The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, issued its 2025 legislative priorities for Minnesota small businesses.

“Minnesota’s Main Street is under a tremendous amount of pressure due to burdensome mandates and increased costs,” said Jon Boesche, NFIB Minnesota State Director. “If lawmakers want a successful and competitive economy, they must oppose new employment mandates, tax increases on small businesses, and regulations that increase costs or attempt to micro-manage the employer/employee relationship.”

NFIB Minnesota’s 2025 legislative priorities include the following:

Pursue Reforms to the Minnesota Paid Family & Medical Leave Program – NFIB opposed the creation of a state-run Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program because of the immense cost and burden that it will impose on small employers. NFIB will pursue any opportunity to initiate reforms to the Minnesota PFML program this session.

Provide Small Businesses with Tax Relief– Minnesota now has the highest corporate tax rate (9.8 percent) and one of the highest marginal individual income tax rates (9.85 percent) in the country. NFIB will be working to lower both the individual income tax rate and the corporate tax rate and will support legislation that allows businesses that collect sales tax to retain a certain percentage of the tax collected as a fee for acting as the State’s point of collection.

Prevent the Imposition of an ABC Test for Independent Contractors – NFIB will oppose the adoption of a California style “ABC” test to determine whether workers should be classified as independent contractors or employees. At a time when Minnesota faces a chronic and worsening worker shortage, independent contractors are an essential part of providing the products and services that customers want from small businesses. The imposition of an “ABC” test will stifle entrepreneurship by restricting the ability to work as an independent contractor.

Promote Affordable, Flexible Healthcare Options – As healthcare costs and premiums have grown, small businesses increasingly struggle to continue offering this important benefit. It is essential to stabilize the health insurance market to help small businesses compete. NFIB supports fully funding Minnesota’s individual market reinsurance program through 2027 and opposes mandates or regulations that limit options or shift costs onto small employers.

Pursue Reforms to Minnesota’s Earned Sick and Safe Time Mandate – NFIB strongly opposed the imposition of an Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) mandate on employers in Minnesota. NFIB supports common sense steps to reduce the cost and make the mandate more workable for small businesses.

Oppose Efforts to Implement a Low Carbon Fuel Standard – Small business opposes mandating a low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) in Minnesota. LCFS is a hidden tax that will have a negative impact on the costs of doing business. As LCFS emission reduction targets ratchet up, the cost of gas and diesel continue to increase. NFIB will oppose efforts to implement an LCFS in Minnesota.