St. Paul, MN – Minnesota’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund will now be repealed thanks to legislation that passed the House last Thursday and was signed by Governor Walz on Friday.
The legislation will provide $2.7 billion to fully repay the fund and eliminate the interest fee incurred by the federal government.
“It’s time that hope is restored among our job creators,” Representative Matt Grossell, R-Clearbrook, said. “Employers have been hit with staff shortages, supply shortages and inflation. It is time they get a break.”
Minnesota’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund was depleted throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state then was forced to pay the federal government $50,000 a day in interest to continue unemployment payments. With the passage of this legislation, Minnesota job creators are no longer required to pay a 15% tax increase.
In February, Senate Republicans brought a bipartisan bill that would repay the Unemployment Trust Fund and fill it to solvency. House Democrats refused to bring the bill to floor, citing a deadline of April 30.
In addition to the $2.7 billion to repay the fund, the bill allocates $500 million in payments for frontline workers and $190 million for the Minnesota Management & Budget agency to provide for COVID-19 expenses.
Job creators who have questions regarding the unemployment trust fund can find answers here and more information for frontline workers can be found here.
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