Leave of absence information

During the 2026 Representative Convention, Education Minnesota’s highest governing body, delegates voted to count Minnesota Paid Leave (MPL) as paid leave for dues purposes.

The Minnesota Paid Leave (MPL) program went into effect in January of 2026. As with any new program, we have experienced growing pains and have identified some things we can do better.  As you continue implementation of MPL policies, please reach out to your field staff with questions or suggestions for other resources you think would be useful. 

Two categories of leave that impact dues

• Paid Leave 
  • Minnesota Paid Leave (MPL) whether paid by the state of MN or by a Private Equivalent Plan (PEP) counts as paid leave.  
  • Some employers consider MPL or PEP as unpaid in their records.  
  • If your employer does not share LOA information, we have additional resources so members can self-report leave details. 
  • The teacher/certified formr/ 
  • The ESP/para form  
  • It counts as paid leave for union dues purposes.  
  • Teacher/Faculty – No reduction of national or state dues.  
  • ESPs/Paras – No reduction of national dues, may impact state dues.  
  • Contractual Leave -district funded Paid Time Off (PTO) leave sources such as sick time, personal time, sick bank, etc. counts as paid leave for dues purposes.  
  • No reduction of dues
• Unpaid/Uncompensated Leave 
  • Unpaid leave are the days completely unpaid by either MPL or employer contractual leave. 
  • Unpaid days might impact state dues depending on number/duration. 
  • If unpaid leave extends beyond six months, a member is eligible for a reserve membership. https://educationminnesota.org/membership-benefits/join-now/reserve-member/                 
  • Every leave is different and might combine different combinations and categories of leave. 
  • Information needed to determine a member’s dues amount during their leave of absence. 

Collecting leave of absence information from the district/employer
Under PELRA, MN Statute-179A.07 Subd 8, public employers are now required to provide bargaining unit member information to the exclusive representative in an Excel file or other format agreed to by the exclusive representative. 

Below are updated data request forms locals can customize. Your field staff is available to support these conversations with your district or employer.

• Data request for bargaining unit information
• Data request for leave of absence information

Minnesota Paid Leave – outstanding dues
Members who received pay under the Minnesota Paid Medical & Family Leave program are responsible for paying union dues.

If you are having difficulty gathering leave information about members from your district, below are online forms you can send to members directly, asking for basic information. These forms allow members to self-report details about their LOAs. 

Membership will report these details to the local to ensure accuracy.

• The teacher/certified form
• The ESP/para form

Once the outlines of a member’s leave are known, information can be shared with the member concerning collection of any outstanding dues that need to be collected. Below are email templates that two locals created and are currently using to communicate with their members about dues amounts owed during paid leave.

• MPL Memo 1 – Missing Deductions
• MPL Memo 2 – Return From Leave

If a member returns during the school year, their remaining payroll deductions need to be adjusted to account for the dues missed during their leave of absence

If no other dues deductions are possible, we recommend the member choose from the options below to pay the amount remaining to collect.

The preferred methods of payment are:

• The member can make a one-time lump sum payment to the local via check.
• The member can arrange a payment plan with the local over the summer via checks.
• The member can choose to pay the amount due in next year’s payroll deductions. The local needs to inform payroll of the increased payroll deduction amount.

If the above methods are not possible:

• The member can make a one-time lump sum payment to Education Minnesota via credit card. The local needs to provide basic information to Education Minnesota, through this form:

Leave of absence credit card information

This form should be completed by the local leader, and requires:

• Member’s name,
• EdMN ID number,
• AC level prior to the leave,
• Total year combined dues obligation amount,
• The total amount collected (or will be collected) by district payroll,
• The total amount remaining to collect via a credit card payment, and
• Annual local dues.

If your local has multiple members on LOA that need to pay via credit card, you can submit a spreadsheet to membership@edmn.org providing all the information listed above plus the total amount of local and IO dues assessed for 2025-26.

Membership will use that form as reference for those members making credit card payments.