Minnesota "Hero Pay" Bonuses Were Sent To Ineligible Applicants, Audit Finds

By Jonah Kaplan, CBS Minnesota

June 12, 2024

ST. PAUL. Minn. — Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans may not have been eligible to receive "hero pay" from state government, according to a new report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor.

"We concluded that the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), the agency tasked with overseeing and implementing the Minnesota Frontline Worker Pay Program, did not comply with requirements for the program," the report, published on Tuesday, concluded. "The Legislature should consider the amount of risk the state is willing to accept when establishing programs quickly and with eligibility conditions that rely on self-attestation."

Roughly one million frontline workers received a payout in the amount of $487.45 for working through the pandemic; state officials had said about 15% of applications were rejected. The state's initial estimate was that 667,000 people were eligible for hero pay, meaning they would get $750 a person.

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