ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Monday, June 9, the Minnesota Senate passed the 2025 Jobs and Labor budget bill on a 40-27 vote. Chair of the Senate Labor Committee Senator Jen McEwen (DFL-Duluth) releases the following statement:
“At a time when workers’ rights are under attack by the federal government, this legislation provides critical funding to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry so that it may continue in and strengthen its mission to protect workers. The bill is a product of hard work and a great deal of compromise. I am grateful to every worker and organizer who spoke up and made sure it safeguards the essential protections Minnesotans deserve.”
In addition to providing base funding and operating adjustments for the Department of Labor and Industry, the Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals, the Bureau of Mediation Services, and the Public Employment Relations Board, key provisions include:
- Rapid response tools for the Department of Labor and Industry: This provision ensures that the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) can quickly intervene to protect workers and uphold their rights. If a worker is being harmed — for example, being denied accommodations for a pregnancy — that worker cannot wait to get the help they need at the end of a drawn-out court case. The relief from the harm needs to come quickly. This provision ensures DLI can intervene to stop the harm and restore their rights as soon as possible.
- Worker misclassification fraud study: The bill funds a report on misclassification rates and the effect of misclassification on public programs and revenues, to help guide future legislation.
- Expanded apprenticeship funding: $7 million from the Worker Development Fund will bolster the Registered Apprenticeship Programs for teachers. Other provisions also support construction industry pre-apprenticeship efforts that help bring a more diverse group of workers into the building and construction trades, including veterans, women, people of color, and high school students.
- Construction worker mental health initiatives: Workers in the construction industry have the second highest suicide rate among job sectors, a rate that is three times higher than the population overall. Our Labor bill provides funding to conduct outreach within the construction industry, to help reduce stigma around mental health and asking for help, and to connect workers with mental health resources.
- Lead pipe replacement funding: $3 million in additional funding for the 2023 program that supports lead service line removal and replacement throughout the state of Minnesota.
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