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A bill for an act
relating to unemployment insurance; adopting additional benefits for certain iron
ore mining employees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
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IRON ORE MINING ADDITIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
PROGRAM.
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Subdivision 1.
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Availability of additional benefits.
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Additional unemployment benefits
are available from the Minnesota unemployment insurance trust fund to an applicant who
was laid off due to lack of work on or after November 1, 2025, and before March 15, 2026,
from:
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(1) an employer in the iron ore mining industry that laid off 40 percent or more of the
employer's workforce on or after March 15, 2025, and before June 16, 2025; or
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(2) an employer that is in the explosive manufacturing industry and providing goods or
services to an employer in the iron ore mining industry, if the applicant was laid off due to
the cessation or substantial reduction in operations of an employer in the iron ore mining
industry as described in clause (1).
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Subd. 2.
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Eligibility requirements.
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An applicant is eligible to receive additional
unemployment benefits under this section for any week through the week ending March
20, 2027, if:
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(1) the applicant established a benefit account under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.07,
with 50 percent or greater of the wage credits from an employer as described in subdivision
1, and has exhausted the maximum amount of regular unemployment benefits available on
that benefit account; and
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(2) the applicant meets the same requirements that an applicant for regular unemployment
benefits must meet under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.069, subdivision 1.
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Subd. 3.
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Weekly and maximum amount of additional unemployment benefits.
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(a)
The weekly benefit amount of additional unemployment benefits is the same as the weekly
benefit amount of regular unemployment benefits on the benefit account established in
subdivision 2, clause (1).
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(b) The maximum amount of additional unemployment benefits available to an applicant
under this section is an amount equal to 26 weeks of payment at the applicant's weekly
additional unemployment benefit amount.
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(c) If an applicant qualifies for a new regular benefit account that meets the requirements
of subdivision 4, paragraph (b), before the applicant has been paid additional unemployment
benefits, and the new regular benefit account meets the requirements of subdivision 2, clause
(1), the applicant's weekly additional unemployment benefit amount is equal to the weekly
unemployment benefit amount on the applicant's new regular benefit account.
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Subd. 4.
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Qualifying for a new regular benefit account.
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(a) If, after exhausting the
maximum amount of regular unemployment benefits available as a result of the layoff under
subdivision 1, an applicant qualifies for the new regular benefit account under Minnesota
Statutes, section 268.07, the applicant must apply for and establish the new regular benefit
account.
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(b) If the applicant's weekly benefit amount under the new regular benefit account is
equal to or higher than the applicant's weekly additional unemployment benefit amount, the
applicant must request unemployment benefits under the new regular benefit account. An
applicant is ineligible for additional unemployment benefits under this section until the
applicant has exhausted the maximum amount of unemployment benefits available on the
new regular benefit account.
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(c) If the applicant's weekly unemployment benefit amount on the new regular benefit
account is less than the applicant's weekly benefit amount of additional unemployment
benefits, the applicant must request additional unemployment benefits. An applicant is
ineligible for new regular unemployment benefits until the applicant has exhausted the
maximum amount of additional unemployment benefits available under this section.
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Subd. 5.
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Eligibility for federal Trade Readjustment Allowance benefits.
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An applicant
who has applied and been determined eligible for federal Trade Readjustment Allowance
benefits is not eligible for additional unemployment benefits under this section.
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EFFECTIVE DATE.
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This section is effective retroactively from November 1, 2025.
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