Taxpayers fund private lawyers for state rep. in outside employment dispute
The state house of representatives Rules Committee voted today to pay private lawyers more than $10,000 to represent a sitting member in a private employment dispute.
In a lame-duck, virtual meeting held this morning, the committee’s current Democrat majority voted along party lines (9-5) to authorize the unprecedented payment.
The video of today’s meeting can be seen here (beginning at the 15:22 mark).
The recent election saw the state house end up in a 67-67 tie between the two parties. Had the vote been taken next month, the motion would have required a Republican vote to pass.
The payment will be made on behalf of state Rep. Bianca Virnig, a Democrat representing an Eagan-area district (52B).
Virnig was first elected to the House in a December 2023 special election. The allegation is that, after the 2024 legislative session ended, she returned to her regular employer, only to find her previous position reduced? eliminated?
I apologize for the question marks. Despite the numerous and specific questions posed by Republican committee members, no actual facts were established on the record in this morning’s hearing.
Neither Rep. Virnig nor her (unnamed) attorney(s) appeared to answer questions. Virnig herself is not a member of the Rules Committee.
The motion to pay the $10,000 requested was made by the Committee Chair, Rep. Jamie Long (DFL-Minneapolis). Rep. Long himself was at the center of an outside employment scandal back in 2019.
It was established that Virnig’s employer was BrightWorks. This entity was described during the committee meeting as a “public school district.” It describes itself as a “Minnesota Service Cooperative.”
The most recent BrightWorks board meeting, for which minutes are available (June 2024), still lists Virnig as a staff member (“Director of Health and Safety”). She made a presentation at the meeting.
According to her LinkedIn account, Virnig’s BrightWorks employment ended in September. She lists herself as currently self-employed.
It’s not clear at first glance whether BrightWorks is a public (government) entity subject to the state’s Data Practices Act or some quasi-private entity, who is exempt.
During the meeting, committee Democrats accused BrightWorks of violating Minnesota Statutes Chapter 3.088, which protects the outside jobs of part-time elected officials, when in session. No proof was provided of any violation.
It was alleged that Rep. Virnig retained private counsel and achieved a settlement agreement (for separation of employment) with BrightWorks. No lawsuit was ever filed. The settlement agreement itself was not provided to committee members. So, we don’t know whether the monetary settlement itself provided compensation for the unnamed Virnig counsel.
No bill or invoice was presented to justify the $10,391.40 amount. No agreement between Virnig and her counsel was presented.
We don’t know whether the settlement agreement or any other document acknowledged a violation of statute 3.088. The state house was not a party to the settlement or involved in any settlement negotiations. From the taxpayer standpoint, the dispute involved a private individual, retaining private counsel, to negotiate a private commercial transaction with a private employer.
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) filed a story on the payment. The outlet reports that BrightWorks has not yet responded to requests for a comment. KSTP-5 reports that Rep. Virnig herself was unavailable for comment.
Your tax dollars at work!