St. Paul, MN - Today, State Representative Dan Wolgamott (DFL - St. Cloud) introduced House File 1203, which would extend the sunset deadline for workers’ compensation benefits for public safety and health care workers who are either sickened or quarantined due to exposure to COVID-19. The bill builds upon legislation passed into law last April, also authored by Rep. Wolgamott.
“Frontline workers have sacrificed and had our backs throughout this pandemic, we need to honor them and continue to have their backs by extending the COVID-19 workers’ compensation presumption for frontline workers.” said Rep. Wolgamott. “We need to ensure our police officers, firefighters, EMTs, corrections workers, nurses and all healthcare workers, and childcare providers who test positive for COVID-19 can continue to access workers’ compensation benefits. We can’t abandon these heroes while they’re still on the front lines of this pandemic.”
The law provides a presumption that if public safety or health care workers contract COVID-19, they did so during the course of their employment and are covered by workers’ compensation. Their own sick leave or personal time off benefits would not be used to make up for lost pay. The law was originally set to expire on May 1, 2021. This legislation would extend the law by one year to May 1, 2022.