Minnesota Extends Pandemic Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Frontline Workers, First Responders

(KNSI) – On Monday, Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill into law extending frontline workers’ and first responders’ workers’ compensation eligibility during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, the state legislature passed a bill that lets frontline workers like nurses, child care providers and police officers qualify for workers’ compensation benefits if they test positive for COVID-19 with the presumption that they likely contracted COVID while on the job. That was set to expire on May 1st. The bill Walz signed Monday extends that deadline.

St. Cloud Rep. Dan Wolgamott authored the original bill and was the chief author for the extension bill.

“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,” Wolgamott said. “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.”

That bill also adds new penalties for employees who improperly collect payment for medical services.

According to a January 2021 report from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, about 82 percent of the 15,191 employees who filed workers’ compensation claims in 2020 due to COVID-19 work in the frontline industries covered by the legislation. About 86 of that group’s claims were accepted.

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