Court Opinion

ID: 9667083
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 01:34:45.339428+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:34.791166
License: Public Domain

ANDERSON, G. BARRY, Justice
(dissenting).
Although I do not disagree with the majority’s constitutional analysis, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s statutory analysis. In holding that Minn.Stat. § 256J.645, subd. 4 (2006), prohibits Greene from receiving employment services through Aitkin County, the majority ignores the plain language of and reads an exclusivity requirement into the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) statute. Because I believe that the plain language of MFIP entitles Greene to receive employment services through Aitkin County, I would reverse the decision of the court of appeals.
MFIP requires counties to “develop and provide an employment and training services component which is designed to put participants on the most direct path to unsubsidized employment.”1 Minn.Stat. § 256J.50, subd. 1(a) (2006). The proper starting point for determining whether Greene is entitled to receive employment services through Aitkin County is not, as the majority believes, section 256J.645, subd. 4, but Minn.Stat. § 256J.10 (2006), which provides as follows: “To be eligible for MFIP, applicants must meet the general eligibility requirements in sections 256J.11 to 256J.15, the property limitations in section 256J.20, and the income limitations in section 256J.21.” Respondents concede that Greene satisfies the eligibility requirements for receipt of MFIP benefits; therefore, she is entitled to the same employment services as are other participants unless specifically excluded by statute.
Minnesota Statutes § 256J.645, subd. 1 (2006), allows the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services (Commissioner) or a designated representative to “enter into agreements with federally recognized Indian tribes with a reservation in the state to provide MFIP employment services to members of the Indian tribe and to other caregivers who are a part of the tribal member’s MFIP assistance unit.” In a reservation grant contract executed with the State of Minnesota, the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe agreed to provide MFIP employment services to individuals in the tribe’s service delivery area. The statute at the heart of the parties’ dispute is section 256J.645, subd. 4, which reads, “Indian tribal members receiving MFIP benefits and residing in the service area of an Indian tribe operating employment services under an agreement with the commissioner must be referred by county agencies in the service area to the Indian tribe for employment services.” (Emphasis added.)
I agree with the majority that “must” is a mandatory term, see Minn.Stat. § 645.44, subd. 15a (2006), but the mandate applies to county agencies, not to tribal members. Section 256J.645, subd. 4, requires county agencies to refer tribal members to their tribes for employment services, but there is no corresponding provision divesting tribal members of their right, granted under MFIP, to receive employment services through their counties. The hearing referee correctly interpreted section 256J.645, subd. 4, as follows:
While the statute imposes a duty upon the county to make referrals to tribal employment services when a participant is deemed eligible, there is no require*732ment that an eligible participant utilize that service simply because [he or she is] eligible. Likewise, the fact that the tribal employment services program cannot refuse to provide eligible participants services, does not in turn create a requirement that an eligible participant utilize those services. [Greene], like any citizen of Aitkin County, should be able to access county employment services. Because the county has not provided those services to her, there has been [n]o failure to comply and any sanction on that basis should be reversed.
The majority claims that Greene’s argument is premised on reading a right to “opt out” into the silence of section 256J.645, subd. 4. The usage of the phrase “opt out” reflects the majority’s failure to interpret MFIP in its entirety. The issue is not whether Greene is entitled to “opt out” of section 256J.645, subd. 4, but whether the statute specifically excludes her from receiving the same employment services as other MFIP participants.
The majority cites Minn.Stat. § 256J.645, subd. 2 (2006), for the proposition that tribes assume the responsibility of providing MFIP employment services to tribal members when the tribes enter into employment services agreements with the Commissioner. While it is true that section 256J.645, subd. 2, requires tribes to “agree to fulfill the responsibilities provided under the employment services component of MFIP regarding operation of MFIP employment services,” the statute contains no requirement that tribes “assume” the duty of providing MFIP employment services to the exclusion of counties. Section 256J.645, subd. 2, sets forth what tribes are required to do, but it in no way limits the services to which tribal members are entitled. I would not read this “assumption” language into the statute.
My conclusion that section 256J.645, subd. 4, does not prohibit tribal members from receiving employment services through their counties is supported by other MFIP provisions. Minnesota Statutes § 256J.315 (2006), for example, requires county and tribal governments to cooperate in the implementation of MFIP as follows:
The county agency must cooperate with tribal governments in the implementation of MFIP to ensure that the program meets the special needs of persons living on Indian reservations. This cooperation must include, hut is not limited to, the sharing of MFIP duties including initial screening, orientation, assessments, and provision of employment and training services. The county agency shall encourage tribal governments to assume duties related to MFIP and shall work cooperatively with tribes that have assumed responsibility for a portion of the MFIP program to expand tribal responsibilities, if that expansion is requested by the tribe.
(Emphasis added.) The requirement that county agencies and tribal governments share the provision of employment services belies the majority’s interpretation of section 256J.645, subd. 4.
Furthermore, MinmStat. § 256J.50, subd. 8 (2006), provides that counties are generally required to provide participants a choice between at least two employment and training service providers:
Each county, or group of counties working cooperatively, shall make available to participants the choice of at least two employment and training service providers ..., except in counties utilizing workforce centers that use multiple employment and training services, offer *733multiple services options under a collaborative effort and can document that participants have choice among employment and training services designed to meet specialized needs.2
An exception to the section 256J.50, subd. 8, requirement applies where “a county ... explains in the [biennial service agreement] that the provision of alternative employment and training service providers would result in financial hardship for the county.” Minn.Stat. § 256J.50, subd. 9 (2006). The fact that MFIP participants are generally entitled to choose between at least two employment service providers suggests that the legislature did not intend to exclude tribal members from receiving employment services through their counties. The presumption should be that more options — not fewer — are available to MFIP participants.
Had the legislature intended to prohibit tribal members from receiving employment services through their counties, it could have said so. It did not, and it is not our prerogative to read an exclusivity requirement into Minn.Stat. § 256J.645, subd. 4. See Reiter v. Kiffmeyer, 721 N.W.2d 908, 911 (Minn.2006) (“[W]e will not read into a statute a provision that the legislature has omitted, either purposely or inadvertently.”). Accordingly, I would reverse the decision of the court of appeals and hold that the plain language of MFIP entitles Greene to receive employment services through Aitkin County.

. " 'Employment and training services' means programs, activities and services that are designed to assist participants in obtaining and retaining employment.” Minn.Stat. § 256J.49, subd. 3 (2006).

. Likewise, Minn.Stat. § 256J.50, subd. 4 (2006), states as follows: "Unless the provisions of subdivision 8 apply, a county must select at least two employment and training service providers. A county may opt to provide services on its own as one of these providers.”