Nearly 1.2 million workers applied for frontline bonus checks
MINNEAPOLIS -- Nearly 1.2 million Minnesotans applied for frontline worker bonus payments, which the legislature passed this spring to honor the contributions of those who couldn't work from home during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The deadline to apply for the payments was 5 p.m. Friday. According to state officials, 1,199,512 applications were received over the last 45 days.
Gov. Tim Walz signed the Frontline Worker Payments bill into law on April 29. The bonus checks were something lawmakers promised for months, although Republicans and Democrats butted heads over which workers should qualify and how much they should receive.
The bill passed set aside $500 million to be divided equally among those who met the requirements. The state estimated roughly 667,000 Minnesotans would qualify, meaning that workers could get $750 each.
However, the number of applications received was closer to twice what officials expected. If all the applications received as of Friday are approved, that'd mean that workers would get roughly $416 each.
Applications are currently being processed. If an application is denied, there'll be a 15-day period for people to appeal.
To have qualified for the payments, workers must have been employed at least 120 hours in Minnesota in one frontline sector or more between March 15, 2020 and June 30, 2021. These sectors included health care, long-term care, emergency responders, schools, retail, child care, and public transit.
Approved workers are expected to receive their payments in early fall.
