(ST. PAUL, MN) –Senate Republicans took strategic action to respect the contract with state employees and acknowledge the realities of a budget deficit. HF 2796, authored by Senator Mark Koran (R-North Branch), ratifies the first year of the contract and puts in place a wage freeze for the second year that begins July 1, 2020. The 2.5% raise for the second year of the contract would be restored for state employees if the state achieves a budget surplus by July of 2021.

“If we were facing a budget surplus this conversation would be very different. No one foresaw our economic situation and the unprecedented destruction of jobs in this state,” Senator Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake), Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. “We have lost historic levels of revenue and need to prepare for difficult decisions to come.”

State employee union contracts were scheduled to provide a 2.5% raise across the board, however, record unemployment and a projected $4 billion loss of revenue over two months have shifted the priorities of the 2020 session.

Without any action by the Senate, state employees would face a 2.25% cut in pay, retroactive to last July. “That would be completely unfair,” said Gazelka. “State employees are not at fault here. We’re just trying to make the best of what could be a disastrous situation: either face a very harsh pay cut, or layoffs at the state to manage a deficit. Today’s modified ratification is the commonsense, fair solution for every Minnesotan.”

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