Tim Walz admin says people teargassed during riots get taxpayer-funded medical leave

Two members of Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s administration testified that some rioters used the fact that they were exposed to tear gas at demonstrations to qualify for Paid Family and Medical Leave funded by the state’s taxpayers.

During a Tuesday hearing, Democratic Minnesota State Rep. Cedrick Frazier asked Deputy Commissioner Evan Rowe of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development whether applicants to the state’s paid leave program cited “harm and damage” from “chemical munitions” as their reason to “access” benefits.

“The short answer to your question is yes,” Rowe told the lawmaker.

“As would any circumstance that causes injury or harm to the public, I think we have seen applications that have been tied to some of the violence that we saw as a result of Operation Metro Surge,”the deputy commissioner added, referring to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement presence in Minnesota.

“As you would expect of people who suffered serious injury … I guess it’s not unexpected … but that is, I think, one benefit of having this program is that people who have been seriously injured now have the ability to receive, take time for care. I don’t know if there’s any additional details,” Rowe said.

“It’s relatively hard to quantify, but we do have evidence from calls to our contact center, through references on serious health care condition forms that specifically reference Operation Metro Surge as a contributing factor to the need for leave,” Minnesota Paid Family and Medical Leave Program Director Greg Norfleet, a Walz appointee, followed up.

Norfleet also cited “questions from the community, including individual applicants, health care providers and insurers, all of whom have asked about how the program interacts with conditions that come out of the impacts of Operation Metro Surge.”

“So, we do know that this has had an impact on the claims that have come in, but it is relatively hard to quantify,” the program’s director added.

Approved applicants for Minnesota’s paid leave program can take up to 12 weeks per year for either medical or family leave, according to the program’s website. If an applicant needs both types of leave in the same year, he or she can take a combined total of 20 weeks for an annual period.

“Leave can be taken continuously, in one block of time, or intermittently, in smaller blocks of time,” the website adds. “Most people will receive between 55% and 90% of their regular wages while on leave, with a maximum amount set at the state’s average wage. Right now, this is $1,423 per week.”