Minnesotans "Hero Pay" Might Have To Be Paid Back

HERO PAY

If you received 'Hero Pay' from the State, you may have to pay it back.

Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans who received 'Hero Pay' may not have been eligible to receive it; although I DO believe most of these people thought that they deserved Hero Pay like anyone else who had to work with the public through the pandemic.

If you'll recall, anyone who felt they deserved 'Hero Pay' during the COVID-19 pandemic could fill out an online application and ask for a piece of the pie. In the end, approximately one million so-called 'frontline workers' received a payout after applying for working through the pandemic.

The state thought that there would be about 667,000 people eligible and that they each would get around $750. Instead, each person who applied received $487.45.

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THE REPORT FROM THE OFFICE OF THE LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR

According to a new report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor:

"We concluded that the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), the agency tasked with overseeing and implementing the Minnesota Frontline Worker Pay Program, did not comply with requirements for the program. The Legislature should consider the amount of risk the state is willing to accept when establishing programs quickly and with eligibility conditions that rely on self-attestation."

SORRY NOT SORRY

According to the audit, 40% of those who received hero pay did not have their eligibility confirmed. Unemployment requirements and adjusted gross income are already accessible for the Department of Revenue, but there were other eligibility requirements they asked for, that were pretty much based on the 'honor system.'

No surprise, that politicians are pointing fingers at their opposing parties. What might be another surprise is if they are going to do anything about it. Will those who are not considered qualified, going to have to pay the money back, and if so, what are they going to do with that extra money? Will it then be distributed again to those that they feel deserve it in the first place?

RECOMMENDATIONS MOVING FORWARD

Accorindg to the documents from the Department of Labor and Industry, The Department of Labor and Industry approved frontline worker payments to individuals whose applications contained fraud indicators without investigating whether the applicants were legitimate.

A recommendation to remedy the problem was that the Department of Revenue should recoup payments made to applicants who received a payment using the identity of another individual, and they should thoroughly review all applications with fraud indicators to determine whether payments were made to ineligible applicants.

The Minnesota Frontline Worker Pay Program was created to "provide payments to frontline workers whose work put them at rist of contracting COVID-19 during the peacetime emergency declared by the Governor. It was designed to provide up to $1500 in compensation to individuals working in one or more 'frontline sectors' during the pandemic.

QUALIFICATIONS

Did you receive Hero Pay, and now are wondering if you truly qualified? The eligibility requirements are as follows:
Be employed for at least 120 hours in Minnesota in one or more frontline sectors during the time period beginning March 15th, 2020 and ending June 30th of 2021.
Were not able to telework due to the nature of the individual's work and worked in close proximity to individuals outside of the individual's household.
Meet adjusted gross income requirements.
Did not receive an unemployment benefit insurance payment or serve a nonpayable week for more than 20 weeks on a cumulative basis for the weeks between March 15th, 202 to June 26th, 2021.