The Minnesota Senate today passed critical legislation to protect first responders and other health care professionals who contract COVID-19 while working on the front lines of the pandemic by making them eligible for workers’ compensation benefits without having to prove they were infected on the job. Under the legislation, workers in certain job classifications are presumed to have an occupational disease if they contract COVID-19, thereby automatically making them eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
“I am thrilled an agreement is finally in place to make sure first responders like nurses, firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and other health care workers are taken care of if they are infected with COVID,” said Sen. Carla Nelson (R-Rochester). “They are the ones on the front lines, and they need peace of mind that they won’t be abandoned if they get sick while putting themselves in danger to keep the rest of us healthy.”
The legislation covers the following workers:
- Licensed peace officers
- Firefighters
- Paramedics
- Nurses
- Healthcare workers
- Corrections officers and security counselors employed by the state or a political subdivision at a corrections, detention, or secure treatment facility
- Emergency medical technicians
- Healthcare providers, nurses, and assistive employees in a health care, home care, or long-term care setting
- Workers who are required to provide childcare to first responders and health care workers under the governor’s previous executive orders.