Frontline Worker’s Pay and The Surging Problems

In April, the government of Minnesota decided to dedicate 500 million dollars to “hero pay,”
which is a bonus for frontline workers that worked through the pandemic. The Press of Atlantic
City stated that Democrats wanted the budget to be one billion dollars, but they were forced to
compromise with the Republicans.
In May of 2022, Inforum reported information on the frontline worker pay program to the public.
In their article, they say frontline workers will receive $750. However, we now know they only
received $487. Because the amount was lowered, it can be assumed that more workers signed up
for the hero pay than expected. The estimated number of qualified workers was 667, 000, but the
actual number turned out to be around one million. According to the state of Minnesota’s
website, 1, 025, 655 workers were approved. Approved workers were emailed on October 6,
2022. If their application was not approved, they could appeal a denial decision from August 16
to August 31, 2022.
Some senators are attempting to make this payment repetitive. They want frontline workers to
receive extra money with every paycheck.
Eligible workers include health care, home care, child care, first responders, educators,
manufacturers, grocery and retail employees, delivery drivers, housing personnel, security and
maintenance, and other government workers. These workers had to work for a minimum of 120
hours between March 15, 2020 and June 30, 2021. If they received unemployment, these
payments could not have exceeded twenty weeks. Any eligible worker wishing to benefit from
the program could sign up between June 8 and July 22, 2022.
While other states do not have a frontline worker pay program, they still offer bonuses to specific
groups. In Georgia, state employees and educators are offered 1,000 dollars. Maryland offers a
pay increase to state employees via the “Response Pay.” Florida offers 1,000-dollar payments for
teachers, child-care workers, early-learning educators, and first responders. Indiana offers first
responders 1,600 dollars. Michigan offers a variety of payments. First responders receive 1,000
dollars while their employers receive five million dollars. They also offer healthcare workers a
raise. New Hampshire offers a bonus every week for frontline workers because of Covid-19.
Virginia offers an extra thousand dollars for health workers. Louisiana offers $250 for frontline
workers. Pennsylvania offers higher pay within “hazard pay” for ten weeks. Employers can get
up to 3 million dollars. Vermont offers a similar program as Pennsylvania, but they give money
specifically to frontline workers exposed to Covid. They give 1,200 or 2,000 dollars depending
on the level of exposure.
Any approved frontline workers that did not receive their direct deposit last week should contact
the state of Minnesota. If interested in contacting the applicant support center, send an email to
mnfrontlinepay@submittable.com or call 866-333-7633. If approved workers opted for the debit
card, they should wait until October 28 to contact. On October 28, you should contact the U.S.
Bank via phone: 855-282-6161. They have information on when and where cards are being sent.