A federal appeals court panel declined Thursday to overturn a new union for thousands of Minnesota personal care attendants who assist the disabled and elderly in home-based settings.

The Harris v. Quinn decision will be felt in Minnesota, where two labor groups are working to organize both home care workers and in-home day care workers through a union election.

SEIU Healthcare Minnesota is calling on MNsure to reconsider which groups receive outreach grants so that African American organizations are included in the mix.

The court’s ruling means gay couples in Minnesota -- which will be able to be legally married starting Aug. 1 thanks to a law passed in the Legislature this year -- will now also have the federal benefits of a married couple.

The successful effort to legalize gay marriage in Minnesota this session also turned out to be one of the most expensive lobbying efforts in 2013, with advocates and opponents spending nearly $2 million to try an influence legislators votes on the issue.

A dozen child care providers filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to have legislation that allows them to unionize tossed out as unconstitutional. The legal complaint argues that the controversial law, which is set to take effect on July 1, violates the First Amendment rights of day care workers by potentially requiring them to pay union dues.

DFL Sen. Sandy Pappas (Staff photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher) Following an extraordinary overnight debate, the Senate passed legislation Wednesday morning allowing child care providers and personal care assistant to join labor union . The controversial proposal carried by a 35-32 vote after 17 hours on the floor, and four DFL senators ultimately joined all Republicans in voting against it.

No bill has faced a more tortuous path this legislative session than a proposal to allow child care workers and personal care assistants to unionize.

Legislation that would allow child care providers and personal care assistants to unionize was defeated in the Senate Finance Committee on Monday. The surprise legislative setback came in the final committee before the bill would have been taken up on the Senate floor.

Union leaders say they are moving full speed ahead with their legislative agenda this year, despite recent comments from Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk that many issues on their wish list will not pass this session.