Walz signs bill expanding workers’ compensation for COVID-19 frontline workers

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill that expands eligibility for workers’ compensation to emergency first responders and front line workers who contract COVID-19.

The bill, which passed the Legislature on Tuesday, expands workers’ compensation eligibility for certain workers — which include doctors and nurses, firefighters, paramedics, police and long-term care workers — by creating a presumption that any COVID-19 infections are work-related unless employers can prove otherwise.

House, Senate pass bill ensuring workers comp to first responders with COVID-19

“Our first responders and front-line workers are making tremendous sacrifices — and it’s our duty to protect them as best we can," Walz said in a statement. "This law does exactly that.”