Labor & Employment

HB 1602 changes North Dakota's public employee retirement system by closing the traditional defined benefit plan to new hires starting January 1, 2025. Instead, new permanent employees (excluding those in specific exception roles like teachers, law enforcement, or university staff) must join a defined contribution retirement plan. Existing members who joined before 2025 remain in the defined benefit plan, and political subdivisions (like cities or counties) may choose whether to participate in the new defined contribution plan. The bill clarifies that local governments are not required to offer either retirement plan, and no fees apply if they withdraw from the defined contribution system.

HB 1179 would require North Dakota's public institutions of higher education to provide faculty members with at least a 12-month appointment 24 days of paid time off annually. It mandates institutions to track accrued time off, sets a limit of 30 days to carry over into the next year, and requires payment for unused time upon termination (capped at 54 days total). Institutions failing to implement this by August 1, 2025, would need to grant 54 days of paid time off to faculty by January 1, 2026. The bill directly affects faculty at all public colleges and universities governed by the state board of higher education.

SB 2131 would change how North Dakota distributes state funds to workforce training centers. It requires the state board to allocate 60% of funding equally among all centers, 20% based on each center's average annual training hours over the prior three years, and 20% based on each center's average number of unique participants over the same period. The bill directly affects all designated workforce training centers in the state by altering their funding formula. The bill was introduced in 2025 but failed to pass the legislature on February 17, 2025, with 16 votes in favor and 29 against.

SB 2306 proposes a program to address child care staffing shortages by providing monthly payments to licensed early childhood providers in North Dakota. The bill would require the state to pay providers $50 per infant, $30 per toddler, and $15 per school-aged child enrolled, based on quarterly reports of average enrollment. To qualify, providers must not have received a corrective action order in the past three months and must submit annual reports detailing how funds were used to improve staff salaries and benefits. This bill directly affects licensed child care centers and family child care homes by offering financial incentives tied to enrollment levels. The program aims to retain and recruit child care workers through direct support for provider compensation needs.

SB 2345 would have provided permanent North Dakota state employees with a 4% pay raise each year during the 2025-27 biennium, effective July 2025 (paid August 2025) and July 2026 (paid August 2026). The bill directly affected all eligible permanent state employees by adjusting their base compensation annually. It required no new funding mechanisms beyond existing appropriations, as the increases were tied to the biennial budget cycle. The bill failed to pass the legislature on February 7, 2025, with 6 votes in favor and 41 against.