Seasonal hospitality employment designation

Most employment is covered by both Unemployment Insurance and Paid Leave.

However, Paid Leave law (Minnesota Statute 268B.01, Subd. 35) has a special designation for certain seasonal hospitality employment.

The seasonal hospitality employment designation is not automatic. Employers must submit a request and provide the required documentation to receive the designation.

If you request the seasonal hospitality employment designation – and your request is approved – you will not pay Paid Leave premiums on wages paid to designated employees. Designated employees will not be able to use wages earned from your business to qualify for Paid Leave benefits.

You must pay UI taxes on both your seasonal and non-seasonal employees. You must also pay Paid Leave premiums on wages paid to your employees who have not been designated as seasonal.

To learn more about the seasonal hospitality employment designation, visit the Paid Leave website.

Submitting a seasonal hospitality employment designation request

You can request a seasonal hospitality employment designation in your online employer account.

  1. Log in to your employer account at: www.uimn.org
  2. On My Home Page, select Paid Leave.
  3. Select Paid Leave requests.
  4. Select Request seasonal employee designation. The system will display the Paid Leave Request for Information page.
  5. Complete the Request for Information and select Next.
  6. Once you have submitted the request, you will see the Paid Leave seasonal employee designation request confirmation page.
  7. To complete your seasonal hospitality employment designation request, you must mail the cover letter along with required supporting documentation.
    • Select Print Cover Letter to generate the cover letter. Returning your cover letter along with your other documents will help us process your request faster.

      Image of the Paid Leave seasonal designation request confirmation page

    • Attach supporting documentation showing your gross receipts for the previous calendar year, broken out by month. "Gross receipts" means the total amount received, in money or by barter or exchange, for all sales at retail as measured by the sales price.
    • Attach a list of the employees you wish to designate as seasonal. Seasonal employees must be employed for no more than 150 calendar days in any consecutive 52-week period. The list must include:
      • First and last names 
      • Social Security numbers 
      • Employment start date 
      • Actual or estimated employment end date
  8. Mail your cover letter and supporting documentation to:

    Paid Leave
    PO Box 3849
    Saint Paul, MN 55101-3849

  9. After the Paid Leave Division receives the required information, they will review your request and issue a determination based on the information you provide.

We understand that requesting the seasonal hospitality employment designation is important to your business. Submitting your request as quickly and as completely as possible will help the Paid Leave Division review and process your request accurately.

Industries that qualify for the seasonal hospitality employer designation

To be approved for the seasonal hospitality employer designation, your business must be operating in one of the following industries:

  • Boarding establishments
  • Food and beverage service establishments
  • Food carts
  • Hotels or motels
  • Limited food establishments
  • Lodging establishments
  • Mobile food units
  • Resorts
  • Restaurants
  • Seasonal permanent food stands
  • School concession stands
  • Seasonal temporary food stands
  • Special event food stands

If our records indicate your business is not operating in one of these industries, your request will be denied.

After a seasonal hospitality employment designation request is approved

If your request to designate seasonal hospitality employment is approved, we will send you instructions on how to report wage detail going forward. The reporting process may vary slightly depending on how your employer account is set up.

You will also receive instructions on how to submit a quarterly seasonal hospitality employee list. If this list is not submitted each quarter, your seasonal hospitality employment designation may be revoked.

You will need to update your quarterly seasonal hospitality employee list each time you hire someone who will be designated as a seasonal hospitality employee.

You must notify Paid Leave within 5 business days if you no longer meet the definition of a seasonal employer, or if a worker you have designated as a seasonal hospitality employee will be employed more than 150 days.