Senator Nelson proposes plan for bonus pay to Covid-19 frontline workers

The plan prioritizes healthcare workers and first responders who willingly entered Covid situations to help people during the pandemic.

Senator Carla Nelson (R-Rochester) today announced her support for a plan that would prioritize and provide bonuses to those who took the most risk to help keep people safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal includes $1200 in bonus pay for nurses, first responders, corrections officers, long-term care workers, and hospice providers.

The plan prioritizes healthcare workers who donned PPE and cared for Covid-positive patients, first responders who doubled down on an already risky job when the work didn’t allow distancing or PPE, and hospice staff who were cared for Minnesotans forced to be separated from their loved ones.

“The Covid-19 pandemic shined a light on the many everyday heroes among us,” said Senator Nelson. “There are few better examples than frontline workers who put their own health at risk to keep the rest of us safe. This bonus pay is a tangible thank you for the Covid risks they took to protect and aid others. I want bonuses in these workers’ pockets as soon as possible.”

To be eligible, a worker must have worked a minimum of 1,200 hours between March and December of 2020, could not work remotely, and received no more than one month of unemployment.

The working group met eight times and heard from dozens of testifiers across many professions affected by COVID. The working group discussed at length the merits of each profession and how to distribute the $250 million of ‘hero’ pay.