2025 Session Last amended: 2024 session

§ 611.265 — Transition

Plain-Language Summary

Outside of Ramsey and Hennepin Counties, district public defenders and their employees are state employees in the judicial branch. Those who were county employees before July 1, 1993, can keep their existing retirement plan. Anyone hired after that date must join the Minnesota State Retirement System. Independent contractors working as public defenders do not get state insurance or retirement benefits.

Practical Notes
If you work as a public defender outside the Twin Cities metro area, you are a state employee governed by Board of Public Defense rules. Your retirement plan depends on when you were hired. If you started before July 1, 1993, you may have stayed in the Public Employees Retirement Association. If hired after that date, you participate in the Minnesota State Retirement System.