SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Today, the Minnesota House approved the Labor and Workforce budget. The legislation helps families, workers, and small businesses emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic, and includes critical investments and protections for Minnesotans’ economic security, like Earned Sick & Safe Time and Paid Family & Medical Leave.
“Following a difficult year for Minnesotans, this legislation is a game changer for workers and small businesses, helping them emerge from the COVID-19 crisis and have long-term success,” said Rep. Liz Olson (DFL – Duluth) who voted for the bill. “This budget prioritizes the needs of our entire state through investments in child care, incentives for businesses to grow, and protections for Minnesotans’ economic security. This is an exciting bill that addresses the unique difficulties our state is facing now, while having a vision for the future so all Minnesotans can succeed and thrive.”
Rep. Olson authored several key provisions in the legislation, including her bill to expand Earned Sick & Safe Time to all Minnesota workers so they don’t need to choose between taking care of themselves or a sick child and getting a paycheck is part of the legislation. The proposal would ensure, at a minimum, one hour of paid Earned Sick & Safe Time for every 30 hours worked, up to at least 48 hours per year. It also extends Paid Family & Medical Leave to all Minnesota workers to ensure they have the opportunity to bond with a newborn or care for a loved one experiencing a long-term illness. Workers would be able to access up to 12 weeks of leave, and the program would be funded through a small assessment paid by employers, about $6.25 per week for each employee. Employers can choose to have workers pay half of the premium amount.
The bill invests $12 million in new funding for child care providers, funding Rep. Olson originally proposed earlier in the session. $10 million of the funding, to be split equally between the metro area and Greater Minnesota, will go toward grants for child care providers for start-up costs, modifying facilities, paying workers, or simply staying afloat. The other $2 million will go to the six Minnesota Initiative Foundations (MIFs) to facilitate community-based planning, engage the private sector to invest local resources in building child care capacity, provide training and technical support to child care providers needed to build successful sustainable and profitable businesses, and assist providers to achieve a Parent Aware rating.
In 2019, lawmakers approved a $2 million loan toward capital improvements at the Verso paper mill in Duluth, with a requirement that the mill employ at least 200 workers, however COVID-19’s economic turmoil created difficulties for the plan. With Verso now planning to sell the mill, Rep. Olson introduced legislation – included in the Labor & Workforce bill – to amend the 2019 loan provisions. The legislation would give the new ownership until May 1, 2023 to make its capital investment, changes the worker retention requirement to 80 workers, and increases the size of the loan to $3 million.
The legislation includes other measures including rehire and retention protections for hospitality workers, protections for meatpacking workers, emergency paid leave for essential workers, workplace accommodations for pregnant and nursing mothers, and more.
The bill language can be accessed here and a spreadsheet of the investments made in the budget bill can be accessed here. Video of the floor session will be available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel.