What are nurses fighting for at the Capitol in 2025? Safe Staffing & Transparent Care
Quality Patient Care Act (SF2775, HF2289):
Authors: Sen. Lindsey Port, Rep. Pete Johnson
- Staffing levels have a direct effect on patient outcomes. Short staffing endangers both patients and nurses, and is a conscious decision made by hospital leadership.
- Staffing legislation would establish minimum statewide nurse staffing standards, ensuring hospitals have adequate staff to provide safe care for patients and shielding hospital workers from retaliation when raising concerns.
Protect Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML):
- The PFML program must be implemented as planned, without delays or modifications.
- Any changes or postponements would negatively impact patients, healthcare workers, and families.
- As MNA nurses prepare for bargaining with the largest hospital systems in Minnesota, a delay to the PFML program undermines those efforts and further tips the scales in favor of the bosses in this year’s negotiations.
Reject the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC):
- Key nursing regulations would be decided behind closed doors, bypassing state legislators and the Board of Nursing.
- Rural communities could see their local, in-person care replaced with telehealth or remote care.
- Minnesota already has an efficient system for licensing out-of-state nurses quickly and effectively.
- The NLC would not bring more nurses back to the bedside and could result in current nurses leaving for other states.
Support the Hospital Community Benefits Act:
- Many “nonprofit” hospitals avoid paying millions in taxes while failing to provide transparency or accountability for their contributions to the community.
- Hospitals must be responsible for adequate staffing, positive patient outcomes, and prioritizing community health.
- This bill would require hospitals to disclose staffing levels, patient safety data, financial details on subsidiary entities, and workforce statistics to ensure accountability and improve care.
- ESST protections must remain intact, without reductions.
- Nurses understand that allowing workers time to recover from illness, ensure personal safety, or care for their families without fear of punishment is essential for a healthier society.
Protect Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST):
- ESST protections must remain intact, without reductions.
- Nurses understand that allowing workers time to recover from illness, ensure personal safety, or care for their families without fear of punishment is essential for a healthier society.