Front-line workers plead for portion of $250M as Minn. leaders debate who gets money

Twice a week, a group of state leaders gather to hear the painful stories that just keep coming.

A corrections officer told them how his colleagues slept on cots in their garages and icehouses in their driveways to avoid contaminating family members. One Cub Foods meat cutter described getting COVID and fearing he would die, lose his pension and leave his family with nothing. A former COVID unit nurse said while she was called a hero, the praise didn't protect her from exposure or prevent her from having to take on a second job to cover her bills.

"Take care of us the way you would have wanted us to take care of your families if you had gotten sick last year," the nurse, Rachel Hanneman, told the panel.

In meetings, Zoom calls and letters, Minnesotans have laid their personal stories of the pandemic's toll before a panel of legislators and state agency commissioners. From nursing home staff to child care providers to court employees, the workers have made their case for a portion of the $250 million that Minnesota designated for people who have done essential and risky work as the coronavirus battered the state.

After hearing dozens of pleas, the state's Frontline Worker Pay Working Group has a Monday deadline to piece together a plan to distribute the dollars. They are poised to blow past that deadline as the group remains divided along political lines over who should qualify for the "hero pay," or whether certain workers should see a greater portion of the limited aid.

The group's members said they agree on many things: people should apply for the dollars, state staff should approve applications, the money should not be subject to state income taxes or disqualify anyone from other state aid programs. But many key questions remained unanswered on Thursday, when the working group wrapped up its last meeting ahead of the Monday deadline.

Members said they will continue working to reach a deal before a special legislative session expected later this month, where lawmakers intend to sign off on their plan.

Republicans want to give significant sums to workers who had prolonged face-to-face contact with people who had COVID, such as nurses, long-term care facility staff, personal care assistants and first responders.

"Those folks who we know assumed so much risk and burdened so much of the emotional hardship of COVID as well as they cared for these patients with COVID and those who passed away, I want to make sure what we're doing is meaningful for them," said House Deputy Minority Leader Anne Neu Brindley, R-North Branch. She said if they try to spread the $250 million across a wide group of people, "We're looking at an award that feels much more like a token."

Democrats counter that the pandemic's toll was widespread and it's hard to pick who is most deserving of the many groups that have asked for help, including child care providers, meatpacking plant workers and custodians. Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, said while nurses and long-term care staff did critical work, people from other sectors were also at risk.

"It just really concerns me, considering the testimony we've heard from many of our front-line workers that were not in those areas but were absolutely in harm's way and dealt with that very high risk every single day," Frazier said.

Dan Gorman, a corrections officer at the Stillwater prison, was one of many who shared their industry's COVID challenges. He described prisons as "a petri dish for a virus like this," with so many people living in one place with stale air. More than 1,000 employees at corrections facilities have tested positive for COVID-19, he said.

"Our exposure is a documented fact and we deserve to be involved in whatever front-line worker pay this group recommends," Gorman said, adding that he has colleagues who spent months recovering from COVID and others who have yet to fully recover.

DFL legislators suggested a maximum bonus of $1,500 per person, but said people would likely get smaller sums because so many are seeking aid. Neu Brindley said $1,000 is a more realistic number.

How much money workers will get could be based on the number of people who apply for the dollars — a tally working group members said they do not yet know. The group discussed excluding people earning above a certain amount, but has not yet set a threshold.

Minnesota has additional dollars from the federal American Rescue Plan that legislators could devote to front-line workers in the future, said House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley. He said they should apply the initial $250 million dollars to a broad group of people and offer another round of worker bonuses next year.

However, Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, said it is not "very fair or straightforward" to imply that Minnesotans should not worry about getting a smaller amount this time because more money might be coming.

Winkler also suggested that during future legislative sessions they should devote ongoing money — not just one-time bonuses — to low-paid health care staff to address workforce shortages in places like nursing homes and hospitals.

Zahnia Harut said that is critical to prevent a "staffing catastrophe" in long-term care. She has felt the worker pinch as nursing director for Affinity Residential Care, which has a number of assisted living locations around the Twin Cities serving clients with mental illness. Almost all of her staff, many of them caregivers for family members at home, left in early 2020 after a COVID outbreak.

She sent her 7-year-old daughter, who has a heart condition, to live with her parents two hours away. She couldn't hug her for two months.

"Without providers like us, care for seniors and the disabled would have suffered immensely. We are the glue that kept the entire system together," Harut wrote in a letter to state officials. "I ask that you prioritize our workforce when considering bonus pay for front-line workers."

Jessie Van Berkel • 651-925-5044