Employees who set aside money in pretax Dependent Care (daycare), Transit and Medical/Dental expense accounts have until Feb. 29 to complete reimbursement requests 2023 expenses. Dependent Care Expense Account (DCEA) is use it or lose it. You will lose any 2023 funds you didn’t submit eligible receipts for by Feb. 29, 2024. Medical Dental Expense Accounts (MDEA) may allow you to carry over up to $610 if you meet certain requirements. You will lose any amount over $610 if you don’t submit eligible receipts by Feb. 29, 2024. Transit Expense Accounts are Parking (PKEA) and Bus ... Read More >>
Scholarship & Awards Open March 1st
MGEC is opening the opportunity to apply for scholarships (Family Member Scholarships and Connie Minetor Memorial Scholarship). Applications will be accepted starting March 1, 2024, and received by MGEC no later than by 5:00 pm on June 30th, 2024. Winners will be decided by the MGEC Membership Committee in July with announcement in August. MGEC, at their discretion, may award up to $4,000 each calendar year for scholarships, distributed amongst any number of qualified applicants for the Family Member and Connie Minetor Memorial Scholarships. For the MGEC Family Member Scholarship, MGEC will ... Read More >>
President’s Message
Happy New Year from Okinawa! First and foremost, thank you to Dan Sullivan for his leadership in the past year! His hard work and along with a dedicated MGEC Staff and bargaining team, we were able to get a new biennial contract with significant improvements. But we still have a way to go. Even with a 10% increase in the 2023-2025 contract, we are still significantly behind the inflation rate in the last 4 years. Pay for most MGEC classifications still falls behind similar positions in local and federal government. Additionally, we have been running deficits the last few years. ... Read More >>
Welcome New Board Members
MGEC is powered by its membership. Our strength at the bargaining table comes from those who choose to be members. But the team that steps to the next level are those elected to the Executive Board. Serving in terms that are on a staggered cycle, the newest group of leadership began their terms January 1st, 2024. Charged with setting the direction of MGEC, this group brings the energy and ideas of those who work in the public service to the bargaining table. Elections are held every year for the staggered seats. While individuals often have different perspectives, through democratic ... Read More >>
MSRS Military Credit Purchase
Do you have prior military service? Did you take a break in state service to serve in the military? If you either have military service prior to your employment with the State of Minnesota, or you had taken a pause in your state employment, recent legislation allows you to purchase MSRS pension credits for the time spent in service. The formula of how much the credit purchase will cost is a function of your individual circumstances. Generally speaking, the closer you are to your full retirement the more expensive the purchase will be; conversely, the younger you are, the less it will ... Read More >>
IRS Mileage Increases
Article 19, section 2 of MGEC’s contract with the state ties eligible mileage reimbursement rates to the federal IRS rate. As we are all keenly aware, transportation costs have increased, and the IRS has reflected some of that increase by raising the standard mileage rate by $.015 to 67¢ per mile. When a State-owned vehicle is offered and declined by the employee, the Agency or designee shall authorize that mileage be paid at the rate of seven (7) cents less than the IRS mileage rate. The higher rate may be a paid if the use of the motor pool vehicle would have resulted in a greater cost to ... Read More >>