ST. PAUL, MN - The Minnesota House of Representatives today passed the Jobs Budget Bill, which preserves the landmark worker protections enacted in 2023-2024 biennium while making strategic investments in workforce development. The vote was 115-19.
The Jobs budget maintains Minnesota's commitment to worker protections like Paid Family and Medical Leave, Earned Sick and Safe Time, and safeguards for meatpacking and warehouse workers, while delivering targeted investments in vocational rehabilitation services, teacher apprenticeships, worker misclassification protections, and child care and early learning initiatives.
"In a tilted economy to benefit those at the very top, House DFLers stand firmly with working Minnesotans who deserve security, dignity, and the opportunity for themselves and their families to get ahead," said Representative Dave Pinto (DFL-St. Paul), co-chair of the Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Committee. "In the face of consistent efforts from Republicans to weaken or outright eliminate key protections for workers, Democrats are instead standing strong to give them more power, not massive corporations. Despite a challenging budget environment, we’ll keep fighting to build a stronger workforce and economy for all Minnesotans."
In addition to funding operations for the Department of Employment and Economic Development, the Department of Labor and Industry, Explore Minnesota, and the Bureau of Mediation Services, the budget includes key investments such as:
- $3 million for a new registered apprenticeship program for teachers
- $5 million in new funding for Vocational Rehabilitation Services at DEED
- $1 million in new funding for initiatives to increase the number of child care and early learning providers in the state
- $7.3 million in new funding for competitive grant programs at DEED for workforce and economic development
The budget strengthens Minnesota’s employee misclassification law, passed in 2024, with $355,000 of additional funding toward enforcement. It also invests $326,000 for a comprehensive report on misclassification and its impact on the state economy, including tax collections and payments to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and the Workforce Development Fund.
Following negotiations with House Republicans, the bill also includes modifications to the 2023 law restricting noncompete clauses in employment contracts, creating exceptions for employees earning $200,000 or more in research and development positions and those with salaries of $500,000 in other fields.
The bill is headed to a conference committee to reconcile differences with the Senate’s version.
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