Minnesota governor signs law providing frontline worker bonus checks

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz recently signed a law establishing a $500 million fund from which COVID-19 frontline workers may be eligible to receive an estimated $750 bonus. State legislators believe approximately 667,000 Minnesotans may be eligible for the bonus, which is likely be paid out in early summer 2022.

Who’s eligible

Unlike certain earlier pandemic financial assistance, the bonus payments won’t be sent out to eligible workers automatically. Instead, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) will create an application process and provide eligible workers with a 45-day window to apply for the funds.

The bonus is available to frontline workers in health care, emergency response, childcare, schools, food service, public transit, and manufacturing, among other areas. They must have worked at least 120 hours in Minnesota between March 15, 2020, and June 30, 2021. Eligibility is also based on income:

• Workers with direct COVID-19 patient care responsibilities must have had an annual income less than $175,000 (or $350,000 for married joint filers); and
• Those without direct COVID-19 patient care responsibilities must have had an annual income less than $85,000 (or $185,000 for married joint filers).

Frontline workers who received more than 20 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits during the above time period aren’t eligible for the bonus.

Takeaway for employers