Purpose

This bill updates rules about who can use public titles like “social work” or “social worker” and how social workers must present themselves to the public. It aims to ensure that people who present themselves with these titles are properly educated or licensed, especially for county government employees, and it tightens rules against misleading representations about licensure or qualifications.

Main Provisions

• Public title use for social workers

  • The bill keeps the allowance that some social workers in city, county, and state agencies can work with their titles, but adds stricter public presentation rules.
  • It requires that, for county agency workers, only those who are licensed or who have the proper degrees can be presented to the public with titles containing “social work” or “social worker,” with certain grandfathering dates (see below).

• New licensing and title rules for county workers

  • Beginning July 1, 2026, a county agency social worker who does not have either:
  • a baccalaureate or graduate degree in social work, or
  • a license under Minnesota’s social work licensing chapter must not be presented to the public using any title that includes “social work” or “social worker,” unless they were employed by the county agency before July 1, 2027.
  • This change does not affect rights or benefits already agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement ratified before July 1, 2026.

• Representations and license designation

  • From July 1, 2016, no one may be publicly represented as a social worker or use a title that includes “social work” or “social worker” unless they are employed by a county and meet the licensing or education requirements.
  • When a social worker is named in professional contexts, they must use the correct license designation (examples include LSW, LGSW, LISW, LICSW, and LICSW for different licensed levels).
  • Public statements or advertisements must be truthful and not misleading, deceptive, or exploitative of clients or the public.
  • Social workers must not:
  • use licensure status as a promise or guarantee of service success,
  • obtain a license by cheating or deception,
  • make false statements or misrepresentations to the licensing board or in official materials,
  • engage in conduct that could deceive or defraud clients, former clients, interns, supervisees, or the public.

• Use of titles within counties

  • Section 3 reiterates that no one may be presented to the public with titles containing “social work” or “social worker” unless they are employed by a county and meet the licensing/education requirements.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Tightening of title usage for county social workers: Moving toward ensuring county employees who hold themselves out with social work titles are properly licensed or have the appropriate degree, with specific cutoffs and grandfathering.
• Expanded requirements for representations: Stronger rules about how social workers may identify themselves in professional settings, including mandatory license designations.
• Strengthened anti-misrepresentation measures: Explicit prohibitions on misleading advertising, deception, and fraud related to licensure.
• Grandfathering and collective bargaining: Acknowledges ongoing rights under collective bargaining agreements ratified before July 1, 2026, while phasing in more stringent title use for new or affected county employees.

Key Terms and Phrases (Explicitly Mentioned or Inferred)

• social work
• social worker
• county agency social worker
• city/county/state agency social workers
• licensure
• license designations: LSW, LGSW, LISW, LICSW
• licensed independent social worker (LISW)
• licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW)
• professional use of a social worker’s name
• representations
• advertisements
• truthful/untruthful, misleading, false, deceptive, exploitative
• board (licensing/disciplinary body)
• collective bargaining agreement
• grandfathering
• “employed by a county” (as a condition to public title use)
• social work services (as defined in section 148E.010 subdivision 11 paragraph b)

Relevant Terms social work, social worker, county agency, licensure, LSW, LGSW, LISW, LICSW, licensed independent social worker, licensed independent clinical social worker, representations, license designation, public statements, advertisements, truthful, deceptive, collective bargaining agreement, grandfathering, county employment.