Gov. Tim Walz signed the frontline worker bill in a public ceremony in May after months of negotiations with legislators. (Elizabeth Flores, Star Tribune file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

It took more than a year, but Minnesotans who kept going to work in person at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic can start applying Wednesday for bonus checks as recognition for their work.

The state's online portal to apply for "hero pay" goes live at 8 a.m. Wednesday and will stay open for 45 days to allow time for the hundreds of thousands of the state's workers who are eligible for the checks to apply. Gov. Tim Walz said he expects a rush of people to apply right away.

"It's not first-come, first-served, it's 45 days. You can sign up any time in those 45 days," Walz said one day before the launch. "If we have learned [anything] from [the Minnesota Licensing and Registration System] and vaccinations, every person in Minnesota will sign up at 8 a.m. tomorrow at the exact same time."

But he added that his "confidence level is high" that the state can handle the influx of applications. Navigators and customer service representatives will be in place to help people get signed up.

State officials estimate 667,000 workers will get roughly $750 each, but that could change depending on how many people apply. The $500 million agreed to by lawmakers in April will be split equally among all approved applicants — with checks no higher than $1,500 — after the 45-day application period closes. There's also a two-week period to appeal and review denied applications.

Eligible workers include those in health care, including long-term care and home care, the courts, child care, public schools, retail, food service, public transit and manufacturing. There are income limits and a requirement to have logged at least 120 hours of in-person work with people outside of your household between March 15, 2020, and June 30, 2021.

The governor said the state had a short time to hire a vendor to set up its online portal, but work started on the system nine months ago in anticipation that legislators would eventually strike a deal. Lawmakers have been in talks since last summer over who should get front-line worker checks and how big those checks should be.

The state law requires employers with eligible employees to notify them of the opportunity to sign up for the bonus check by June 23.

"We've got 45 days to capture all of the eligible people; we need to do that," Walz said. "If there are some glitches in the early hours, you can rest assured that we're prepared to deal with that and we have the next 44 days."

Staff writer Jeremy Olson contributed to this report.