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League of Minnesota Cities <br />183 University Ave. East <br />St. Paul, MN 55101-2526 <br />(612) 227-5600 (FAX: 221-0986) <br />December 29, 1988 <br />To: City officials and agents <br />From: LMCIT <br />Re: Coverage for injuries to elected officials <br />The workers compensation statutes provide benefits to an <br />"employee" who is injured while working. M.S. 176.011, subd. 9, <br />(5), provides that an elected official is considered to be an <br />"employee" for workers compensation purposes only if the city <br />has passed an ordinance or resolution to that effect. An <br />elected official injured while performing his or her duties <br />would not be eligible for workers compensation benefits unless <br />the city had passed that ordinance or resolution. <br />If the city wishes to provide workers compensation coverage for <br />elected officials, it is preferable to use an ordinance rather <br />than a resolution. Resolutions are often recorded only in the <br />council minutes; years later it can be very difficult and <br />time - consuming to track down a resolution. We've seen a number <br />of cases where a city has been paying premiums for workers <br />compensation coverage for elected officials for years, but now <br />can't find any ordinance or resolution specifying that elected <br />officials are covered. An ordinance will generally be easier to <br />keep track of permanently, since it is also recorded in the <br />city's ordinance book as well as in the council minutes. The <br />following wording can be used for this ordinance: "Pursuant to <br />Minnesota Statutes Section 176.011, subdivision 9, clause 5, the <br />elected officials of the city and those municipal officers <br />appointed for a regular term of office are hereby included in <br />the coverage of the Minnesota Workers Compensation Act." <br />If the city does not wish to cover its elected officials for <br />workers compensation, it might be wise to pass on ordinance to <br />that effect as well unless you are absolutely certain that the <br />city has never passed a resolution to provide coverage. That <br />resolution could have been passed as long ago as 1967, when the <br />law was first amended to permit cities to opt for coverage. <br />In the past, the cost of workers compensation coverage has <br />discouraged many cities from covering their elected officials. <br />LMCIT has now taken a couple of steps to address this issue, as <br />outlined on the following pages. The LMCIT Board would also <br />like to hear from city officials as to whether they would favor <br />amending the statutes to make workers compensation coverage <br />automatic for all elected officials. <br />Page 5 <br />