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NHWSB minimum-wage, holiday pay rules

2026 minimum-wage rules

Minimum-wage standards for Minnesota nursing homes

In 2025, the Minnesota Legislature approved funding for minimum-wage standards for nursing home workers.

Occupation Jan. 1, 2026,
minimum hourly wage*		 Jan. 1, 2027,
minimum hourly wage
General employee $19.00 $20.50
Certified nursing assistant $22.50 $24.00
Trained medical assistant $23.50 $25.00
Licensed practical nurse $27.00 $28.50

*If federal approval is obtained by Dec. 1, 2025, these standards will be in effect Jan. 1, 2026. Otherwise, they will be in effect 30 days after federal approval.

A Notice of Intent to Adopt Proposed Expedited Permanent Rules Without A Public Hearing was published in the June 24, 2024, edition of the State Register. 

The Notice of Adoption of Expedited Permanent Rules Establishing Minimum Nursing Home Wage Standards was published in the State Register Oct. 28, 2024. The earliest they will be implemented is Jan. 1, 2026.

View a copy of the rules as adopted.

Holiday pay rules

The holiday pay rules for nursing home employees became effective Jan. 1, 2025. The rules state:  Nursing home workers who work on 11 state holidays are paid at least time and a half. Each holiday includes all hours from midnight to midnight.

  1. New Year's Day, Jan. 1

  2. Martin Luther King's Birthday, the third Monday in January

  3. Washington's and Lincoln's Birthday, the third Monday in February

  4. Memorial Day, the last Monday in May

  5. Juneteenth, June 19

  6. Independence Day, July 4

  7. Labor Day, the first Monday in September

  8. Indigenous Peoples' Day, the second Monday in October

  9. Veterans Day, Nov. 11

  10. Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November

  11. Christmas Day, Dec. 25

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