In the first three weeks, the MN Paid Leave program received over 25,000 applications. As of January 12, two-thirds of these claims had been approved, with the average approved leave lasting just under nine weeks.
For employers, this changes the shape of leave in a real way. Not because employees taking time off is new, but because extended leave is now more accessible, more common, and harder to absorb informally. Eight to twelve weeks away from a role is very different from someone being out for a short stretch.
The challenge isn’t policy or paperwork. It’s operational. Leave can start with limited notice, projects and client work don’t pause, and most teams don’t have extra capacity sitting on the bench. When someone steps away for weeks at a time, coverage needs to be intentional, or the rest of the team ends up stretched thin.
This post breaks down how we’re seeing employers plan for MN Paid Leave in practice: starting with role clarity, prioritizing what truly needs coverage, and using flexible staffing when the gap is real.
Start With the Role, Not the Person
When paid leave comes up, the instinct is to focus on who is going to be out. A more useful starting point is the role itself.
Before you think about coverage, get clear on:
- What outcomes this role is responsible for
- What work is time-sensitive vs. flexible
- What can pause temporarily without creating risk
- Which relationships require continuity (clients, vendors, internal partners)
This step usually reveals something important: Most roles don’t require a 1:1 replacement for everything they do. Some responsibilities can pause. Others can be redistributed. A smaller portion truly needs dedicated coverage.
That clarity prevents unnecessary hires, and avoids pushing too much work onto the rest of the team.
Break Down What Actually Needs Coverage
Not all work needs to continue at the same pace during extended leave. Trying to maintain business as usual is one of the fastest ways to create burnout.
A simple way to sort the work:
Must-haves
Work that can’t stop without real consequences
- Client-facing deliverables with hard deadlines
- Revenue-impacting activities
- Compliance or regulatory requirements
- Critical operational processes
Nice-to-haves
Important, but flexible
- Internal initiatives
- Strategic planning work
- Process improvement projects
- Non-urgent reporting
Can wait
Work that can pause
- Long-term planning
- Training and development initiatives
- System optimizations
- Research and exploratory work
The goal isn’t to keep everything moving. It’s to keep the right things moving.
Look for Automation and Process Gaps
Extended leave tends to expose processes that were already fragile, just quietly.
Before adding coverage, it’s worth looking for opportunities to simplify or automate, especially around:
- Status reporting and updates
- Meeting scheduling and coordination
- Approval workflows
- Data entry and file management
- Standard client communications
Questions we often ask teams:
- What work lives in one person’s inbox or head?
- What reporting could be simplified or templated?
- Where do approvals slow things down unnecessarily?
- What coordination work could be standardized?
Fixing a broken process often reduces how much coverage you actually need.
Use Flexible Talent When Coverage Need Is Real
When teams do need coverage, the default response is often one of two extremes: stretch existing team members thinner, or rush into a full-time hire for a temporary gap.
There’s a better middle ground.
Flexible or freelance talent can be an effective way to maintain momentum during paid leave, especially when the scope is clear and the need is time-bound. Common use cases include:
- Contract specialists for defined project work
- Interim professionals for leadership or management coverage
- Temporary execution support for high-volume tasks
- Fractional experts for strategic oversight without a full-time commitment
- Freelance support for tactical, skill-specific work
Freelance talent is particularly useful when the gap is execution-heavy or tied to specialized skills that aren’t needed long term. This often includes:
- Design, content, and production work
- Campaign execution and short-term initiatives
- Project overflow during peak periods
- Specialized skills that support existing teams
Flexible and freelance talent works best when:
- Scope and deliverables are clearly defined
- Timelines are realistic and communicated upfront
- An internal owner is assigned to provide direction and feedback
- Success expectations are agreed on from the start
It breaks down when the ask is vague, timelines are unrealistic, or no one internally owns the work. Freelancers aren’t a substitute for leadership or decision-making—but they can take meaningful execution off the plates of teams already at capacity.
Used thoughtfully, flexible and freelance talent allows teams to cover real gaps without overextending full-time staff or committing to permanent hires for temporary needs.
An Easy MN Paid Leave Coverage Checklist
Before leave begins
- ☐ Role outcomes clearly defined
- ☐ Must-have vs. can-pause work identified
- ☐ Automation and process gaps reviewed
- ☐ Coverage plan discussed with the team
- ☐ Client and vendor relationships mapped
- ☐ Documentation updated and accessible
During leave
- ☐ Team expectations reset and communicated
- ☐ Progress check-ins scheduled (not with the person on leave)
- ☐ Workload monitored to prevent burnout
- ☐ Flexible talent integrated if needed
Before return
- ☐ Success measures updated
- ☐ Re-entry plan outlined
- ☐ Any role changes discussed
- ☐ Team dynamics assessed
How Celarity Help Teams Stay Covered
When MN Paid Leave creates a real coverage gap, the solution isn’t always a full-time hire, and it shouldn’t come at the expense of the rest of the team.
This is where flexible staffing makes a difference.
We help Minnesota organizations step in quickly with:
- Project-focused contractors available within 24–48 hours
- Interim specialists for management-level coverage
- Execution support for clearly defined scopes of work
- Fractional expertise when strategic oversight is needed
Our consultants are pre-vetted, experienced, and used to stepping into existing teams without long ramp times.
The result: work keeps moving, teams stay supported, and leave doesn’t turn into a crisis.
MN Paid Leave is now part of how work happens in Minnesota. With thoughtful planning and the right support, it doesn’t have to slow teams down.
If you need coverage now, or want to plan ahead, we’re already helping Minnesota employers navigate paid leave transitions. We’re happy to talk through what coverage could look like for your team.