As Minnesota is set to launch another massive welfare program, this time in the form of paid medical leave, critics have been warning that this is yet another massive fraud scandal waiting to happen. As we told you last week, there are a few actual guardrails in the program that will catch and stop fraud. There is a website portal to report fraud, but that's contingent on the government following up on said reports.
Now there's a very real, very obvious loophole that a lifelong Minnesotan is pointing out: people who have jobs, but have extended time off (like teachers) can still get paid leave even if they're not working.
Yes. People who are off work still qualify for Minnesota's Paid Leave Program Real example:
— Pat Garofalo 🇺🇸 (@PatGarofalo) December 10, 2025
- School teacher makes $63,000 for 9 months of the year and has summer off
- Submits leave to take care of a friend at beginning of summer
- Receives $14,589 over 12 weeks
Every. Year.
Incredible. Simply incredible.
There are roughly 57,000 teachers in Minnesota public schools. If even 10 percent of them applied for this leave, that would be 5,700 teachers per year at $14,589. That alone costs taxpayers more than $83 million per year.
Good luck, taxpayers.
Can people that work in the trades that are slow in the winter also qualify for this? I know union guys that apply for unemployment every winter, when they aren’t working.
— B3a5tc0c (@b3a5tc0c) December 10, 2025
The answer is, of course, yes.
If they submit a claim for a "qualifying event" then being off work at the time is not an issue.
— Pat Garofalo 🇺🇸 (@PatGarofalo) December 10, 2025
The fact that you have a job with built-in time off doesn't seem to matter.
To be clear it isn’t just teachers. Seasonal workers, construction workers, people who decide to quit their job - they can all get paid leave while not working
— Pat Garofalo 🇺🇸 (@PatGarofalo) December 11, 2025
Minnesota will be bankrupt sooner rather than later.
And it's all thanks to Democrats.
This program is going to absolutely blow up for abuse. 20 weeks every year of paid leave to take care of your friend/neighbor for “emotional pain” or whatever.
— Investor_NICK (@Investor_NICK_) December 10, 2025
Paid leave has to be certified by a healthcare provider so can see tons of providers getting kick backs for this. https://t.co/XUY2CJ0R7u pic.twitter.com/gIPOrj7qqj
How much of this will end up going to Al-Shabaab in Somalia, too?
There is a straightforward solution to this: close the loophole. Teachers and seasonal workers do not qualify for these payments when they're on summer break or in the off-season.
But the Minnesota government won't do that.