Nothing on this page is advice about your job, and no article can be. If you want your own facts looked at, a Minnesota employment attorney can do that — and several of the deadlines described on this site are short enough that waiting is itself a decision.
Also called: covered employee; covered individual; paid leave coverage.
(a) “Covered employment” means performing services of whatever nature, unlimited by the relationship of master and servant as known to the common law, or any other legal relationship performed for wages or under any contract calling for the performance of services, written or oral, express or implied.
…
(c) “Covered employment” does not include:
(1) a self-employed individual;
(2) an independent contractor; or
(3) employment by a seasonal employee, as defined in subdivision 35.
Minn. Stat. § 268B.01, subd. 15. Paragraph (b) supplies the geography — 50 percent or more of the calendar year’s employment performed in Minnesota, or a residence-based alternative. Who actually draws benefits is “covered individual,” defined at subdivision 15a by two routes: covered employment plus the financial eligibility in § 268B.04, subd. 2, or a self-employed individual or independent contractor who has elected coverage under § 268B.11 and who “meets the financial eligibility requirements under section 268B.11.” Excluded entities may opt in under paragraph (d).
Where this comes up
Sources checked September 8, 2026. Citations independently verified against the primary source September 8, 2026.