes like these may seem manageable. The challenge is keeping track of them when your employees are spread across several states.

Your Compliance Map Should Follow Your Employees

For employers with a remote or hybrid workforce, one of the most important questions to ask is no longer as simple as:

Where do we have offices?

but rather

Where do our employees actually work?

An employee working from home in another state may bring state-specific requirements related to pay transparency, leave, accommodations, wage disclosures, hiring practices, workplace notices and other employment issues. That can be especially challenging for small and mid-sized companies that have grown into a multi-state workforce one employee at a time.

You may not think of yourself as a “multi-state employer.” Your compliance obligations may say otherwise.

A Good Year-End Compliance Check

With October deadlines approaching and 2027 planning underway, employers should consider using the next few months to review:

• Where every employee is currently working
• Onboarding packets and new-hire notices
• Offer letters and job posting templates
• Required workplace and electronic postings
• Pay and benefits disclosures
• Accommodation procedures
• Leave policies and employee communications
• Internal procedures for responding to government notices and audits

The goal isn’t to add paperwork for the sake of paperwork. It’s to make sure the systems you already use reflect the laws that apply to your workforce today.

WFJ Can Help Simplify the Complex

Keeping up with employment law is challenging enough in one state. A remote workforce can quickly multiply the number of laws, deadlines, and requirements an employer needs to track. Wagner, Falconer & Judd works with employers to understand which requirements apply to their workforce, review existing policies and employee communications, and make practical updates when laws change.

Through The Compliance Center, employers also have ongoing access to experienced employment attorneys to ask questions as they come up-whether that’s reviewing a new job posting, updating an onboarding document, responding to an employee request, or figuring out whether a new state law applies in the first place.

Do You Know Which State Laws Apply to Your Workforce?

If you’ve added remote employees, expanded into new states, or simply haven’t reviewed your employee communications recently, this fall is a good time to take another look.

WFJ can help you identify what applies, what has changed, and what needs to be updated-before a missed requirement becomes a bigger problem.

Minnesota employers face another compliance deadline in 2026. The Minnesota Secure Choice Retirement Program (“Secure Choice”) is now open for employer registration, and covered employers must either register for the program or certify their exemption.

Secure Choice is a state-established automatic payroll deduction IRA program intended to expand access to retirement savings for employees who do not have access to a workplace retirement plan.

The program does not require employer matching contributions or charge employer fees, although employers may still incur internal payroll-related administrative costs. Employers are also not responsible for managing employee investments.

Employers are, however, responsible for:

• Registering for the program
• Enrolling eligible employees
• Making the required payroll deductions
• Remitting employee contributions
• Maintaining required employee and payroll information

Which Employers are Covered?

Employers with at least five employees must participate in Secure Choice if they do not currently offer, and have not offered within the prior 12 months, a qualified retirement savings plan. Employers that already offer a qualified retirement savings plan must certify their exemption through the Secure Choice portal.

Certain employees are excluded from the program, including:

• Government Employees
• Employees who were under age 18 on December 31 of the prior calendar year
• Certain temporary or seasonal employees hired for a limited period that will not extend beyond 180 days

Employer Registration Deadlines

Secure Choice uses a phased registration schedule based on employer size. Registration is now open, and employers must meet deadline assigned to their organization.

Employers should receive a notification from Minnesota Secure Choice when it is time for their business to register. The current registration schedule is:

• Soft launch and voluntary enrollment for any size covered employer: March 30, 2026
• 100 or more covered employees: June 30, 2026
• 50 to 99 covered employees: December 31, 2026
• 25 to 49 covered employees: June 30, 2027
• 10 to 24 covered employees: December 31, 2027
• 5 to 9 covered employees: June 30, 2028
• Employers with four or fewer employees: Exempt

Employers with 100 or more covered employees should act promptly if they have not yet registered or certified an exemption. Employers with later deadlines should also begin preparing, particularly if they need to coordinate with payroll providers.

How Employee Contributions Work

Secure Choice is funded through employee payroll deductions. Employer contributions are not permitted. Employee contributions are generally made to a Roth IRA on an after-tax basis unless the employee elects to contribute to a traditional IRA on a pre-tax basis. Employees are always fully vested in their accounts.

Unless an employee chooses a different amount or elects not contribute, payroll deductions begin at 5% of pay after the employee’s applicable waiting period. The default rate then increases by one percentage point each year until reaches 8%. Employee participation is voluntary, and employees may elect not to contribute.

Subject to the program’s procedures, employees may:

• Elect not to contribute
• Change their contribution rate
• Stop their contributions

Penalties and Enforcement

Employers should take the program’s registration and payroll obligations seriously. State law allows penalties for employers that fail to enroll covered employees, begin required payroll deductions, or remit withheld contributions under the program. Penalties for failing to enroll covered employees or begin required payroll deductions do not begin immediately. After the applicable warning period, penalties can begin at $100 per covered employee and increase in laters.

Employers should also understand that state law treats withheld contributions differently. If an employer withholds money from employee paychecks but does not send those amounts to the program on time, the employer may be required to remit the withheld contributions plus interest.

A willful and intentional failure to remit withheld contributions after demand may also result in misdemeanor penalties.

What Employers Should Do Now

Employers should begin by answering three questions:

1. Is the organization covered by Secure Choice?
2. Does the organization currently offer a qualifying retirement savings plan?
3. What registration deadline applies based on the number of covered employees?

From there, employers should register or certify their exemption by the applicable deadline. Covered employers should also coordinate with their payroll providers, prepare for employee enrollment and payroll deductions, and decide who within the organization will be responsible for managing Secure Choice updates going forward.

Setting Up and Maintaining a Secure Choice Account

Employers must visit the Minnesota Secure Choice website to register or certify their exemption. To access the employer portal, the employer will need its EIN and the unique Access Code provided by Minnesota Secure Choice.

The process can be divided into three stages:

1. Register

An employer is ready to register once it receives its Access Code by mail or email.

During registration, employers should:

☐ Set up the employer account using the company’s EIN and unique Access Code. Employers will receive their Access Code from Minnesota Secure Choice when it is time to register.

☐ Enter a business email address as the username and create a password.

☐ Identify the payroll provider, if applicable, and share payroll schedules or upload the schedules manually.

☐ Add the company’s routing number, bank name, bank account number, and account type.

☐ Compile the required employee information. Employees must be at least 18 years old to be eligible for Minnesota Secure Choice. Employers and payroll providers can download the applicable CSV file from the Minnesota Secure Choice employer website to confirm what information will be required.

2. Send Contributions

Once employees have been added, Minnesota Secure Choice will communicate directly with them and explain their options. Employees will have 30 days to opt out or customize their accounts.

At the end of the 30-day period, the employer can begin payroll deductions and submit contribution information and funding for employees who choose to remain in the program.

Employers should:

☐ Create a new deduction in the payroll system.

☐ Create a contribution file or enter the required information directly into the employer portal.

☐ Enter the contribution through the employer portal.

3. Complete Ongoing Maintenance

Registration is only the beginning of the employer’s responsibilities. To keep the account current and remain in compliance, employers should:

☐ Remit payroll contributions for active employees every pay period.

☐ Update contribution rates as needed. Minnesota Secure Choice will notify the employer if an employee makes a change.

☐ Keep the employee list current by adding new employees and marking departed employees as terminated in the portal.

Preparing for Secure Choice

Secure Choice introduces a new compliance obligation for Minnesota employers in 2026 and beyond. Although the program is designed to minimize the administrative burden on employers, businesses must understand their responsibilities, coordinate the necessary payroll processes, and meet the deadlines that apply to them.

If you have questions about how Minnesota Secure Choice applies to your organization or need assistance preparing for compliance, please contact The Compliance Center.

If your business doesn’t currently offer a retirement savings plan, there’s another employment compliance requirement to add to your radar.

The Minnesota Secure Choice Retirement Program (“Secure Choice”) is now open for employer registration. Begining in 2026, many Minnesota employers need to either register for the program or certify that they’re exempt.

The good news? While employers have responsibilities under the program, they are not responsible for funding employee retirement accounts or managing investments. 

Here’s what employers should know.

What is Minnesota Secure Choice?

Secure Choice is a state-established automatic payroll deduction IRA program designed for employees who don’t have access to a workplace retirement plan. The program allows eligible employees to save for retirement through payroll deductions.

Employers are not required to make matching contributions, and there are no employer fees associated with the program. Employers may still experience some administrative costs related to payroll setup and ongoing administration.

Which Employers Are Covered?

Your business must participate if you:

• Have five or more employees, and
• Do not currently offer (or have not offered within the previous 12 months) a qualified retirement savings plan.

If you already offer a qualified retirement plan, you are generally exempt-but you must certify that exemption through the Minnesota Secure Choice portal.

Certain employees are excluded from the program, including:

• Government employees
• Employees who were under age 18 on December 31 of the previous calendar year
• Certain temporary or seasonal employees hired for 180 days or less

Registration Deadlines

Registration occurs in phases based on employer size. Employers should receive notice from Minnesota Secure Choice when it’s time to register.

Current deadlines include:

• Voluntary enrollment (any size covered employer) Deadline: March 30, 2026
• 100+ covered employees Deadline: June 30, 2026
• 50-99 covered employees Deadline: December 31, 2026
• 25-49 covered employees Deadline: June 30, 2027
• 10-24 covered employees Deadline: December 31, 2027
• 5-9 covered employees Deadline: June 30, 2028
• 4 or fewer employees Exempt

If your business has 100 or more covered employees, now is the time to confirm you’ve either registered or certified your exemption. Even if your deadline is later, it’s worth coordinating with your payroll provider now to avoid a last-minute scramble.

How Employee Contributions Work

Secure Choice is funded entirely through employee paryroll deductions.

Employer contributions are not permitted.

Unless an employee chooses a different option or opts out, payroll deductions:

• Begin at 5% of pay
• Increase automatically by 1% each year
• Cap at 8%

Employees may:

• Opt out
• Choose a different contribution percentage
• Stop contributions later, following the program procedures

Contributions generally go into a Roth IRA unless the employee elects a traditional IRA.

Employees are always fully vested in their accounts.

Employer Responsibilities

Although employers aren’t managing retirement investments, they are responsible for administering the program.

This includes:

• Registering or certifying an exemption
• Enrolling eligible employees
• Processing payroll deductions
• Maintaining employee and payroll information
• Keeping records up to date

What Happens if an Employer Doesn’t Comply?

Minnesota law includes penalties for employers who fail to meet their obligations.

After the applicable warning period, employers that fail to enroll covered employees or begin required payroll deductions may face penalties beginning at $100 per covered employee, with higher penalties possible in later years.

Employers should pay particular attention to withheld employee contributions.

If payroll deductions are taken from employee paychecks but are not remitted on time, employers may be required to:

• Submit the withheld contributions
• Pay applicable interest

A willful and intentional failure to remit withheld contributions after demand may also result in misdemeanor penalties.

Getting Ready

When your registration window opens, you’ll need to:

• Register using your company’s EIN and Secure Choice Access Code
• Connect your payroll provider or upload payroll schedules
• Add banking information
• Upload eligible employee information

After registration:

• Minnesota Secure Choice communicates directly with employees during their 30-day election period.
• Employers then begin payroll deductions for participating employees.
• Employers continue submitting payroll contributions and maintaining employee records.

Don’t Wait Until Your Deadline

Like many new employment laws, Minnesota Secure Choice is designed to become part of your normal HR and payroll processes. Businesses that prepare early generally experience a smoother rollout.

Whether you’re determining if you’re covered, coordinating with your payroll provider, or simply making sure your compliance processes are current, it’s easier to address these questions before your registration deadline arrives.

WFJ’s Employment Law team and Compliance Center help employers stay ahead of changing workplace requirements so compliance becomes part of doing business-not a last-minute emergency. 

For many employers, compliance is often associated with wage laws, leave requirements, or workplace investigations.

But one of the biggest employment law trends emerging in 2026 is far less obvious: employee notices.

Across the country, states are creating new requirements for employers to provide written disclosures, workplace notices, onboarding materials, pay information, accommodation rights information, and employee communications. While these requirements may seem administrative, they can create significant compliance exposure when overlooked.

For small and mid-sized employers, the challenge is becoming increasingly complex-especially when employees work remotely in multiple states.

A company headquartered in Minnesota may be subject to California notice requirements, Connecticut pay transparency rules, or Washington immigration-related notification obligations simply because it employees work in those states.

As organizations look toward the second half of 2026, now is an ideal time to review onboarding materials, employee handbooks, workplace postings, and communication procedures.

Why Notice Requirements Matter

Employment laws are increasingly shifting toward transparency.

Legislators and regulators want employees to have greater visibility into their rights, compensation, leave benefits, accommodations, and workplace protections. As a result, employers are being required to communicate more informtaion than ever before.

The risk is that many notice requirements are easy to miss.

Unlike a wage claim or discrimination complaint, employers often don’t realize they have a compliance gap until an agency investigation, employee complaint, audit, or lawsuit uncovers it.

In some cases, failing to provide a required notice can become a violation even when the underlying employment decision was lawful.

California Employers Face Expanded Notice Obligations

California continues to lead the way in employee disclosure requirements.

The state’s new Workplace Know Your Rights Act requires employers to provide employees with a stand-alone written notice regarding various workplace rights and protections. Employers must also provide opportunities for employees to designate emergency contacts and follow specific notification procedures if an employee is arrested or detaiend under certain circumstances.

For employers with remote California employees, this is another reminder that state-specific onboarding materials may be necessary.

Connecticut Brings Several New Requirements This Fall 

Connecticut employers have several significant deadlines approaching on October 1, 2026.

Among the changes:

• Expanded pay transparency requirements for job postings
• New accommodations rights notices for employees
• Overtime pay code guides for larger employers
• Expanded lactation accommodation requirements

While each requirements serves a different purpose, they share a common theme: employers must proactively communicate employee rights and compensation information.

Organizations with Connecticut-based employees should begin reviewing hiring practices, onboarding packets, and payroll communications well before the October deadline.

Washington’s Immigration Worker Protection Requirements

Begining October 1, 2026, Washington employers face new obligations related to federal I-9 audits.

If an employer receives notice of an I-9 audit, employees must be notified within five business days and provide specific information regarding the audit. Employers must also communicate audit outcomes and provide employees with opportunities to address deficiencies.

For employers with remote employees in Washington, these requirements may necessitate updates to compliance procedures and internal response protocols.

Don’t Forget Posters and Workplace Notices

Some requirements are as straightforward as displaying a workplace poster-but even these can create compliance concerns when overlooked.

Pennysylvania, for example, now requires employers with at least 50 full-time employees to display a workplace notice regarding veteran’s rights and available services.

While posting requirements may seem simple, employers operating in multiple states often struggle to keep up with changing notice obligations.

The Multi-State Challenge

The reality is that compliance has become increasingly location specific.

The question is no longer:

“Where is our office located?” 

Instead, employees must ask:

“Where are our employees located?”

Every remote hire has the potential to trigger new obligations related to:

• Pay transparency
• Leave administration
• Accommodation notices
• Workplace postings
• Wage disclosures
• Hiring practices
• Immigration compliance

For growing ogranizations, managing these requiremetns internally can quickly become overwhelming.

How Employers Can Prepare

As we move through the second half of 2026, employers should consider:

• Reviewing onboarding packets and offer letter templates
• Auditing workplace posters and required notices
• Evaluating remote employee locations
• Updating hiring and recruiting procedures
• Reviewing accommodation and leave administration processes
• Confirming payroll and compensation disclosures comply with state requirements

Taking a proactive approach now can help avoid costly compliance issues later.

How WFJ Helps Simplify the Complex

Most employers don’t have the time or resources to track every employment law change across multiple states.

That’s where having legal guidance becomes valuable.

The Compliance Center by Wagner, Falconer & Judd helps employers stay ahead of changing requirements by providing direct access to experienced employment attorneys who can answer questions, review policies, identify compliance gaps, and help ogranizations adapt as laws evolve.

Need Help Reviewing Your Policies and Notices?

If your workforce spans multiple states-or if you’re unsure whether recent legal changes affect your organization-WFJ’s employment law team can help identify potential risks and simplify compliance before those issues become liabililities.

When small busineses think about legal risk, music licensing rarely tops the list. But it should be on the radar.

From restaurants and bars to boutiques, fitness studios, salons, and event spaces, many businesses use music to create atmosphere, enhance customer experience, or support programming. What many don’t realize is that public music often requires proper licensing-and getting it wrong can lead to significant financial consequences.

This is one of those areas where proactive legal guidance can help businesses avoid costly compliance issues before they arise.

WFJ entertainment and business attorney Paige Kochanski breaks down what small business owners should know about music licensing compliance, common misconceptions, and where legal risk often hides.

“I’m Just Playing Music in My Business-Is That Really a Legal Issue?”

In many cases, yes. Federal copyright law requires businesses to obtain permission to publicly copyrighted music. That means even if you legally purchased a song or subscribe to a personal streaming service like Spotify or Apple Music, that does not automatically give your business the right to play that music publicly.

Those services are generally intended for private, personal listening-not commercial use.

The same issue can arise when live musicians are involved. Hiring a cover band or solo performer to play in your business does not necessarily eliminate your licensing obligations.

And depending on your business type-such as bar, restaurant, fitness studio, or entertainment venue-additional licensing considerations may apply.

What Happens If You Get it Wrong?

For many small business owners, music licensing is not something that was on the startup checklist. But overlooking it can become expensive. Statutory damages for willful copyright infringement under U.S. law can range from $750 to $150,000 per infringed work in addition to potential legal fees. That’s a significant risk for something many businesses may not realize requires legal attention in the first place.

Why One License Isn’t Enough

One of the most confusing parts of music licensing is that there is no single universal license that covers every song. That’s because music rights are often managed by Performing Rights Organizations (PROs), each of which represents different catalogs of artists and songwriters.

The major PROs include:

• ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers)
• BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.)
• SESAC
• Global Music Rights (GMR)

Because each organization controls different rights, businesses often need licensing coverage from multiple organizations to ensure compliance.

A common approach is obtaining blanket licenses throught the relevant PROs, which provides access to that organization’s catalog without requiring businesses to identify licensing rights for each individual song.

Simplifying the Complex for Small Businesses

Running a business already comes with enough complexity. Music licensing should not become an avoidable legal headache.

If your business uses music in any customer-facing setting, it’s worth making sure your practices align with applicable licensing requirements before a compliance issue becomes a costly dispute.

WFJ’s Entertainment Law team helps business and creatives navigate music law, contracts, copyright, publishing, licensing, and other entertainment-related legal matters with practical, accessible guidance.

Because legal compliance works best when it’s proactive-not reactive.

Paige Kochanski is an attorney in Wagner, Falconer & Judd’s entertainment law group. Her practice focuses on music, film, and creative content legal matters, including contracts, copyright, and licensing. She works with businesses and individuals to navigate entertainment law with clarity and confidence.

Human resources is full of well-intentioned assumptions-but some of those assumptions can expose your business to unnecessary risk.

Employment laws are nuanced, and small misunderstandings can lead to costly mistakes. Below, we break down common HR myths and clarify what employers need to know to stay compliant and protected.

The reality:

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees must be paid for all time worked-even if that time was not approved in advance.

That said, employers can still enforce policies by documenting and disciplining employees who violate overtime rules. The key is separating pay obligations from policy enforcement.

The reality:

“At-will” employment allows termination for any lawful reason-but not for reasons that are discriminatory or retaliatory.

Employers should always:

• Clearly document performance or conduct issues
• Ensure consistency in decision-making
• Evaluate potential legal risks before termination

The reality:

Limited, appropriate communication is allowed. Employers can reach out for:

• Administrative updates
• Clarification on leave details

However, employees on FMLA leave cannot be required to perform work.

The reality:

Most employees have a protected right to discuss wages under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)-even in non-union workplaces.

In Minnesota, employers also cannot:

• Prohibit wage discussions
• Require waivers of that right
• Take adverse action against employees for those discussion

The reality:

The NLRA applies to most private employers-regardless of union status.

It protects employees’ rights to engage in ‘concerted activity,” including discussing or attempting to improve:

• Wages
• Hours
• Working conditions

The reality:

Employers have a responsibility to take all workplace concerns seriously-even informal ones.

Best practice:

• Promptly investigate
• Document findings
• Take appropriate corrective action

Ignoring concerns can increase exposure to liability.

The reality:

Employment laws apply based on where the employee performs work, not where your office is located.

If you have remote employees in other states, your business may be subject to multiple state laws. 

The reality:

Even robust PTO policies must comply with state-specific requirements, including:

• Accrual or frontloading rules
• Permitted uses
• Carryover provisions
• Increment usage

More PTO doesn’t automatically equal compliance.

The reality:

Even outside of FMLA, other laws may apply, including:

• State medical leave laws
• The American with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Employers must engage in the interactive process to determine reasonable accommodations before considering termination.

The reality:

Exempt status depends on both:

• A salary threshold
• Specific job duties

Misclassification can lead to significant liability, including unpaid overtime claims.

Why This Matters

HR compliance isn’t just about avoiding penalties-it’s about building a workplace that is consistent, fair, and defensible.

Misunderstandings like these can lead to:

• Wage and hour claims
• Discrimination or retaliation allegations
• Multi-state compliance issues
• Costly litigation

How WFJ Can Help

At Wagner, Falconer & Judd, we work with employers to simplify the complex-turning employment law into practical, actionable guidance.

Through our Compliance Center, we help businesses:

• Review and update policies and handbooks
• Navigate multi-state employment requirements
• Respond to employee concerns and investigations
• Reduce risk through proactive legal strategy

If you have questions about our policies and practices, our team is here to help you stay ahead of issues-before they become problems.

Updating your employee handbook to reflect Minnesota’s Pregnancy and Parental Leave requirements isn’t just a compliance task-it’s an opportunity to create clarity, consistency, and trust within your workforce.

If your policies are outdated, unclear, or incomplete, you may be exposing your business to unnecessary risk. Here’s what employers need to understand-and implement-when rolling out or revising these policies.

Understand What the Law Covers

Minnesota’s Pregnancy and Parental Leave protections are designed to support employees during some of life’s most significant transitions.

Your policy should clearly state that leave may be used for:

• Birth of a child
• Adoption of a child
• Bonding time for both birthing and non-birthing parents
• Prenatal care appointments
• Pregnancy-related incapacity or recovery

This clarity ensures employees understand their legal rights and helps prevent miscommunication or inconsistent application.

Clearly Define Leave Entitlements

Eligible Minnesota employees are entitled to:

• Up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave

This leave applies to both:

• Parenting /Bonding Time
• Pregnancy-related medical needs

Be explicit in your handbook about eligibility requirements and that this leave is unpaid unless supplemented by other benefits. 

Outline Timing and Use of Leave

One of the most common areas of confusions is when and how leave can be used.

Your policy should clarify:

• Leave can begin at any time within 12 months of birth or adoption
• If a newborn remains hospitalized, leave may begin within 112 months after the child leaves the hospital
• Leave is generally taken in consecutive blocks

However, include exceptions:

• Intermittent or reduced scheduled leave may be allowed for:
  • Reasonable accommodations
  • Coordination with Minnesota Paid Leave

This is where alignment with your ADA policy becomes critical.

Address Coordination with Other Leave Types

Employers should clearly explain how this leave interacts with other benefits.

Key Coordination Points:

• Minnesota Paid Leave (when applicable)
• Short-term disability benefits
• FMLA (if your organization is covered)

Your policy should state that leave may run concurrently when the reason qualifies under multiple laws or programs.

This avoids stacking leave unintentionally and ensures compliance.

Clarify Use of PTO and ESST

Minnesota law places limits on how employers handle accrued time.

Important considerations:

• You cannot require employees to use ESST or PTO
• You may allow (or require, depending on policy structure) use of vacation or PTO concurrently
• Clearly state whether accrued time will be applied during leave

Transparency here prevents disputes and ensures consistent administration.

Explain Benefits Continuation

Employees need to know what happens to their benefits while they are out.

Your handbook should clearly state:

• Employees may continue health, dental, and life insurance (if enrolled)
• Employees are responsible for their portion of premiums during unpaid leave
• Benefits accrued prior to leave are retained
• Benefits like PTO do not accrue during unpaid portions of leave

Providing a clear process for premium payments is also essential.

Reinforce Job Protection & Non-Retaliation

This is a critical legal protection-and one that should be clearly emphasized.

Your policy should confirm:

• Employees will be reinstated to the same or a comparable position upon return
• The company prohibits retaliation for requesting or taking leave

At the same time, include practical realities:

• Employees may still be impacted by company-wide decisions (e.g., layoffs or reduction in force)

This balances compliance with operational transparency.

Set Expectations for Return to Work

Your policy should address what happens at the end of leave:

• Employees are expected to return to work upon conclusion of approved leave
• Failure to return may be treated as voluntary resignation

Clear expectations help avoid ambiguity and protect both the employer and employee.

Avoid a “One-Size-Fits-All” Approach

Even the most well-drafted template requires customization.

Employers should evaluate:

• Whether they are covered by FMLA
• How Minnesota Paid Leave integrates with their policies
• Existing PTO, ESST, and disability practices
• Industry specific or workforce-specific considerations

A generic policy that isn’t tailored to your organization can create more risk-not less. 

Final Takeaway: Clarity is Compliance

The goal of your handbook isn’t just to meet legal requirements-it’s to provide clear, consistent guidance that mangers and employees can rely on.

A well-implemented Pregnancy and Parental Leave policy should:

• Reduce confusion
• Support employees during critical life events
• Protect your organization from compliance missteps

How WFJ Can Help

At Wagner, Falconer & Judd, we work with employers to go beyond templates-helping you build policies that are not only compliant, but practical and aligned with your business.

Whether you’re:

• Updating your employee handbook
• Integrating Minnesota Paid Leave
• Training managers on proper implementation

Our team can help ensure you policies in real life, not just on paper.