While it's possible to estimate the number of jobs in each sector the Legislature included in the definition of "front-line worker" - from health care to retail to public transit - it's harder to know how many of those workers met other criteria, including being required to work in-person and not receiving more than 20 weeks of unemployment, said Nicole Blissenbach, deputy commissioner at the state Department of Labor and Industry. ![]() State officials have estimated that 667,000 workers will get about $750 each, but that could change depending on who applies and is ultimately deemed eligible. ![]() "At this point in time, whether you be a front-line worker, whether you're a small business, or whether you're Minnesotans wondering what happens next with COVID, those things were prioritized, taken care of, agreed upon and signed into law," Walz told reporters at the Capitol on Monday.īut how many people will qualify for "hero pay," and how much money they'll get, has yet to be determined. The deal, which also includes $2.7 billion to refill the state's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and $190 million for managing COVID-19, could end up being one of the most substantial compromises the divided Legislature reaches this year. Legislators hammered out the measure after initially disagreeing on how much to spend and who should get the money. “And we left a lot of work on the table last year.No matter what happens in the final two weeks of the legislative session, Minnesota's front-line workers will get bonus checks under a $500 million deal that Gov. “There's more one-time funding than ongoing funding in this budget, in part because we didn't finish the budget last year,” she said. Murphy, the committee chair, responded by trying to add context. And it's going to crash hard by increasing spending by this much.” “I'm just telling you: Something is going to crash. “Folks, it’s just not sustainable,” he said. John Jasinski, R-Faribault, said the overarching proposed budget for state government is too costly. ![]() “Certainly it looks like Democrats are taking care of themselves in this amendment and eventually in this bill, by giving huge salary increases to Democrat politicians in the state of Minnesota,” he said ahead of a party-line vote to include the constitutional officer raises in a broader budget measure. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, said the optics are bad. “This is a normal thing that we should be doing to ensure that we have the best people in our positions and that they are compensated for the work that they do,” she said.īut Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, said there are managerial positions inside of government and the private sector that pay more, which should prompt lawmakers to bring salaries into better balance. “We are doing a lot of catch-up for people who have done a lot of damn good work for the people of Minnesota,” said Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Committee Chair Erin Murphy, DFL-St. ![]() The pending increases have caused another partisan rift at the Capitol, echoing past debates that caused a salary standstill in prior years. Once rolled into a separate bill and fully implemented, district court judges would make about $196,000 and seats on the Supreme Court would pay at least $221,000, with more for the chief justice. Judicial pay, where Minnesota tends to pay more than adjacent states, would also go up in two stages after last rising in 2021. Earlier Minnesota lawmakers to get a 7.25 percent salary bumpĪmong Minnesota’s neighbors, only the South Dakota governor makes less at $118,728.
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