II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4252 

To provide funding for States to improve their unemployment compensation 

programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 21, 2020 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. CORTEZ

MASTO, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To provide funding for States to improve their unemployment 

compensation programs, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Worker First Act of 

5 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SPECIAL TRANSFERS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT COM2 PENSATION IMPROVEMENTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 903 of the Social Security 

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 1103) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(j) SPECIAL TRANSFERS IN FISCAL YEARS 2020, 

7 2021, 2022 FOR IMPROVEMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) TRANSFERS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any 

10 other amounts, the Secretary of Labor shall 

11 provide for the making of unemployment com12 pensation modernization incentive payments (in 

13 this subsection referred to as ‘incentive pay14 ments’) to the accounts of the States in the Un15 employment Trust Fund, by transfer from 

16 amounts reserved for that purpose in the Fed17 eral unemployment account, in accordance with 

18 succeeding provisions of this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM INCENTIVE PAYMENT.— 

20 The maximum incentive payment allowable 

21 under this subsection with respect to any State 

22 shall, as determined by the Secretary of Labor, 

23 be equal to the amount obtained by multiplying 

24 $10,000,000,000 by the same ratio as would 

25 apply under subsection (a)(2)(B) for purposes 

26 of determining such State’s share of any excess 


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1 amount (as described in subsection (a)(1)) that 

2 would have been subject to transfer to State ac3 counts, as of October 1, 2019, under the provi4 sions of subsection (a). 

5 ‘‘(C) ALLOTMENTS.—Of the maximum in6 centive payment determined under subpara7 graph (B) with respect to a State— 

8 ‘‘(i) one-third shall be transferred to 

9 the account of such State upon a certifi10 cation under paragraph (6) that the State 

11 meets the requirements of paragraph (2); 

12 ‘‘(ii) one-third shall be transferred to 

13 the account of such State upon a certifi14 cation under paragraph (6) that the State 

15 law of such State meets the requirements 

16 of paragraph (3); and 

17 ‘‘(iii) the remainder shall be trans18 ferred to the account of such State upon a 

19 certification under paragraph (6) that the 

20 State law of such State meets the require21 ments of paragraph (4). 

22 ‘‘(2) WORKER SAFETY.—A State meets the re23 quirements of this paragraph if the State provides 

24 the Secretary with assurances that the State is en25 forcing laws, policies, or regulations (and will conVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4252.IS S4252

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1 tinue to enforce such laws, policies, or regulations 

2 through the later of December 31, 2021, or the end 

3 of emergency period described in section 

4 1135(g)(1)(B)) under which— 

5 ‘‘(A) work is not considered to be suitable 

6 work under the State law unless the work is in 

7 compliance with all applicable health and safety 

8 guidelines and standards related to the preven9 tion of occupational exposure to COVID–19, in10 cluding such guidelines and standards issued by 

11 the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis12 tration, under State plans approved under sec13 tion 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health 

14 Act of 1970, by the Centers for Disease Control 

15 and Prevention, and Federal, State, or by local 

16 public health authorities; and 

17 ‘‘(B) an individual is not disqualified from 

18 regular unemployment compensation under the 

19 State law for separating from employment if 

20 that separation is because the work is not in 

21 compliance with all applicable health and safety 

22 guidelines and standards described in subpara23 graph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(3) MODERNIZATION.—The State law of a 

2 State meets the requirements of this paragraph if 

3 such State law provides for each of the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) An individual is not disqualified from 

5 regular unemployment compensation for sepa6 rating from employment if that separation is 

7 for any compelling family reason. For purposes 

8 of this subparagraph, the term ‘compelling fam9 ily reason’ means the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) Domestic violence, sexual assault, 

11 stalking, or harassment, verified by such 

12 reasonable and confidential documentation 

13 as the State law may require, which causes 

14 the individual reasonably to believe that 

15 such individual’s continued employment 

16 would jeopardize the safety of the indi17 vidual or of any member of the individual’s 

18 immediate family (as defined by the Sec19 retary of Labor). 

20 ‘‘(ii) The illness or disability of a 

21 member of the individual’s immediate fam22 ily (as those terms are defined by the Sec23 retary of Labor). 

24 ‘‘(iii) The need for the individual to 

25 accompany such individual’s spouse— 


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1 ‘‘(I) to a place from which it is 

2 impractical for such individual to com3 mute; and 

4 ‘‘(II) due to a change in location 

5 of the spouse’s employment. 

6 ‘‘(B) The State law— 

7 ‘‘(i) uses a base period that includes 

8 the most recently completed calendar quar9 ter before the start of the benefit year for 

10 purposes of determining eligibility for un11 employment compensation; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) provides that, in the case of an 

13 individual who would not otherwise be eli14 gible for unemployment compensation 

15 under the State law because of the use of 

16 a base period that does not include the 

17 most recently completed calendar quarter 

18 before the start of the benefit year, eligi19 bility is determined using a base period 

20 that includes such calendar quarter. 

21 ‘‘(C) An individual is not denied unemploy22 ment compensation under any State law provi23 sions relating to availability for work, active 

24 search for work, or refusal to accept work, sole25 ly because such individual is seeking only partVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4252.IS S4252

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1 time work (as defined by the Secretary of 

2 Labor). 

3 ‘‘(D) The State’s definition of suitable 

4 work includes health and safety considerations 

5 that ensure that a position shall not be deemed 

6 suitable for an individual if the circumstances 

7 present any unusual risk to the health or safety 

8 of the individual. 

9 ‘‘(4) EXPANSION.—The State law of a State 

10 meets the requirements of this paragraph if such 

11 State law provides for each of the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) Payment of short-time compensation 

13 is made under a short-time compensation pro14 gram (as defined in section 3306(v) of the In15 ternal Revenue Code of 1986). 

16 ‘‘(B) The minimum duration of benefits is 

17 at least 26 weeks and no variable duration for18 mula that provides for maximum weeks of bene19 fits of fewer than 26 weeks is used. 

20 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any State seeking an 

22 incentive payment under this subsection shall 

23 submit an application therefor at such time, in 

24 such manner, and complete with such informa25 tion as the Secretary of Labor may within 60 


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1 days after the date of the enactment of this 

2 subsection prescribe (whether by regulation or 

3 otherwise), including information relating to 

4 compliance with the requirements of paragraph 

5 (2), (3), or (4), as well as how the State intends 

6 to use the incentive payment to improve or 

7 strengthen the State’s unemployment com8 pensation program. The Secretary of Labor 

9 shall, within 30 days after receiving a complete 

10 application, notify the State agency of the State 

11 of the Secretary’s findings with respect to the 

12 requirements of paragraph (2), (3), or (4), as 

13 the case may be. 

14 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—No application under 

15 subparagraph (A) may be considered if sub16 mitted— 

17 ‘‘(i) prior to the date of enactment of 

18 this subsection; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) after the latest date necessary 

20 (as specified by the Secretary of Labor) to 

21 ensure that all incentive payments under 

22 this subsection are made on or before De23 cember 31, 2021. 

24 ‘‘(6) CERTIFICATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graphs (B) and (C), if the Secretary of Labor 

3 finds that— 

4 ‘‘(i) the State meets the requirements 

5 of paragraph (2); or 

6 ‘‘(ii) the State law provisions (dis7 regarding any State law provisions which 

8 are not then currently in effect as perma9 nent law or which are subject to dis10 continuation) meet the requirements of 

11 paragraph (3) or (4), as the case may be; 

12 the Secretary of Labor shall make a certifi13 cation to that effect to the Secretary of the 

14 Treasury, together with a certification as to the 

15 amount of the incentive payment to be trans16 ferred to the State account pursuant to that 

17 finding. The Secretary of the Treasury shall 

18 make the appropriate transfer within 7 days 

19 after receiving such certification. 

20 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—For purposes of 

21 subparagraph (A)(ii), State law provisions that 

22 are to take effect within 2 months after the 

23 date of their certification under subparagraph 

24 (A) shall be considered to be in effect as of the 

25 date of such certification. 


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1 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR

2 CERTIFICATION.— 

3 ‘‘(i) COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER STATE

4 LAW REQUIREMENTS.—No certification of 

5 compliance with the requirements of para6 graph (2), (3), or (4) may be made with 

7 respect to any State whose State law is not 

8 otherwise eligible for certification under 

9 section 303 or approvable under section 

10 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

11 1986. 

12 ‘‘(ii) COMPLIANCE WITH WORKER

13 SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—No certification 

14 of compliance with the requirements of 

15 paragraph (3) or (4) may be made with re16 spect to any State that does not meet the 

17 requirements of paragraph (2). 

18 ‘‘(7) USE OF INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) BENEFITS.—Except as provided in 

20 subparagraph (B), any amount transferred to 

21 the account of a State under this subsection 

22 may be used by such State only in the payment 

23 of cash benefits to individuals with respect to 

24 their unemployment, exclusive of expenses of 

25 administration. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATION.—A State may, 

2 subject to the same conditions described in sub3 section (c)(2) (excluding subparagraph (B) of 

4 such subsection, and deeming the reference to 

5 ‘subsections (a) and (b)’ in subparagraph (D) 

6 of such subsection to include this subsection), 

7 use any amount transferred to the account of 

8 such State under this subsection for the admin9 istration of its unemployment compensation law 

10 (including administration for carrying out the 

11 provisions of, and amendments made, by sub12 title A of title II of division A of the CARES 

13 Act) and public employment offices, including 

14 improvements in technology. 

15 ‘‘(8) FUNDING.—Out of any money in the Fed16 eral unemployment account not otherwise appro17 priated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall reserve 

18 $10,000,000,000 for incentive payments under this 

19 subsection. Any amount so reserved shall not be 

20 taken into account for purposes of any determina21 tion under section 902, 910, or 1203 of the amount 

22 in the Federal unemployment account as of any 

23 given time. Any amount so reserved for which the 

24 Secretary of the Treasury has not received a certifi25 cation under paragraph (6) by the deadline deVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4252.IS S4252

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1 scribed in paragraph (5)(B)(ii) shall, on January 1, 

2 2022, become unrestricted as to use as part of the 

3 Federal unemployment account. 

4 ‘‘(9) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

5 terms ‘benefit year’, ‘base period’, and ‘week’ have 

6 the respective meanings given such terms under sec7 tion 205 of the Federal-State Extended Unemploy8 ment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 

9 note).’’. 

10 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Labor may 

11 prescribe any regulations, operating instructions, or other 

12 guidance necessary to carry out the amendment made by 

13 subsection (a). 

Æ 


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