Caring Leave makes it possible for you to take time away from work to care for a family member with a serious health condition. This could mean helping them with daily activities, taking them to appointments, or providing comfort and support while they recover.
What can I use Caring Leave for?
You can take Caring Leave when a family member has a serious health condition and needs your care or support.
This could include time to:
- Help someone recover from a serious health condition
- Take someone to medical appointments
- Provide daily care or supervision
- Support someone with a chronic or ongoing condition
The healthcare provider of the person needing care must certify that they need assistance with:
- Basic medical, hygiene, nutrition, mobility, or safety needs; transportation
- Psychological comfort, or
- Other care as deemed necessary by the healthcare provider
Who can I care for?
Caring Leave can be taken to care for a family member. Under Paid Leave, a family member can include:
- Spouse or partner
- Child (including biological, adopted, step, or foster children, or a child you raise even if you are not legally related)
- Parent or person who raised you
- Sibling
- Grandchild or grandparent
- Son-in-law or daughter-in-law
- A person with a relationship to the applicant that creates an expectation and reliance for care without compensation
You do not need to live with the person you are caring for. However, a healthcare provider must certify that the person you are caring for has a serious health condition and needs care or support from you during your leave.
In your application, you will provide information on your relationship to the person you will care for while on leave.
What is a serious health condition?
You can use Caring Leave when a family member has a serious health condition.
A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or condition (including mental health conditions, pregnancy, or substance-use disorders) that affects a person’s physical health, mental health, or both. This includes serious illnesses and injuries requiring medical attention, as well as recovery from surgery or hospitalization.
The time someone needs to care for a family member must be based on a single event that lasts at least seven days. For continuous leave schedules, when you take leave in one block of time, the seven days must be in a row. For intermittent leave schedules, when you take leave at different times, the days don’t need to be in a row.
For you to use Caring Leave, your family member must need your help and support during their condition or treatment. The healthcare provider who is treating your family member will certify that your family member needs care from you.
How is Caring Leave certified?
Every application for Paid Leave requires certification. For Caring Leave, your application must include certification from the healthcare provider who is treating your family member.
When you are ready to apply, you must upload one of the following:
- Minnesota Paid Leave Caring Leave certification form
- FMLA Caring Leave certification form
Download the Caring Leave Certification Form
Can I care for more than one family member?
Yes. You can use Caring Leave for more than one family member. You can take up to 12 weeks total of Caring Leave in a benefit year. This is the amount of time you can take in one year for Family Leave, which includes Caring Leave as well as other leave types. Your benefit year starts the first day you take leave.
If you plan to take Caring Leave for more than one person, you will submit a separate application for each family member. Each application must include certification from the healthcare provider who is treating your family member.
Can more than one family member take Caring Leave to care for the same person?
Yes. More than one family member can take Caring Leave to care for the same person, if their healthcare provider certifies that they need care from more than one family member.
For example, adult siblings might take turns giving care to an aging parent. Or parents with a child in the hospital may both need leave to care for and support their child.
Each person taking Caring Leave must submit a separate application and meet eligibility requirements. Each will need certification from the same healthcare provider who is treating the family member. Each person on approved Caring Leave will receive separate payments for the time they take off to provide care.
Can I take Caring Leave intermittently?
Yes. Caring Leave can be taken intermittently, in small blocks of time.
For example:
- A few days each week to bring your parent to chemotherapy, provide support during their treatment, and care for them at their home following the treatment
- A few hours at a time to take your partner to physical therapy appointments
What if a family member passes away?
Paid Leave does not cover time after the death of a family member under Caring Leave. You may be able to take leave under Earned Sick and Safe Time to make funeral arrangements, attend a funeral service or memorial, or address financial or legal matters that arise after the death of a family member. Eligibility for Caring Leave payment ends on the date of the family member’s death. You should notify Paid Leave of the date.
Take Action:
Visit the Paid Leave website to learn more.
Contact Cancer Legal Care with Paid Leave questions or issues.
Sign up for email updates from Paid Leave.
Log in to your Paid Leave Account to apply.
*The Department of Employment and Economic Development (Paid Leave) sponsors this information.
