Senate Democrats Unveil COVID-19 Heroes Fund Proposal — $25000 Hazard Pay

Summary

A Senate Democrats press release published 04.07.2020 announcing the COVID-19 Heroes Fund proposal introduced by Senators Schumer, Murray, Brown, Casey, Udall and Peters. The proposal would give essential frontline workers $13 per hour in premium pay through December 31, 2020, capped at $25,000 for workers earning less than $200,000 per year and $5,000 for those earning more, plus a one-time $15,000 recruitment incentive for health and home care workers and first responders. The release states that the pay would be fully federally funded and distributed through eligible employers such as states, localities, tribes and certain private sector employers. It also describes retroactive pay from the January 27, 2020 public health emergency declaration, a second round of up to $10,000 and death benefits. Each of the six senators is quoted.

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Published: 04.07.2020

Senate Democrats Unveil COVID-19“Heroes Fund” Proposal To Provide $25,000 Pay Increase To Essential Workers On Frontline Of Nation’s Pandemic Response

Senate
Democrats’ Proposed “Heroes Fund,” Introduced By Sens. Schumer, Murray, Brown,
Casey, Udall, And Peters, Would Provide Premium Pay To Reward, Retain, And
Recruit Essential Frontline Workers

Proposed
COVID-19 “Heroes Fund” Consists Of Two Major Components—A $25,000 Premium Pay
Increase For Essential Workers + A $15,000 Essential Worker Recruitment
Incentive To Attract And Secure Workforce Needed To Fight Public Health Crisis

Senate
Democrats: Essential Frontline Workers Are True Heroes Of COVID-19 Pandemic
Response—“Heroes Fund” Would Provide Much-Needed Pay Increase And Secure
Workforce For Grueling Months Ahead

Washington, D.C. — Senate
Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Senate
Committee on Aging Ranking Member Bob Casey (D-PA), Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs Vice Chairman Tom Udall (D-NM), and Senate Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-MI) today
unveiled the COVID-19 “Heroes Fund,” Senate Democrats’ proposal for the
provision of pandemic premium pay to reward, retain, and recruit essential
workers. Senate Democrats’ proposed “Heroes Fund” consists of two major
components: a $25,000 premium pay increase for essential workers, equivalent to
a raise of $13 per hour from the start of the public health emergency until
December 31, 2020, and a $15,000 essential worker recruitment incentive to
attract and secure the workforce needed to fight the public health crisis.

Essential frontline workers are the
true heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic response in America. Senate
Democrats believe in providing premium pay to frontline workers during this
pandemic not only to reward essential workers’ for their great personal
sacrifices, but also to ensure the retention of essential workers who are
working grueling hours on the frontlines of this crisis as well as the
recruitment of additional workers who will be needed in the months ahead.

A Summary of Senate Democrats’
COVID-19 “Heroes Fund” proposal can be found here and below:

“Thousands of workers report to the
frontlines of our nation’s pandemic response each and every day, placing
themselves squarely in harm’s way to serve the needs of others,” said Leader
Schumer. “Senate Democrats’ proposed ‘Heroes Fund’ would provide premium
pay to these essential workers—the doctors and nurses, grocery store workers,
transit workers, and more who are central to fighting this crisis—and would
establish an incentive system to retain and recruit the workforce needed for
the long months to come. Essential frontline workers sacrifice daily for our
collective health and well-being, and Senate Democrats are fully committed to
supplying these heroes the financial support they deserve.”

“The frontline workers who are
literally putting their lives on the line every single day to keep us healthy,
keep us fed, and to keep us safe—deserve our most profound gratitude. But we
all know that gratitude isn’t enough,” said Senator Murray. “As we
continue our coronavirus response, ensuring frontline workers receive premium
pay during this pandemic is the least our country can do to honor these true
heroes.”

“Workers in hospitals and nursing
homes, in the service sector and public safety, and throughout our economy are
risking their lives during this public health emergency to keep our citizens
safe, and their paychecks should reflect that. Frontline workers also need
proper protection from the virus at work, said Senator Brown. “The next
coronavirus-response package Congress passes must honor the dignity of their
work by including this Pandemic Premium Pay proposal to compensate our
frontline heroes and mandatory safety requirements to keep them safe on the
job.”

“We are in a war against COVID-19,
and we owe our gratitude to all of the workers who are putting their own health
and safety at risk by fighting on the front lines of this pandemic,” said
Senator Casey. “And just like wartime, we must recognize and reward those
who are on the front lines—health care professionals, first responders,
personal care and home health workers, truck drivers, grocery store workers and
other unsung heroes—for their selfless efforts to do the critical work of
protecting our citizens and keeping our country running so millions of
Americans can stay safe at home. The Heroes Fund would provide essential
workers with increased compensation and incentivize others to join the fight
against COVID-19.”

“Essential frontline workers in New
Mexico and across the country are risking their own health to protect ours, to
care for our loved ones, and to keep our communities safe and running. We owe
these heroes – the health care workers, first responders, law enforcement,
grocery clerks, delivery workers, and many others – more than just words of
gratitude: we must make sure they are paid what they deserve,” said Senator
Udall. “Importantly, this proposal will give Tribal frontline workers equal
access to these benefits, and includes the necessary flexibility to meet the
unique needs of Native communities. Because this crisis is hitting Indian
Country especially hard: frontline workers in Native communities are stretched
thin, and, due to severe federal underfunding, Indian Country has long struggled
to recruit and retain workers in fields like health care and law enforcement.
So this proposal is absolutely necessary for Indian Country and for all
communities — to support the frontline workers who are doing incredible,
life-saving work, and to secure the workforce that we need to keep our nation
healthy and strong.”

“So many people are working hard and
performing essential duties to help our communities confront this pandemic, and
they deserve to be compensated for their dedication,” said Senator Peters.
“Whether it’s health care providers and food supply workers in the private
sector, or postal workers and security professionals in the public sector, we
owe our frontline workers our thanks and our support. This proposal not only
addresses the financial needs of these essential workers, it also presses for
additional protective gear and other measures that will help ensure they can
continue to perform their critical roles while protecting their health and
safety.”

The COVID-19 “Heroes Fund” Summary

Senate Democrats’ Proposal for
Pandemic Premium Pay to Reward, Retain, & Recruit Essential Workers

Essential frontline workers are the
true heroes of America’s COVID-19 pandemic response. Senate Democrats
believe in providing premium pay to frontline workers during this pandemic to
reward essential frontline workers, ensure the retention of essential workers
who are working grueling hours on the frontlines of this crisis, and promote
the recruitment of additional workers who will be needed in the months ahead.

As the Congress looks at a potential
fourth COVID-19 bill, the following proposal is meant for consideration by
Members of Congress, key stakeholders, and the American people. Our
proposal consists of two major components:

A $25,000 pandemic premium pay increase
for essential frontline workers, equivalent to a raise of an
additional $13 per hour from the start of the public health emergency
until December 31, 2020.

A $15,000 recruitment
incentive for health and home care workers and first responders to
attract and secure the workforce needed to fight the public health crisis.

Structure of the Pandemic Premium Pay

To meet the goals of reward,
retention, and recruitment, we propose a set dollar amount per hour with a
maximum amount for the year, for a definite duration, and with an additional
bonus for workers who sign up to do such essential work during this crisis.

Amount of Pay Premium. Our
proposal—

Uses a flat-dollar amount
per hour premium model in order to ensure it is clear, simple, and lifts
up particularly those workers making lower wages.

Would give each essential
frontline worker $13/hour premium pay on top of regular wages for all
hours worked in essential industries through the end of 2020.

Would cap the total
maximum premium pay at $25,000 for each essential frontline worker earning
less than $200,000 per year and $5,000 for each essential worker earning
$200,000 or more per year.

Duration of Premium. The
premium pay period—

Must be for a specified
and clear duration of time to ensure workers can rely on it for their
economic security and plan for needs like additional child care.

Should cover all hours worked by each
essential frontline worker through December 31, 2020, or until the
worker’s salary-based maximum premium pay is reached.

Premium Pay as a Recruitment and
Retention Incentive. In order to recruit the additional
health care workers, home care workers, and first responders needed over the
coming months, our proposal—

Would provide a one-time
$15,000 premium for signing on to do essential work.

Would limit eligibility
for this incentive premium to essential health and home care workers and
first responders that are experiencing severe staffing shortages impeding
the ability to provide care during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Premium Pay and Worker Incentives
Delivery Mechanism

Our proposal would fully
federally-fund the premium pay and recruitment and retention incentive. We will
continue to seek input on the specific mechanism for delivering the pay to
workers, as well as the universe of “essential workers” to be covered. The new
federal fund would partner with entities designated as an “eligible employer” –
states, localities, tribes, and certain private sector employers – to issue the
funds premium payments to eligible workers. Frontline federal employees would
also be granted the new benefit of up to $25,000.

COVID-19 Heroes Fund. The
new COVID-19 Heroes Fund would provide funds directly to eligible
employer-partners so that they could distribute the premium payments.

Employers in industries engaged in “essential work” would apply to
the Heroes Fund for funds to be used to add line-item premium pay to
employees’ or independent contractors’ paychecks. The eligible employer
would track these payments, provide payroll records demonstrating premium
payments, and return any unspent funds to the agency.

No employer would be required to participate, but all would be
strongly encouraged to and the program would be widely advertised.

An entity that contracts directly with the
state, locality, Tribe, or the federal government (e.g., to provide care
to people with Medicare and Medicaid coverage) would be considered a
private sector employer, and employees of this entity who are designated
as “essential” would be eligible for premium pay. Similarly, an eligible
employer is also an individual who hires someone designated as “essential”
through programs established through the State (e.g., self-directed care
arrangements). This would help ensure coverage of the 2.2 million home
health aides, direct service providers, and personal care workers who
provide services to more than 12 million Americans.

Eligible employers would submit applications
for the recruitment and retention incentive premium on a rolling
basis.

Federal Workforce.
Our proposal would ensure all federal government essential frontline employees
receive the same $25,000 premium pay benefit provided to other essential
workers.[2]

Coverage should be
expansive to capture all federal employees with public-facing
positions. This includes Title 5 employees and employees of all
other federal personnel systems (e.g., employees of the Postal Service,
TSA, VA, FAA, District of Columbia, and federally-funded Indian programs[3]).

The benefit would be
limited to frontline and public-facing positions – employees who are not
teleworking from their homes.

Additional Background and Commentary

Precedents. Disasters
require exceptional flexibility in standard work schedules and assignments and
often put first responders and other essential workers in dangerous situations.
To ensure this critical workforce is compensated appropriately, there are
precedents for funding hazard premium pay and worker incentives through a
federal program.

FEMA, through the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Response and Emergency Assistance Act and the Disaster Relief Fund, is
currently authorized to reimburse state, local, and tribal governments for
straight-time and premium pay associated with disaster response. Extraordinary
costs (such as call-back pay, night-time or weekend differential pay, and
hazardous duty pay) for essential employees who are called back to duty during
administrative leave to perform eligible Emergency Work are eligible for
reimbursement in certain circumstances.

This authority has been used many
times over the last few years to pay for personnel costs associated with
enforcing curfews, facilitating evacuation routes, and restoring critical
infrastructure. Past usage illustrates precedent for federal funding of
critical state, local, and tribal employees performing essential response
functions that keep our communities safe in times of disaster.

Essential Frontline Worker
definitions. As mentioned above, the definition of essential frontline
workers for purposes of both the premium pay increase and the
recruitment-retention incentive will be the subject of debate. This proposal is
not meant to exclude any worker from this conversation. Rather, we hope this
proposal will encourage a discussion about how large and diverse this universe
of workers truly is. Our goal is to make federal, state, tribal, local and
private sector essential workers that are at risk eligible for this benefit.

Retroactive Pay.
Workers who have been on the frontlines since the initial declaration of the
Public Health Emergency on January 27, 2020, could receive a lump sum of
backpay of $13 per hour for work before enactment. These workers would continue
to receive the $13 per hour premium pay on top of regular wages moving forward,
but these workers would still be subject to the maximum premium pay cap
outlined above.

Additional Benefits for Essential
Health and Home Care Workers and First Responders.
The employers of frontline health and home care workers and first responders
should be eligible to apply for a second round of premium pay funds of up to
$10,000 as those workers continue to combat the virus.

Death Benefits.
It is a deeply disturbing but unfortunate reality that some of our frontline
workers are making the ultimate sacrifice to the nation through their work
fighting COVID-19. Their families rightfully deserve to receive the full
amount of the premium pay as a lump sum in addition to all other forms of death
benefits.

Protections from Corporate Expense
Shifting. Certain large corporations engaged in the provision of
essential services and goods employ essential frontline workers who are
deserving of premium pay. However, massive corporations should make investments
in providing premium pay of their own accord before trying to participate in
this program.

Protecting Workers and PPE.
Senate Democrats have been fighting to give essential workers the protections
and equipment they need to stay safe. The CARES Act provided billions of
dollars for PPE, and Democrats have pushed the Administration to appoint a czar
to handle all manufacturing and distribution of critical PPE. We must do more
to ensure all frontline workers have the protective gear they need to perform
their jobs safely, and we need a strong emergency temporary standard to protect
all workers.

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