Today, the Minnesota Legislature unanimously passed legislation that provides occupational protections for certain workers who contract COVID-19 on the job. The bill, House File 4537, specifies that certain frontline workers, including health care workers, police officers, paramedics, corrections officers, and others are eligible for expedited worker’s compensation benefits for health issues that may arise due to the coronavirus.
“As this unprecedented public health emergency continues to unfold, this is a necessary bill that makes sure those brave workers on the front lines have access to full occupational protections. Those workers – the doctors, nurses, EMTs, and law enforcement officers in our communities – need to know their families will be taken care of should an incident arise,” said Senator Eric Pratt (R-Prior Lake), chair of the Senate Jobs and Economic Growth Finance and Policy Committee. “For weeks, we have been working with representatives from organized labor and the business community to find an agreeable path forward on this issue. I believe this legislation reflects our state’s commitment to protecting those who are protecting us.”
The legislation guarantees that people in high-risk jobs who contract COVID-19 while performing their occupational duties are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits with a lower burden of having to prove the infection was a direct result of their job. Those Individuals with confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 will be presumed to have an occupational disease, thereby making them eligible for workers’ compensation benefits under state law. Most licensed peace officers, firefighters, paramedics, nurses, health care workers, correction officers, workers at secure state facilities, workers at long-term care facilities, and child care providers are among the classes of workers included in the bill.
“These Minnesotans are making tremendous sacrifices to keep us safe. We have an obligation to do all we can to support them – and that’s what this legislation does,” said Senator Pratt.
The provisions of the bill expire on May 1, 2021.
Senator Eric Pratt represents Scott County in the Minnesota Senate. He serves as chair of the Senate Jobs and Economic Growth Finance and Policy Committee and is an assistant majority leader.