Close to 1.2 million workers applied for a cut of $500 million in “hero pay” made available under Minnesota’s Frontline Worker Pay Law, Department of Labor and Industry Communications Director James Honerman told the McKnight’s Business Daily.
The application period ended Friday after 45 days.
Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed the bill into law April 29 to create the fund from which the one-time bonus payments will be awarded to frontline workers for staying on the job during the pandemic. The legislature estimated at that time that the state would receive approximately 667,00 applications, Honerman said.
All submitted applications now will be processed and receive preliminary approval or denial, and submitters will have 15 days to appeal rejections after they are notified in mid-August.
The state won’t cut any checks to eligible frontline workers after all applications and appeals are processed. Payments are expected to be made this fall.
Money dedicated to Frontline Worker Pay will be evenly divided among all eligible frontline workers for whom applications are approved.
“We have a number of verification checks in place, and that’s kind of what we’re starting on now that the application period is closed,” state Department of Labor and Industry Deputy Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach told a local NBC news affiliate.
Although state senior living associations previously told McKnight’s that they support the bonuses, they said that a more pressing issue is filling 23,000 caregiving positions open in assisted living communities and skilled nursing facilities across the state.
