Minnesota nursing home workers are no doubt frustrated as they learn that an expected pay raise is going to to wait.
The promised wage increases were intended to kick in on January 1, but are now are facing a delay as the state's funding plan must first be approved by the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Jamie Gulley, head of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, says the required paperwork was just recently filed, pushing the historic average $3-per-hour raises to around March.
"There are many steps because of the complication of the Medicaid programs, but we're really proud of it and a little frustrated, yes," Gulley said. "But also just really ready for this to happen and just appreciative of the great work and leadership by the State of Minnesota as a whole to make sure that this happens."
He says although workers are frustrated, the $37 million state-funded rate increase is expected to be retroactively applied for the time they will have to wait.
Gulley says the recent government shutdown could be partly to blame for the hold up.
"I'm not sure what the reasons were. The Department of Human Services did appear at our meeting last week," Gulley explained. "Obviously we had a federal government shutdown for five weeks this fall. The comment period here to get this to CMS just started on Monday. We're glad that it started. We wish it had happened sooner."