Minnesota now allows teachers, to file for unemployment during summer break

A first in the nation move, Minnesota is now allowing for teachers and releated workers to file for unemployment on summer break.

The change could affect around 60,000 workers in K-12 schools and 5,000 people at higher education institutions, said bill sponsor Rep. Emma Greenman, DFL-Minneapolis. But how many people apply remains to be seen, she said, and the state will monitor this year’s numbers.

“We are ending an 80-year exclusion of hourly school workers from our unemployment system,” Greenman said. “We are the first state in the nation to do this and we know we will not be the last.”

Illinois temporarily made a similar change during the pandemic, but it ended in 2021.

Minnesota’s unemployment system is called the Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Program. It is administered by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

If you might be affected check out the steps to apply for Minnesota Unemployment Insurance help here.