Agenda - Council Work Session - 07/08/2025

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to care for others. Workers can take up to 12 weeks of Family or Medical Leave in one benefit year, or up to 20 weeks total if they qualify for both types of leave in the same year. An approved equivalent plan can cover both Family and Medical Leave, or only one leave type. Employers who offer an equivalent plan for only one type of leave must pay premiums and participate in Minnesota Paid Leave to provide coverage for the other type. Equivalent plans for Family or Medical Leave must meet the following conditions: • All employees who are covered under the state plan must be covered under the equivalent plan. • Eligibility requirements cannot be stricter than those in the state plan. • Weekly payments must be at least equal to those provided by the state plan and separate from other benefits. • The total amount of leave available must be at least equal to the amount provided by the state plan. • Job protections must be at least equal to those provided by the state plan. • Costs to employees cannot be more than what their premiums would be under the state plan. • For Medical Leave, the equivalent plan must cover any serious health condition, or medical care related to pregnancy, that would be covered under the state plan. • For Family Leave, the equivalent plan must cover any care for a family member with a serious health condition, bonding with a child, a family member called to active duty military service, or any safety leave event that would be covered under the state plan. • The equivalent plan must offer intermittent leave or reduced schedules consistent with the state plan. • The equivalent plan cannot impose any additional conditions or restrictions on the use of leave beyond those in the state plan. • Coverage must continue for 26 weeks after employee separation, or until the individual is hired by a new employer. • If a leave application is filed by a former employee, the equivalent plan must pay benefits for the full time of leave. Equivalent plans may not cut off eligibility for a former employee during an approved leave. Key Dates for the Program • The first quarterly wage detail reports were due on October 31, 2024. These reports are submitted by employers and detail the wages paid to employees between July 1, 2024, and September 30, 2024. • Paid Leave is paid for by premiums on employee wages, split between the employer and employees. Employers can begin to deduct the employee share of the premium on January 1, 2026, when benefits become available. Employers will pay the first premiums to the State of Minnesota's Department of Employment and Economic Development by April 30, 2026. First premiums will be based on wages paid from January 1, 2026 to March 31, 2026. PFML and Whole Compensation PFML will only cover a portion of employee's wages. In order for employees to be made whole, they will need to utilize other accrued leave benefits to supplement PFML, not to exceed 100% of the regular wage. This will be a shared function between HR and payroll. Request for Proposals (RFP)/Private Vendor Options The City's benefit broker for ancillary benefits is Integrity Benefits. Staff requested to be included in the RFP put out by Integrity Benefits. A summary of the results is attached. The plans shown on the summary meet or exceed the State's plan. Why MetLife as a Private Vendor with Integrity Benefits There are three major considerations for PFML. For years, staff has successfully partnered with Integrity Benefits and has confidence in them to assist with administering this new mandatory Minnesota PFML benefit. Integrity Benefits provided the following summary regarding Met Life, a possible private vendor: 1) Price — The savings with MetLife would be $10,000 per year as compared to the state and the runner up vendor, New York LIfe. 2) Rate guarantee — MetLife will offer a 2 year rate guarantee if the City has 2 fully insured products with them (Life, STD, LTD, Dental, Vision or Supplemental Health). This would drop to a 1 year rate guarantee if the City can only transfer one fully insured product. Note, at the time of this writing, staff is still looking into this matter.