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Business and Economic News
Estelle Timar-Wilcox
Updated:

Minnesota nursing homes sue to block state pay rule for workers

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Two Minnesota nursing home provider associations are suing the state's Department of Labor and Industry over a new holiday pay rule. 

The proposed rule would require nursing homes to pay workers time-and-a-half for work on 11 state holidays. The rule was approved by the state’s Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board earlier this month and is slated to take effect on Jan. 1.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday, two senior care provider trade associations — LeadingAge Minnesota and Care Providers of Minnesota — requested an injunction to stop the rule from taking effect.

They argue the new rule would violate federal labor laws by intervening in the collective bargaining process, and in already established employment contracts. 

And, they say it will be costly for employers to implement on short notice.

“We are committed to a fair and equitable collective bargaining process with the unions who represent our employees, but an unelected state board cannot insert itself in those negotiations and force nursing homes to violate federal law,” the two providers said in a statement Tuesday.

Monyou Taye is a nursing assistant and a member of SEIU Healthcare, the union representing nursing home employees.

“For those of us who have to work these holidays, being away from our families while our bosses get to relax at home, it is frustrating that nursing home owners have chosen this path instead of trying to address the staffing issues we all agree are a crisis,” Taye said in a statement following the lawsuit.

The board voted to enact the rule earlier in November. The rule will become official once published in the state register. The Department of Labor and Industry expects that to happen in the first week of December, according to a spokesperson.

The Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board was established by the state Legislature in 2023. It’s tasked with raising the pay floor for nursing home staff amid ongoing labor shortages. The board consists of three worker representatives, three industry leaders and three state government officials.

Labor advocates pushed for the board, citing staffing shortages, low wages and poor working conditions in nursing homes. Proposals for pay increases follow several strikes of nursing home workers around the state.

The board passed the holiday pay policy with three yes votes from workers and three from government officials. The three industry leaders abstained.

A spokesperson for the Department of Labor and Industry said the department “has been notified of the lawsuit and is in the process of reviewing the complaint.”