Minnesota SNF operators should monitor the pending federal court injunction hearing and CMS review timeline, as both will determine when and whether the new wage mandates take effect.
Trump admin temporarily blocks MN nursing home wage floor
Leah Solo, executive director of the state’s Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board, said at a board meeting Thursday that the Trump administration has reset to day one its 90-day clock to review the wage floor. On Wednesday – day 89 in this 90-day evaluation period – CMS wrote to the state requesting more information, and thus restarting the review.
— MinnPost, April 9, 2026
State’s long-term care providers sue over workforce board’s ‘unchecked power,’ constitutionality
Care Providers of Minnesota and LeadingAge Minnesota have filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to block the state’s Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board from imposing any existing or new rules. The associations and Yona on Wednesday asked the US District Court for Minnesota to declare the act, the board’s structure and its actions unconstitutional.
— McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, March 16, 2026
The board crafted a $19 minimum wage for workers without nursing credentials such as housekeepers, chefs and dietary aides. This wage floor climbs to $20.50 in 2027. For certified nursing assistants, the minimum wage is $22.50 per hour, jumping to $24 an hour in 2027. Trained medication aides get $23.50 beginning in January and $25 in 2027. The highest wage floor is for licensed practical nurses, who are set to make at least $27 in 2026, and $28.50 the year after that.
— MinnPost, October 2025
How labor unions revived New Deal model for nursing home staff
“We were the driving advocacy group for the standards board to exist,” said Jamie Gulley, president of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa, a union that represents 40 nursing homes across the state. “The nursing home is the lowest paid segment of our membership universe.”
— MinnPost, October 2025
Regulators pushed for $25 per hour nursing home minimum wage
Labor advocates are pushing Minnesota’s Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board to implement a $25 minimum wage for all staff, among other measures aimed at supporting a struggling care workforce. The state regulatory board has the authority to set mandated wage levels and training requirements for facilities, but not to approve additional funding. That disparity has been a cause for concern for long-term care leaders in the state since the board was created in May 2023.
— McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, February 21, 2024
