Laura Bordelon has served as senior vice president of advocacy for the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce since 2011. She leads the organization’s public policy, grassroots, and political engagement strategy.
Many of the laws enacted in the 2023-24 session of the Minnesota Legislature took businesses by surprise. What happened?
Laura: It was a combination of several things. There was pent up interest by activists and interest groups who for years had attempted to pass some of these mandates, like paid family and medical leave. Combine that with single-party control of the legislature and governor’s office and we had no brakes on passing all these mandates and tax increases. They had a moment, and they took that moment to pass an absolute laundry list of policies with far-reaching impacts on our state and our economy. I think a lot of the impact remains to be seen.
What concerns you most about the mandated leave policy?
Laura: It is the most comprehensive state mandate I’ve seen in my career. No one is exempted, and it is a very major change to employee benefits. Some have compared it to the state’s unemployment insurance program. It’s nothing like that. Unemployment insurance is about as straightforward as it gets. This type of leave is really complicated. The eligible caregiver definition is very broad in scope. It’s not FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) type of eligibility, which I think most businesses understand since they’ve been complying with it for years. It also has so many different types of leave. We have a lot of concerns about how it’s going to work given that it takes effect in January of next year.
I don’t know of any employee who wants more money taken out of his or her paycheck right now. And I don’t know of any employers who want their employees dealing with a state bureaucracy when it comes to the most sensitive life events. Anecdotally, some of our members that operate in states with similar laws have shared examples where employees weren’t paid or had to come back to work early and missed leave time because of issues with the program. So, there’s a lot of consternation about this plan, and the small businesses that may not have HR expertise are especially worried about it, with good reason.
Might lawmakers modify the leave requirements during this legislative session?
Laura: I’m optimistic. I think we have some legislators who’ve been hearing about the concerns employers — including private-sector businesses and public-sector employers like cities or counties — have about this mandate, and I’m hoping they take action. We are speaking with some Democrats who want to make sure that the program is successful or make sure that employers and employees aren’t harmed. We’ve been having a lot of conversations over the past several months, and we’re excited to keep that going.
There’s a big difference from the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions when Democrats had full control and a sweeping agenda to now where you have an almost exactly evenly tied House and Senate and a more moderate stance from Gov. Tim Walz. He’s not recommending a lot of spending in his budget, he’s cutting some taxes, he’s reducing the cost of some fast-growing programs. That cautious approach is very welcome, and I think we might be able to revisit some aspects of the paid family and medical leave mandate. I will say that I think if there are modifications or revisions, they will be less about eliminating the mandate and instead be about making sure the program is operational for employers and employees when it takes effect.
How can manufacturers help influence possible modifications to the leave provisions?
Laura: There is one thing I ask your readers to consider doing — reach out to your legislators now and share with them your concerns, share with them the benefits you offer, and explain to them how this program is going to impact those benefits and your employees.
This is a good time for manufacturers to connect with elected officials. The November election results show people want more balance, and I think the policymaking will moderate. The governor’s approach on the budget is a very good sign that they’re stepping back from this more aggressive and extreme agenda. I am hopeful that legislators who were there last session are going to be more reasonable in their approach. We also have some new legislators who are far more attuned to employers in their communities.
One of the realities of the past few years is that many legislators are not involved in business, don’t have business experience, and haven’t been to many different workplaces. They’re just distant from the realities of the private-sector workplace. Sharing information about the impact of these mandates, even if legislators might be reluctant to make changes, is educational and beneficial for them. So absolutely make the call.
Return to the Spring 2025 issue of Enterprise Minnesota® magazine.
