Park worker faced nasty battle and a $13k invoice from employer when she resigned to care for premature baby

Daily Mail​

18 hours ago

A Minneapolis Park and Recreation employee who quit her job to care for her baby was faced with a shocking ultimatum: return to work - or pay back over $13,000 in maternity leave.
Indica Medeiros, who had worked in park maintenance since 2020 gave birth last fall to a baby that was born prematurely.
The infant required intensive medical care with Medeiros and her husband, who still works for the Park Board, quickly realizing that returning to work wasn't feasible.
The couple were unable to afford child care and their baby's condition demanded full-time attention at home.
Ten days before her scheduled return, she informed the Park Board that she wouldn't be coming back and that she would be staying home full-time to raise her two children under age 2.
Months after quitting, the Park Board sent Medeiros a $13,400 invoice demanding repayment for her parental leave benefits, citing a clause that required employees to return to work for at least four weeks following maternity leave or risk repaying the lot.
The clause, buried in the Park Board's parental leave policy, sparked immediate backlash from labor leaders and the public.
Medeiros was told repay all 12 weeks of paid parental leave or face legal action.
When she asked to use her accrued sick and vacation days to buy time to arrange childcare, she said the Park Board denied her requests, terminated her employment, and sent her a bill.
Medeiros' husband and father-in-law still work in the Minneapolis park system but no grandparent could help with early-morning childcare, and no daycare facility within budget opened before 6am - the time parkkeepers are expected to report for work.
'It was difficult trying to find something that checked all the boxes,' Medeiros said. 'And pricing, obviously, of day care is pretty outrageous.'
Laborers Union Local 363, which represents park keepers, filed an unfair labor practice charge, accusing the agency of unilaterally enforcing a policy it never properly bargained over.
'They certainly never sent [the policy] to us,' said AJ Lange, business manager of Local 363.
'They've never enforced this rule before. I did a data request. They confirmed that they don't have any records of enforcing it, so they seem set on making an example of her.'
The policy requires employees to return to work for four weeks after using paid parental leave or face a full demand for repayment.
Facing union pressure, bad press, and a looming legal deadline, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) has backed down, canceling its demand and pledging to change its parental leave policy before the state's sweeping new paid family leave law takes effect in 2026.
'It was scary to think that we would have to not only pay back this massive bill, but on top of our hospital bills,' Medeiros said. 'I was very shocked, because had I known that, I probably would have made different decisions, and it was very stressful on our family the first few months.'
'It was a huge relief to get the letter that they will no longer be legally pursuing me,' said Medeiros, the former parkkeeper at the heart of the dispute to The Minnesota Star Tribune.
'I'm glad that we were able to resolve this and move forward. I couldn't do it without the help from my union and the support of everyone I talked to. I'm glad I get to finally fully focus on my family and the health of my babies.'
In the midst of the uproar, the state Department of Employment and Economic Development weighed in.
Officials confirmed that under Minnesota's soon-to-be-implemented paid family leave law, employers will not be permitted to make parental leave benefits contingent on return-to-work requirements. Such conditions, the department said, would be illegal.
It left the Park Board with few options and in a letter sent this week to Medeiros, MPRB Superintendent Al Bangoura announced a sweeping reversal.
'With the new state law, MN Paid Family Leave, going into effect in January 2026, the MPRB has decided that it, in advance of the law becoming effective, will no longer make its PPL conditional upon returning to work' Bangoura wrote.
'In light of this change, the MPRB will not seek repayment from you of the $13,403.08 in PPL funds.'
Bangoura added that the policy was originally 'instituted… to support parent-child bonding,' was being reformed to 'further that goal' and to better reflect the agency's stated values of supporting employees and families.
The decision marks a dramatic about-face and a major win for Medeiros and her supporters.
The Park Board had originally modeled its parental leave policy on the city of Minneapolis' policy but a city spokesperson confirmed to the Star Tribune the is also now adapting its policies to mirror that of the incoming state law.
'The city is working on implementing the new state law and will share more with city employees as the work continues,' spokesperson Jess Olstad said.