The Minnesota Legislature’s Frontline Worker Pay working group convened for the first time on Wednesday. Senator Karin Housley (R-Stillwater) was named the Vice Chair of the bicameral bipartisan working group.

Comprised of three Senators and six Representatives, the group’s duty is to make a recommendation for the disbursement of $250 million in direct financial support to frontline workers, including the crucial long-term care workers that served our state’s most vulnerable citizens during peak COVID stages. The group will be considering a frontline worker’s increased financial burden, increased risk of exposure, and a number of other contributing factors.

“I’m honored to be a member of this important working group, and grateful to be named the Vice Chair,” said Sen. Housley. “The group has a tremendous amount of work ahead of us. We are tasked with disbursing a large sum of funding to frontline workers, so many of which put their health at risk and stepped up to serve our communities—our most vulnerable citizens—and this simply cannot be boiled down to a singular dollar amount. I’m confident that we will approach this in a way that offers some aid to those that gave so much throughout the last year. No amount of financial support will be thanks enough for the important work they did, but my hope is that this aid truly helps these heroes as we continue down the road to recovery.”

The working group must conclude its business and submit a recommendation to the Governor, Speaker of the House, and Senate Majority Leader by September 6, 2021. Any proposed plan will need 7 affirmative votes from the working group before being submitted. The working group’s next meeting date has yet to be announced.