So-called "hero pay" checks for Minnesota frontline workers may end up being smaller than anticipated.
The Legislature allocated $500 million for frontline worker pay, but many more people than expected have applied for it.
Representative Cedrick Frazier (DFL-New Hope) sponsored the House version of the bill.
“We are concerned that communities again, in many cases, are the most vulnerable and are at the edge, and that are doing the most dangerous work might not have applied yet,” Frazier says. “We're encouraging them to do so."
Governor Tim Walz says they expected 667,000 essential workers to qualify for the payments. 901,000 people have applied so far which could shrink the checks. The deadline to apply is July 22.
Initially, workers were going to a check for $750. Lawmakers did say the checks could grow or shrink depending on the total pool of applicants.
“We've got tons of people out there that consider themselves to be essential workers,” says Governor Walz. “We knew that going in. We knew that with the negotiations, that's why we worked as hard as we could to broaden the pool. And now we're going to let the process work through and we're going to see where folks are at the end of the day.”
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