Legal documents obtained by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS show that a state lawmaker received more than $108,000 in a separation agreement with her former employer.

As we previously reported last week, the House DFL voted to approve more than $10,000 in legal fees for state lawmaker Rep. Bianca Virnig, who negotiated a settlement with her former private employer.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS obtained the agreement her attorneys negotiated, which shows Rep. Virnig was paid $108,224.

The agreement also states that her decision to leave her job was “mutual” and that the settlement was reached in an “amicable manner.” It further stipulates that each side will be responsible for its own legal fees.

Virnig says she left her employer, BrightWorks, after they dramatically cut her hours and pay when she was elected in 2023.

The agreement also stressed the two sides were to “endeavor to avoid publicizing this agreement” to the extent allowed under Minnesota law. DFL leaders on the House Rules Committee declined to release the detailed agreement before approving $10,391.40 in legal fees paid by taxpayers.

This all started when Rep. Bianca Virnig of Eagan was elected to the House as a Democrat in a special election and sworn in last January, serving a district in the Eagan-Mendota Heights area. Her new position as a state lawmaker created a conflict with her employer, Brightworks, which, according to its website, is a nonprofit established by the Minnesota Legislature in 1976 to provide services to public schools and school districts.

“When she returned to her employment her employer dramatically cut back her hours and her pay based on her new job she held as a part-time state legislator,” Rep. Jamie Long, DFL Majority Leader, said at a House Rules Committee meeting on Tuesday last week. “Since this was related to her work as a Minnesota representative we are proposing we pay for those legal costs.”

That proposed payment of legal fees by taxpayers previously generated protests from Republicans on the committee.

“I don’t see why we should be paying for her legal fees and as we’ve just heard it’s never been done before and I just find this to be troubling,” said Rep. Jim Nash (R — Waconia).

“I have no idea why taxpayers should be on the hook with it, especially when we don’t even know what the settlement is,” Rep. Kristin Robbins (R — Maple Grove) said during the virtual committee hearing. “Did she get a settlement for $10,000? $100,000? A million dollars?”

We now know the settlement figure was more than $108,000. The committee approved the legal fee payment on a 9-to-5 vote, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans voting against.

In an interview with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, House GOP Speaker-designate Lisa Demuth said, “We received a copy of the settlement agreement and it was shocking. It is a resignation agreement between a private employer and a sitting representative, but it was an agreement that was made and now the taxpayers are on the hook for the legal fees.”

She added: “Even though the House has been now put on the hook to pay those private legal fees, we were not party to this agreement nor did we ever see it. That is why this is absolutely wrong for Minnesota taxpayers to be on the hook for this.”

When asked about what her next steps would be, she stated, “I will be sending a letter on Monday to the chair of the Rules Committee, Jamie Long … asking him to call a special rules meeting to revisit this issue. I would like to see it reversed.”

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to the House DFL Caucus for comment from DFL leaders or Rep. Virnig, and they said, “We will take a pass on the opportunity.”

You can view the full resignation agreement below: