Frontline Workers Receive State Bonus Checks

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Erin Huppert

Pandemic frontline workers will begin to see $487.45 in one-time bonuses from the State of Minnesota this week. Applicants who chose direct deposit of their payment should see it in their accounts in seven to ten days. People who choose to be mailed a prepaid debit card should receive them in three to four weeks.

The Legislature passed these one-time bonus payments during the 2022 legislative session. A bill to set aside $500 million for a broad group of workers, including long-term care providers, was signed by Governor Walz last spring. State officials noted that 1,025,655 people will receive payments—significantly more than the state initially anticipated.

While these one-time bonuses are a welcome thank you, they fall short of increasing base wages for professional caregivers. We have and will continue to urge policymakers to provide permanent funding for caregiver wages when they reconvene in St. Paul.