Minnesota front-line workers will receive close to $500 from the state as recognition for their key roles during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state began sending payments worth $487.45 to more than 1 million people on Wednesday, according to Gov. Tim Walz’s office.
Leaders on both sides of the aisle disagreed over the payment plan, with Democrats wanting $1 billion to go to workers and Republicans only wanting to spend $250,000, which would give a smaller selection of workers $1,200 per applicant.
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Eventually, Walz and state legislators approved a $500 million budget to provide the payments to workers. The leaders originally expected around 670,000 applicants, bringing the payment total to $750 each.
However, in June, the number of eligible recipients increased dramatically after the application opened. Of the nearly 1.2 million applications, the state approved 1,025,655 people for payments.
“I’m grateful for the work Minnesotans did to help people across our state stay healthy and safe through the COVID-19 pandemic,” Walz said in a press release. “Frontline workers are an important part of the fabric of our state and helped us continue functioning during the pandemic.”
People were denied the payment for several reasons, such as earning a too-high income, receiving unemployment benefits above a certain threshold, or not working the required hours in their front-line sector.
The state received applications from several industries, including healthcare, long-term care, courts, education, and food service.
Eligible recipients will get their payments as either a direct deposit within seven to 10 business days or a prepaid debit card, which will be mailed out in three to four weeks.
The Department of Labor and Industry will release a report breaking down the number of payments for different industries 90 days after the payments are processed.
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Temporary Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach told the Star Tribune that the final payments will not be taxed by the state but are taxable at the federal level, something the state was unable to change.
“These workers deserve our thanks and I’m grateful to be part of the program that gives them a token of our appreciation,” Blissenbach said in a press release.
