Minn. pays attorney fees in child-care union case

The state of Minnesota has paid a $60,000 settlement in attorneys' fees to a group of child care workers who blocked a unionization effort for some home-based providers.

Attorney Doug Seaton represents a group of day care operators who blocked the unionization vote ordered by Gov. Mark Dayton in 2011. Seaton says his law firm received the money Monday.

Seaton had been seeking $214,000. He acknowledges the $60,000 settlement is a compromise but says "we're satisfied about the outcome."

A Ramsey County judge ruled Dayton overstepped his bounds by calling the election through executive order rather than going through the Legislature. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled the plaintiffs were entitled to attorneys' fees.

The 2013 Legislature approved the unionization drive. Many of the same providers are challenging that law.

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