Thousands of Minnesota nursing home workers got a raise Thursday, as new state-mandated minimum wages took effect for the first time, setting hourly pay floors that range from $19 for general workers up to $27 for Licensed Practical Nurses. The increase, which also sets minimums of $22.50 for Certified Nursing Assistants and $23.50 for Trained Medication Aides, marks the first binding wage standard of its kind in the nation.
The rates were established by Minnesota's Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board following federal Medicaid approval, according to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. As reported by MPR News, MPR host Cathy Wurzer spoke with board chair Jamie Gulley about the pay increase and its significance. The new minimums include $19 for general workers and $27 for Licensed Practical Nurses.
More Raises Already on the Calendar
The pay floors are not static. Nursing home workers are scheduled to receive an additional across-the-board increase of $1.50 per hour on January 1, 2027, pushing general worker minimum pay to $20.50, CNAs to $24.00, TMAs to $25.00, and LPNs to $28.50, per the state labor department's breakdown of the multi-step schedule.
Union officials with SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa say the reach of the new floor is substantial. Direct care and support staff in nursing homes have historically ranked among the lowest-paid healthcare workers in Minnesota, and unions representing those workers say they pushed for the new wage floor for years.
How the Board Came to Be
The Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board itself was created by the Minnesota Legislature during its 2023 session under Governor Tim Walz, forming a nine-member panel made up of three state agency officials, three labor representatives and three employer representatives. Per SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, the board's creation followed years of labor advocacy and persistent post-pandemic staffing shortages, and it made Minnesota the first state to establish a board with binding rulemaking power over nursing home pay and working conditions.
Getting to Thursday's rollout wasn't smooth. The wage increases were originally supposed to take effect January 1, 2026, but were delayed eight months while regulators awaited approval from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The agency officially signed off on Minnesota's State Plan Amendment on August 11, 2026, unlocking roughly $74 million in combined federal and state Medicaid reimbursement funds, according to Becker's Hospital Review. The Minnesota Legislature had appropriated $37 million to match the federal Medicaid money to fund higher provider reimbursement rates.
Back Pay and Legal Fights Along the Way
To cushion the financial uncertainty caused by that federal delay, the Minnesota Legislature passed a bipartisan $400 wage supplement agreement providing one-time direct back-pay checks to affected nursing home workers, with union leaders and employer associations jointly backing the temporary relief measure, the same source notes.
The board also survived a legal challenge just weeks before the wage floor took hold. On August 17, 2026, U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel dismissed a federal lawsuit filed by industry groups LeadingAge Minnesota and Care Providers of Minnesota that sought to dissolve the board, rejecting arguments that it violated First Amendment and due-process protections, according to Legal Newsline. Care provider coalitions had argued that mandatory wage floors without sufficient funding guarantees could force struggling facilities to shut down.
This was not the board's first mandate to draw industry pushback. Effective January 1, 2025, the board had already required Minnesota nursing homes to pay staff time-and-a-half wages for all hours worked across 11 state-recognized holidays, a rule that survived its own federal court challenge in May 2025, per the state labor department.
How It Stacks Up Against Home Care Pay
The new nursing home wage floor also puts facility-based pay in a different position relative to home-based eldercare. Minnesota home care personal care assistants represented by SEIU also saw wage increases under state budget agreements, reflecting broad pressure on lawmakers to raise pay across both home-based and facility-based care settings.
The wage floor also lands amid visible strain elsewhere in the state's long-term care system. In July, Ramsey County District Court placed the Terrace at Crystal nursing home under emergency state receivership after severe inspection violations and staffing shortages prompted the Minnesota Department of Health to bring in an outside contractor to manage daily operations at the 58-resident facility. The wage increases come as industry concerns about tight margins and closures persist.
