A Minnesota panel tasked with creating pay levels for nursing facilities approved a minimum wage for all nursing home workers Monday, following a concerted push from consumer advocates and union workers.
The minimum wage varies based on position, but all workers would have to be paid at least $20.50 per hour. Certified nursing assistants would have to be paid at least $24 per hour and licensed practical nurses would receive at least $28.50 an hour.
The pay rule comes on the heels of a finalized national staffing mandate, which has raised provider leader concerns about increasing costs.
“For the past three years we have been urging our lawmakers to allocate state monies dedicated to raise wages for all of our caregivers to $25 per hour,” said Toby Pearson, president and CEO of Care Providers of Minnesota, in a statement provided to McKnight’s. “While it’s good to see others joining our push for higher wages, a wage floor without a legislative allocation to support the increases could have disastrous impacts on senior care organizations and those we serve.”
The state minimum wage will be implemented in phases — taking full effect Jan. 1, 2027. Nursing homes will have to meet a $19 minimum wage by Jan. 1, 2026, with floors of $22.50 for CNAs and $27 for LPNs. The board’s ruling will also guarantee 11 paid holidays.
The rule still needs to go through a public comment period and be finalized before officially taking effect.
The measure was approved by six of the nine board members. Worker and government representatives voted for the rule while long-term care sector representatives abstained from the vote.
Counting the cost
The minimum wage rule would fall short of the mark of $25 for all workers demanded by advocates and unions earlier this year. Estimates by the workforce board forecast slightly more than half of all nursing home workers will receive a raise as a result of the minimum wage.
Worker advocates hope the new wage rule will promote higher staffing levels in the state.
“There simply aren’t enough people willing to do this work for the wages that are being paid,” said Jamie Gulley, president of the SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa and a worker’s representative on the labor board.
Providers, meanwhile, have not opposed the idea of higher wages but have consistently advocated for more state funding to offset the costs to the struggling sector.
“We estimate that the unfunded wage standards being proposed by the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board will cost nursing facilities around $50 million per year over the first four years,” Pearson said. “We have serious concerns about how lack of funding for these wage increases would further diminish access to care in communities across Minnesota.”
Pearson estimated that only 10% of Minnesota providers can meet the requirements of the final federal staffing rule and highlighted the difficulties providers may face adapting to both the federal mandate and the new state wage rule.
“It is deeply concerning to consider the effect both of these state and federal mandates will have on Minnesota’s senior care community when coupled with the complete lack of investment to support them,” he said. “At a time when our senior population is growing and demand for long-term care is rising, we must work together on local, state, and federal levels to ensure care remains accessible for all Minnesotans.”
While many states do not have a nursing home-specific wage rules, states such as California and Illinois have implemented minimums or other sliding pay scales that increase workers’ compensation based on experience.
