Paid Parental Leave May Survive Bill Veto In Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Thousands of state employees may still get access to paid parental leave for the next year even though Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a bill containing the policy.

Minnesota Public Radio (http://bit.ly/2reYxuu ) reports that state officials plan to continue offering the policy, arguing that Dayton’s veto doesn’t matter and that the Legislature’s approval was enough.

Dayton had urged lawmakers to adopt the leave policy, but vetoed the bill this week because the Republican-led Legislature tied it to a push for local labor standards pre-emption. Lawmakers wanted to prevent cities from setting their own benefit and wage requirements for private employers if they went over state minimums.

Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans says this is a rare exception in which not everything in a bill goes down with a veto.