On Tuesday, the Rules Committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives authorized a $10,391.40 payment to the legal counsel of State Rep. Bianca Virnig, DFL-Eagan.
The motion to approve the payment was passed by a 9-5 vote which fell along party lines; DFLers voting in favor, Republicans voting against. As such, taxpayer dollars coming from the House will be used to pay Virnig’s legal counsel.
WATCH: Democrats on the Minnesota House Rules Committee approved using $10,000 in taxpayer funds to pay for the legal fees of Rep. Bianca Virnig in a private employment dispute pic.twitter.com/rrvRHULju7
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) December 3, 2024
The payment was issued to cover legal fees that resulted from a dispute Virnig reportedly had with her then-employer that arose from her status as a state legislator.
During the committee meeting, DFL House Majority Leader Jamie Long moved to approve the payment and gave some background on the situation. According to Long, Virnig was an employee of an organization that drastically reduced her hours and pay after she was elected to the House last year.
That change in Virnig’s job reportedly occurred because she had taken on the new role as a state legislator. Later in the meeting, Long identified Virnig’s then-employer as BrightWorks.
A “nonprofit educational cooperative,” BrightWorks provides education services, programs, and resources to school districts and other members of its network. Virnig worked as the director of health and safety at the organization.
After the alleged change in her job, Virnig and BrightWorks reportedly began negotiating a separation of employment settlement over the matter. According to Long, the $10,391.40 payment to Virnig’s legal counsel is to cover her legal fees that resulted from the dispute.
Answering a question on the subject, the majority leader mentioned that no lawsuit was filed in the employment dispute involving Virnig and her former employer. Instead, the matter was reportedly handled as a negotiated legal settlement.
Discussing the situation and the payment, Long said, “We are proposing that we pay for those legal costs, as other employers would in other legal disputes.” The majority leader further explained that because the dispute arose from Virnig’s status as a legislator, it was appropriate for the House to pay the sum.
While legislators from both sides of the aisle expressed their support for Virnig in her situation with the employer, Republicans on the Rules Committee voiced opposition to the payment.
Among their criticisms, the GOP legislators said that the situation involving Rep. Virnig and her former employer was a private matter. As such, the Republicans said that Minnesota taxpayers should not be on the hook for the payment.
Additionally, GOP lawmakers questioned why the legal fees would not be paid as part of the settlement and expressed concerns that the payment would set a bad precedent.
In the middle of the hearing, the GOP attempted to table the motion in order to learn more about the situation and see the settlement. However, DFL legislators voted down those efforts.
Ultimately, the motion to pay Virnig’s legal counsel was approved by the Rules Committee.
Alpha News reached out to Virnig, BrightWorks, and the leadership of the House DFL Caucus for this story. However, none of those entities responded to media inquiries.
State lawmakers in Minnesota are considered part-time legislators because the Minnesota Legislature meets only a few months out of the year. Many members of the Minnesota House and Senate have other jobs outside of the legislature that they work when they are not in St. Paul.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
