The State of Minnesota is providing bonus pay for eligible COVID-19 frontline workers, which may include SPPS employees who meet the program’s criteria. It is anticipated the application will be open June 8 through July 22, 2022. SPPS staff will receive more information when the program details have been finalized. Sign up to receive updates about Frontline Worker Pay.

Eligibility criteria for Frontline Worker Pay are set forth in the Frontline Worker Pay law. If you are unsure if you are eligible, you should review the law and guidance and truthfully fill in and submit the application during the 45-day application period.

To be eligible for Frontline Worker Pay, the applicant:

• must have been employed at least 120 hours in Minnesota in one or more frontline sectors between March 15, 2020, and June 30, 2021.
• for the hours worked during this time period the applicant –
• was not able to telework due to the nature of the individual's work and
• worked in close proximity to people outside of the individual's household;
• must meet the income requirements for at least one year between Dec. 31, 2019, and Jan. 1, 2022 –
• workers with direct COVID-19 patient care responsibilities must have had an adjusted gross income of less than $350,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly, or less than $175,000 for other filers and
• for workers in occupations without direct COVID-19 patient care responsibilities, the adjusted gross income limit is $185,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly, or $85,000 for other filers; and
• must not have received an unemployment insurance benefit payment for more than 20 weeks on a cumulative basis for weeks between March 15, 2020, and June 26, 2021 (Minnesota Statutes, section 268.085, subdivision 1, clause 6).

The frontline sectors include:

• long-term care and home care;
• health care;
• emergency responders;
• public health, social service, and regulatory service;
• courts and corrections;
• child care;
• schools, including charter schools, state schools and higher education;
• food service, including production, processing, preparation, sale and delivery;
• retail, including sales, fulfillment, distribution and delivery;
• temporary shelters and hotels;
• building services, including maintenance, janitorial and security;
• public transit;
• ground and air transportation services;
• manufacturing; and
• vocational rehabilitation.