St. Paul, MN - Today, Governor Tim Walz signed Chapter 12, HF 2253 into law, extending workers’ compensation eligibility for emergency first responders and frontline workers, which was set to expire May 1, 2021. State Representative Dan Wolgamott (DFL - St. Cloud) authored the original law last year, and continued to champion the cause this session.
“This bill will go a long way in granting our firefighters, police officers, nurses, childcare providers and other first responders the financial peace of mind they deserve as they continue to serve our communities on the front lines of this pandemic,” said Rep. Wolgamott. “We’re not out of the woods yet with COVID-19, and until we can definitively close this chapter for all Minnesotans, we need to continue to have the backs of the heroes that always have ours.”
HF 2253 adopts the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council’s recommendations to the legislature, which include the extension of the presumption that a COVID-19 infection is work-related unless the employer is able to prove that infection happened elsewhere and new penalty provisions for improper collection of payment for medical services from an employee.