St. Paul, Minn. – Thursday night, the Minnesota House was set to pass a bill to preempt local governments from passing measures to increase benefits for workers. Potential benefits include a higher minimum wage, earned sick time or paid family leave.
Rep. Julie Sandstede (DFL – Hibbing) released the following statement:
“This bill goes in the opposite direction from what we should be doing as we look to give Minnesotans secure economic futures for themselves and their families. If local governments choose to have higher standards for the workers in their communities, the Legislature shouldn’t interfere with that.
“Many Minnesotans who earn low wages are among the least likely to have access to even nominal sick time or parental leave. Thousands of workers in Minneapolis and St. Paul have already successfully gained sick leave, and I think it would be outrageous for the state to take this away. Here in Minnesota, we value hard work, and instead of rolling back benefits for people, we should be looking for ways to expand them. Tonight, I’m standing with working families in voting no!”