From Policy to Protection: Implementing Minnesota’s Safety Leave Program

• In Event: Designing for Equity: Implementation and evaluation of programs across the health care, welfare, and justice sectors

Abstract

On January 1, 2026, Minnesota launched a Paid Family and Medical Leave program to provide partial wage replacement and job protection for eligible Minnesotans for up to 20 weeks. Included in the legislation authorizing the program was a provision for Safety Leave, a unique and rare program that provides paid leave to individuals (and their family members) who have experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault, and/or stalking. Safety Leave provides critical support to survivors to seek medical and mental healthcare, meet with advocates, obtain protection orders, and attend to other matters related to their safety.

During the nearly 2-years of program implementation, a need emerged to better understand both the lived experiences of gender-based violence survivors and how other states implemented similar programs. As such, I conducted in-depth qualitative research through interviewing and desk research, gathering insights that informed the design of the program in a way that was trauma-informed and centered on the experience of survivors.

In this talk, I utilize the implementation of Safety Leave in Minnesota as a case study to highlight the use of sociological science in a practical setting to disrupt the status quo and create a more equitable world.

Author

• Amber Alton, State of Minnesota