Unprecedented minimum wages for thousands of nursing home workers in Minnesota are delayed again. Leah Solo, executive director of the state’s Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board, announced during a board meeting that the Trump administration has reset its review timeline, causing further uncertainty for workers expecting wage increases.
The state law mandates that nursing facility employees earn at least $19 an hour in 2023 and $20.50 by 2027, with licensed nursing staff set to receive higher wages. Solo expressed her regret in sharing the news with the board as they grappled with the implications of this latest development.
This federal review, which comes as the first workforce board of its kind faces a lawsuit from nursing homes, is the second significant delay for the wage adjustments initially set to take effect on January 1st.
Approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is necessary as they will provide $18 million to support the wage increases for Minnesota’s nursing homes, with the state contributing an equal amount.
Under federal Medicaid guidelines, CMS has 90 days to evaluate the wage floor funding request. However, they can extend this timeline if further information is needed. According to Solo, the federal agency reached out to request more documentation just as the review period was about to close, thus restarting the evaluation.
It remains unclear what specific information is needed from state officials. The Department of Human Services has yet to communicate the CMS's requests, and as of Thursday, they were working on a response.
The initial delay in setting the wage floor stemmed from the Department of Human Services lagging in submitting necessary paperwork to CMS. Now, amidst requests for more information and legal challenges from the nursing home industry, the future of wage increases remains uncertain.
Minnesota’s initiative represents a broader trend among labor unions in blue states to establish minimum wages in specific industries. As the first state to target the nursing home industry explicitly, Minnesota is navigating a complex landscape of social programs and industry opposition.
A federal court hearing on the nursing homes' lawsuit against the workforce board is scheduled for next month, as stakeholders continue to debate the implications of the proposed wage laws.
