Purpose

This bill aims to establish that emergency managers are essential employees and to redefine who counts as an essential employee under Minnesota law. It creates category-specific definitions of essential workers for state government, the University of Minnesota, and Hennepin Healthcare System, with the goal of ensuring certain staff are available to perform critical public safety and emergency functions during emergencies.

Main provisions and what the bill seeks to accomplish

• Essential employee definition (general)
  • The bill lists several groups as essential employees, including firefighters, peace officers subject to licensure, 911 system and public safety dispatchers, emergency managers, guards at correctional facilities, confidential employees, supervisory employees, assistant county attorneys, assistant city attorneys, principals, and assistant principals.
• State employees
  • For state employees, essential status is limited to: law enforcement, public safety radio communications operators, health care professionals, correctional guards, professional engineering and supervisory collective bargaining units. These categories apply irrespective of severance, and no other state employees are considered essential under this bill.
• University of Minnesota employees
  • For University of Minnesota employees, essential status covers all employees in law enforcement, nursing professional, and supervisory units. These categories apply irrespective of severance, and no other University of Minnesota employees are considered essential.
• Hennepin Healthcare System Inc. employees
  • For Hennepin Healthcare System Inc., essential status means all employees.
• Firefighters
  • Firefighters are defined as salaried employees of a fire department whose duties include directly or indirectly controlling extinguishing, preventing, detecting, or investigating fires.
• Exclusions
  • Employees for whom the state court administrator is the negotiating employer are not considered essential.
• Relationship to existing law
  • The bill reframes who must be available or prioritized during emergencies by expanding or clarifying who is deemed essential, and it introduces different scope rules for state agencies, the University of Minnesota, and a specific health system.

Significant changes to existing law

• Adds emergency managers to the list of essential employees, ensuring their availability during emergencies.
• Creates distinct essential-employee scopes for:
  • State government (a limited set of categories, no broader inclusion beyond those listed)
  • University of Minnesota (limited to law enforcement, nursing, and supervisory units)
  • Hennepin Healthcare System (all employees)
• Introduces explicit exclusions (e.g., employees whose negotiating employer is the state court administrator are not essential).
• Reinforces that certain essential categories are “irrespective of severance,” meaning their essential status applies regardless of severance conditions, while also limiting other employees from being deemed essential.

Practical implications

• In emergencies, more staff across various organizations may be designated as required to report to work, extending or clarifying who is considered essential.
• Public safety and emergency response planning could hinge on these defined roles, with different rules applying to state agencies, the University of Minnesota, and the Hennepin Healthcare System.
• Some workforce groups previously considered in broader terms may be excluded from essential status for state employees, narrowing who is covered in state government operations.

Relevant Terms essential employee emergency managers firefighters peace officers licensure (626.84 to 626.863) 911 system public safety dispatchers guards at correctional facilities confidential employees supervisory employees assistant county attorneys assistant city attorneys principals assistant principals state employees law enforcement public safety radio communications operators health care professionals professional engineering supervisory collective bargaining units irrespective of severance severance University of Minnesota nursing professional Hennepin Healthcare System Inc. state court administrator negotiating employer