Press Releases

U.S. Representatives Matt Cartwright (PA-08) and Linda Sánchez (CA-38) today formally introduced the Coronavirus Frontline Workers Fair Pay Act, a bill to provide hazard pay to health care professionals and other essential workers. The bill compensates workers for the risks they are taking and for the public services they are providing during this unprecedented public health and economic emergency.

This bill would establish a dedicated fund within the U.S. Treasury Department to provide the hazard pay money to employers. High-risk health care workers would receive a hazard pay increase of $18.50 per hour, and other essential workers would receive an increase of $13 per hour. Pay would be capped at $35,000 and $25,000, respectively. It would be retroactive to January 27, 2020 and would be available through the end of this year.

“Grocery store, mail delivery, health care, and distribution center employees continue to report for duty, in order to provide our communities with life-sustaining services during this crisis,” said Rep. Cartwright. “There’s a lot that needs to be done for our caregivers and essential workers, but securing hazard pay for those in harm’s way is the least we can do.”

“Across the country, essential workers in hospitals, grocery stores, warehouses, and police departments continue to toe the line,” said Rep. Sánchez. “They do this despite the risk of getting themselves and their loved ones sick. As we call on these workers to put themselves in harm's way so that the rest of us can stay safely at home, it’s only right that we provide them with hazard pay. They show up for us and we need to do the same for them.”

Under this proposal:

• A dedicated fund within the U.S. Treasury Department would be established to provide the hazard pay funds to employers. On a quarterly basis, employers would submit a projection of salaries and wages to Treasury in order to receive hazard pay funds. Employers would also submit a quarterly certification that they properly distributed the funds to employees.
• High-risk health care workers would receive a flat rate hazard pay increase of $18.50 an hour, capped at $35,000 for workers earning less than $200,000 annually and $15,000 for workers earning over $200,000 annually.
• “High-risk health care worker” is defined as an individual working in one of the following occupations: physicians; nurses; surgeons; surgical assistants; physician assistants; neurologists; cardiologists; anesthesiologists; obstetricians and gynecologists; pediatricians; medical and clinical laboratory technologists; emergency medical technicians; paramedics; home health and personal care aides; nursing assistants; orderlies; diagnostic medical sonographers and medical dosimetrists; cardiovascular, nuclear medicine, radiologic, and magnetic resonance imaging technologists. High-risk health care worker would also include any individual who is providing or supporting the provision of health care services for the treatment of COVID-19, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.
• Telework hours are not covered.
• Other essential workers would receive a flat rate hazard pay increase of $13 an hour, capped at $25,000 for workers earning less than $200,000 annually and $5,000 for those earning over $200,000 annually.
• regarding “essential workers,” this bill directs the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) to define the term and urges them to consider their previously issued guidance. CISA would be required to solicit public input on the definition. It excludes workers defined under this bill as a “high risk health care worker.”
• The hazard pay timeline is January 27, 2020 - December 31, 2020.
• “Essential workers” and “high risk health care workers” would be eligible to receive back pay from January 27, 2020.
• Self-employed individuals and independent contractors would be eligible for hazard pay.
• Failure by employers to pay eligible employees the proper hazard pay amount would be treated as a violation of section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206).

The bill text can be viewed here.

Cartwright first unveiled this proposal in a press conference with Protect Our Care, SEIU Health Care Pennsylvania and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776. Watch that video here.