Office of the Revisor of Statutes
HF 500
2nd Engrossment - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026)
Posted on 03/12/2025 12:33 p.m.
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A bill for an act
relating to labor; modifying the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 181.212, subdivision 7; 181.213,
subdivisions 1, 2, 3; 181.214, subdivision 1; 181.215, subdivision 2.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 181.212, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7.
Voting.
The affirmative vote of five board members is required for the board
to take deleted text begin anydeleted text end actiondeleted text begin , includingdeleted text end new text begin . An affirmative vote of, at minimum, six board members is
required fornew text end actions necessary to establish minimum nursing home employment standards
under section 181.213deleted text begin . At least two of the five affirmative votes must be cast by the
commissioner members or the commissioner's appointees.deleted text end new text begin , including at least:
new text end
new text begin
(1) two votes cast by members who are commissioners or commissioners' designees;
new text end
new text begin
(2) two votes cast by members who represent nursing home employers or employer
organizations; and
new text end
new text begin
(3) two votes cast by members who represent nursing home workers or worker
organizations.
new text end
Sec. 2.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 181.213, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
Authority to establish minimum nursing home employment
standards.
(a) The board must adopt rules establishing minimum nursing home employment
standards that are reasonably necessary and appropriate to protect the health and welfare
of nursing home workers, to ensure that nursing home workers are properly trained about
and fully informed of their rights under sections 181.211 to 181.217, and to otherwise satisfy
the purposes of sections 181.211 to 181.217. Standards established by the board must include
standards on compensation for nursing home workers, and may include recommendations
under paragraph (c). The board may not adopt standards that are less protective of or
beneficial to nursing home workers as any other applicable statute or rule or any standard
previously established by the board unless there is a determination by the board under
subdivision 2 that existing standards exceed the operating payment rate and external fixed
costs payment rates included in the most recent budget and economic forecast completed
under section 16A.103. In establishing standards under this section, the board must establish
statewide standards, and may adopt standards that apply to specific nursing home occupations.
(b) The board must adopt rules establishing initial standards for wages for nursing home
workers no later than November 1, 2024. deleted text begin The board may use the authority in section 14.389
to adopt rules under this paragraph.deleted text end The board shall consult with the department in the
development of these standards prior to beginning the rule adoption process.
(c) To the extent that any minimum standards that the board finds are reasonably
necessary and appropriate to protect the health and welfare of nursing home workers fall
within the jurisdiction of chapter 182, the board shall not adopt rules establishing the
standards but shall instead recommend the occupational health and safety standards to the
commissioner. The commissioner shall adopt nursing home health and safety standards
under section 182.655 as recommended by the board, unless the commissioner determines
that the recommended standard is outside the statutory authority of the commissioner,
presents enforceability challenges, is infeasible to implement, or is otherwise unlawful and
issues a written explanation of this determination.
Sec. 3.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 181.213, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2.
Investigation of market conditions.
(a) The board must investigate market
conditions and the existing wages, benefits, and working conditions of nursing home workers
for specific geographic areas of the state and specific nursing home occupations. Based on
this information, the board must seek to adopt minimum nursing home employment standards
that meet or exceed existing industry conditions for a majority of nursing home workers in
the relevant geographic area and nursing home occupation. deleted text begin Except for standards exceeding
the threshold determined in paragraph (d), initial employment standards established by the
board are effective beginning January 1, 2025, and shall remain in effect until any subsequent
standards are adopted by rules.
deleted text end
(b) The board must consider the following types of information in making determinations
that employment standards are reasonably necessary to protect the health and welfare of
nursing home workers:
(1) wage rate and benefit data collected by or submitted to the board for nursing home
workers in the relevant geographic area and nursing home occupations;
(2) statements showing wage rates and benefits paid to nursing home workers in the
relevant geographic area and nursing home occupations;
(3) signed collective bargaining agreements applicable to nursing home workers in the
relevant geographic area and nursing home occupations;
(4) testimony and information from current and former nursing home workers, worker
organizations, nursing home employers, and employer organizations;
(5) local minimum nursing home employment standards;
(6) information submitted by or obtained from state and local government entities; and
(7) any other information pertinent to establishing minimum nursing home employment
standards.
(c) In considering wage and benefit increases, the board must determine the impact of
nursing home operating payment rates determined pursuant to section 256R.21, subdivision
3, and the employee benefits portion of the external fixed costs payment rate determined
pursuant to section 256R.25. deleted text begin If the board, in consultation with the commissioner of human
services, determines the operating payment rate and employee benefits portion of the external
fixed costs payment rate will increase to comply with the new employment standards, the
board shall report to the legislature the increase in funding needed to increase payment rates
to comply with the new employment standards and must make implementation of any new
nursing home employment standards contingent upon an appropriation, as determined by
sections 256R.21 and 256R.25, to fund the rate increase necessary to comply with the new
employment standards.
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(d) In evaluating the impact of the employment standards on payment rates determined
by sections 256R.21 and 256R.25, the board, in consultation with the commissioner of
human services, must consider the following:
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(1) the statewide average wage rates for employees pursuant to section 256R.10,
subdivision 5, and benefit rates pursuant to section 256R.02, subdivisions 18 and 22, as
determined by the annual Medicaid cost report used to determine the operating payment
rate and the employee benefits portion of the external fixed costs payment rate for the first
day of the calendar year immediately following the date the board has established minimum
wage and benefit levels;
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(2) compare the results of clause (1) to the operating payment rate and employee benefits
portion of the external fixed costs payment rate increase for the first day of the second
calendar year after the adoption of any nursing home employment standards included in the
most recent budget and economic forecast completed under section 16A.103; and
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(3) if the established nursing home employment standards result in an increase in costs
that exceed the operating payment rate and external fixed costs payment rate increase
included in the most recent budget and economic forecast completed under section 16A.103,
effective on the proposed implementation date of the new nursing home employment
standards, the board must determine if the rates will need to be increased to meet the new
employment standards and the standards must not be effective until an appropriation sufficient
to cover the rate increase and federal approval of the rate increase is obtained.
deleted text end
deleted text begin
(e) The budget and economic forecasts completed under section 16A.103 shall not
assume an increase in payment rates determined under chapter
deleted text end
deleted text begin
256R
deleted text end
deleted text begin
resulting from the new
employment standards until the board certifies the rates will need to be increased and the
legislature appropriates funding for the increase in payment rates.
deleted text end
new text begin
(d) No standard, including Minnesota Rules, parts 5200.2060, 5200.2070, 5200.2080,
and 5200.2090, shall take effect unless the cost of the standard to each nursing facility
reimbursed under chapter 256R is estimated and paid for as described in paragraph (e).
new text end
new text begin
(e) When determining the cost estimates and the required new appropriation for any
standard approved by the board, the commissioner of human services must:
new text end
new text begin
(1) estimate each facility's rate impact in relation to the new standard. The estimate must
be facility-specific and based on information provided to the commissioner in a form and
manner determined by the commissioner about current wage rates at each facility;
new text end
new text begin
(2) when determining the total and facility-specific costs to meet the standard, include:
new text end
new text begin
(i) the increased costs to wages;
new text end
new text begin
(ii) the employer's share of FICA taxes, Medicare taxes, state and federal unemployment
taxes, workers' compensation, pensions, and contributions to employee retirement accounts
cost increases attributable to a standard; and
new text end
new text begin
(iii) the indirect costs, as defined by the board, resulting from the implementation of a
standard; and
new text end
new text begin
(3) adjust nursing facility rates by the amounts determined in clause (2), items (i) to (iii),
on the first day of the previous month before the implementation date of a standard.
new text end
new text begin
(f) Payments to facilities under this section shall be included in the external fixed costs
payment rate under section 256R.25.
new text end
new text begin
(g) If the legislature does not approve an appropriation under this section, the new
standard approved by the board does not take effect.
new text end
Sec. 4.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 181.213, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3.
Review of standards.
At least once every two years, the board shall:
(1) conduct a full review of the adequacy of the minimum nursing home employment
standards previously established by the board; and
(2) following that review, adopt new rules, amend or repeal existing rules, or make
recommendations to adopt new rules or amend or repeal existing rules for minimum nursing
home employment standards deleted text begin using the expedited rulemaking process in section 14.389deleted text end , as
appropriate to meet the purposes of sections 181.211 to 181.217.
Sec. 5.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 181.214, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
Certification of worker organizationsnew text begin and employer organizationsnew text end .
The
board shall certify worker organizations new text begin and employer organizations new text end that it finds are qualified
to provide training to nursing home workers according to this section. The board shall by
rule establish certification criteria that a worker organization new text begin or employer organization new text end must
meet in order to be certified and provide a process for renewal of certification upon the
board's review of the worker organization's new text begin or employer organization's new text end compliance with
this section. deleted text begin In adopting rules to establish certification criteria under this subdivision, the
board may use the authority in section 14.389.deleted text end The criteria must ensure that a worker
organizationnew text begin or employer organizationnew text end , if certified, is able to provide:
(1) effective, interactive training on the information required by this section; and
(2) follow-up written materials and responses to inquiries from nursing home workers
in the languages in which nursing home workers are proficient.
Sec. 6.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 181.215, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2.
Minimum content and posting requirements.
The board must adopt rules
deleted text begin under section 14.389deleted text end specifying the minimum content and posting requirements for the
notices required in subdivision 1. The board must make available to nursing home employers
a template or sample notice that satisfies the requirements of this section and rules adopted
under this section.