Lawmakers: Give unemployment benefits to former Club Jager workers

Several Minnesota lawmakers are pressing to ensure former staff at a shuttered Minneapolis nightclub gets unemployment benefits.

Club Jager closed earlier this month amid an uproar over the owner's $500 donation to former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke's 2016 U.S. Senate campaign. The disclosure of that campaign donation triggered a backlash, including much of its staff walking out and several regular performers canceling gigs.

A group of state representatives said Monday those employees who quit should still get unemployment benefits from the state. St. Paul Rep. Tim Mahoney and Minneapolis Rep. Jim Davnie say the bar employees who quit "made the same decision all of us would have made in that situation."

The pair delivered a letter to Department of Employment and Economic Development Monday.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.