II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 303 

To require the Secretary of Transportation to support the efforts of State 

and local governments to provide for priority testing of certain transportation workers with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID– 

19) and require the owners and operators of equipment and facilities 

used by passenger or freight transportation employers to clean, disinfect, 

and sanitize that equipment and provide personal protective equipment 

to certain employees, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 8, 2021 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Transportation to support the 

efforts of State and local governments to provide for 

priority testing of certain transportation workers with 

respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) 

and require the owners and operators of equipment and 

facilities used by passenger or freight transportation employers to clean, disinfect, and sanitize that equipment 

and provide personal protective equipment to certain employees, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Essential Transpor3 tation Employee Safety Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 

5 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec6 retary of Transportation. 

7 SEC. 3. PRIORITY TESTING FOR ESSENTIAL TRANSPOR8 TATION EMPLOYEES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

10 (1) adopt, for use by the Department of Trans11 portation in carrying out response efforts relating to, 

12 and operations during, the Coronavirus Disease 

13 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic, the categorization of 

14 certain transportation workers as ‘‘essential critical 

15 infrastructure workers’’ in accordance with the advi16 sory list published by the Cybersecurity and Infra17 structure Security Agency on May 19, 2020, entitled 

18 ‘‘Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure 

19 Workforce: Ensuring Community and National Re20 silience in COVID–19 Response’’ (or a subsequent 

21 version of that advisory list); and 

22 (2) coordinate with the Director of the Centers 

23 for Disease Control and Prevention and the Admin24 istrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

25 Agency to support the efforts of State and local gov26 ernments to provide for priority testing of transporVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S303.IS S303

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1 tation workers categorized as essential critical infra2 structure workers under paragraph (1) with respect 

3 to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19). 

4 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF 

5 EQUIPMENT OR FACILITIES USED BY PAS6 SENGER OR FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION EM7 PLOYERS. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) APPROPRIATE GUIDANCE.—The term ‘‘ap10 propriate guidance’’ means, as applicable— 

11 (A) guidance issued by the Centers for 

12 Disease Control and Prevention relating to the 

13 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19); or 

14 (B) the most recent revision of the safety 

15 alert for operators issued by the Federal Avia16 tion Administration on May 11, 2020, and 

17 numbered SAFO 20009 (relating to COVID– 

18 19: updated interim occupational health and 

19 safety guidance for air carriers and crews) (or 

20 a similar or successor safety alert for opera21 tors). 

22 (2) AT-RISK EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘at-risk 

23 employee’’ means an employee (including a Federal 

24 employee) or contractor of a passenger or freight 

25 transportation employer— 


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1 (A) whose job responsibilities involve inter2 action with— 

3 (i) passengers; 

4 (ii) the public; or 

5 (iii) coworkers who interact with the 

6 public; 

7 (B) who handles items which are handled 

8 or will be handled by the public; or 

9 (C) who works in locations where social 

10 distancing and other preventative measures 

11 with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 

12 (COVID–19) are not possible. 

13 (3) PASSENGER OR FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION

14 EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘passenger or freight trans15 portation employer’’ includes— 

16 (A) the owner, charterer, managing oper17 ator, master, or other individual in charge of a 

18 passenger vessel (as defined in section 2101 of 

19 title 46, United States Code); 

20 (B) an air carrier (as defined in section 

21 40102 of title 49, United States Code); 

22 (C) a provider of intercity rail passenger 

23 transportation (as defined in section 24102 of 

24 title 49, United States Code); 


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1 (D) a rail carrier (as defined in section 

2 10102 of title 49, United States Code); 

3 (E) a commuter authority (as defined in 

4 section 24102 of title 49, United States Code); 

5 (F) a regional transportation authority (as 

6 defined in section 24102 of title 49, United 

7 States Code); 

8 (G) a provider of public transportation (as 

9 defined in section 5302 of title 49, United 

10 States Code); 

11 (H) a provider of motorcoach services (as 

12 defined in section 32702 of the Motorcoach En13 hanced Safety Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 31136 

14 note; Public Law 112–141)); 

15 (I) a motor carrier that owns or operates 

16 more than 100 motor vehicles (as those terms 

17 are defined in section 390.5 of title 49, Code of 

18 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations)); 

19 (J) a sponsor, owner, or operator of a pub20 lic-use airport (as defined in section 47102 of 

21 title 49, United States Code); 

22 (K) an owner or operator of a vessel oper23 ating in commercial service (as defined in sec24 tion 2101 of title 46, United States Code); 


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1 (L)(i) a marine terminal operator (as de2 fined in section 40102 of title 46, United States 

3 Code); 

4 (ii) an employer (as defined in section 2 of 

5 the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensa6 tion Act (33 U.S.C. 902)); and 

7 (iii) the relevant authority or operator of a 

8 port or harbor; and 

9 (M) the Transportation Security Adminis10 tration, exclusively with respect to Transpor11 tation Security Officers. 

12 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—For the purposes of respond13 ing to, or for purposes relating to operations during, the 

14 national emergency declared by the President under the 

15 National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) with 

16 respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19), the 

17 Secretary shall require— 

18 (1) the owners and operators of equipment or 

19 facilities used by passenger or freight transportation 

20 employers, as applicable— 

21 (A) to clean, disinfect, and sanitize, in ac22 cordance with the appropriate guidance, the 

23 equipment and facilities, including, as applica24 ble— 

25 (i) buses and transit vehicles; 


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1 (ii) commercial motor vehicles; 

2 (iii) passenger and freight loco3 motives; 

4 (iv) freight and passenger rail cars; 

5 (v) vessels; 

6 (vi) airports; 

7 (vii) vehicles used for the transpor8 tation of workers to job sites where inter9 action with the public will occur; 

10 (viii) aircraft, including the cockpit 

11 and the cabin; and 

12 (ix) other equipment and facilities; 

13 (B) to ensure that facilities, including en14 closed facilities, owned, operated, and used by 

15 passenger or freight transportation employers, 

16 including facilities used for employee training or 

17 the performance of indoor or outdoor mainte18 nance, repair, or overhaul work, are disinfected 

19 and sanitized frequently in accordance with the 

20 appropriate guidance; 

21 (C) to provide to at-risk employees— 

22 (i) masks or protective face coverings; 

23 (ii) gloves; 

24 (iii) hand sanitizer; 


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1 (iv) sanitizing wipes with sufficient al2 cohol content; and 

3 (v) training on the proper use of per4 sonal protective equipment and sanitizing 

5 equipment; 

6 (D) to ensure that employees whose job re7 sponsibilities include the cleaning, disinfecting, 

8 or sanitizing described in subparagraphs (A) 

9 and (B) are provided— 

10 (i) masks or protective face coverings; 

11 (ii) gloves; 

12 (iii) hand sanitizer; and 

13 (iv) sanitizing wipes with sufficient al14 cohol content; 

15 (E) to establish guidelines, or adhere to 

16 any existing applicable guidelines, including any 

17 guidelines provided in the guidance described in 

18 subsection (a)(1)(B), for notifying an employee 

19 of the owner or operator of a confirmed diag20 nosis of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 

21 (COVID–19) with respect to any other em22 ployee of the owner or operator with whom the 

23 notified employee had physical contact or a 

24 physical interaction during the 48-hour period 


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1 preceding the time at which the diagnosed em2 ployee developed symptoms; 

3 (F) to require, subject to the requirement 

4 to make reasonable modifications to policies, 

5 practices, or procedures under the Americans 

6 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 

7 et seq.), the wearing of masks or protective face 

8 coverings by— 

9 (i) passengers traveling on transpor10 tation provided by a passenger or freight 

11 transportation employer; and 

12 (ii) employees of passenger or freight 

13 transportation employers when those em14 ployees are— 

15 (I) interacting with passengers, 

16 the public, or coworkers who interact 

17 with the public; or 

18 (II) working in locations where 

19 social distancing and other preventa20 tive measures with respect to the 

21 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID– 

22 19) are not possible; 

23 (G) to require, subject to the reasonable 

24 accommodations requirement of the Americans 

25 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 


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1 et seq.), each flight crew member to wear a 

2 mask or protective face covering while on board 

3 an aircraft and outside the flight deck; and 

4 (H) to ensure that each contractor of the 

5 owner or operator provides masks or protective 

6 face coverings, gloves, hand sanitizer, and sani7 tizing wipes with sufficient alcohol content to 

8 those employees of the contractor whose job re9 sponsibilities include the cleaning, disinfecting, 

10 or sanitizing described in subparagraph (A) or 

11 (B); and 

12 (2) an air carrier to submit to the Adminis13 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration a pro14 posal to permit pilots to wear masks or protective 

15 face coverings in the flight deck, including a safety 

16 risk assessment with respect to that proposal. 

17 (c) MARKET UNAVAILABILITY OF NECESSARY

18 ITEMS.— 

19 (1) NOTICE OF MARKET UNAVAILABILITY.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—If an owner or operator 

21 described in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) is 

22 unable to acquire 1 or more items necessary to 

23 comply with the requirements prescribed under 

24 that paragraph due to market unavailability of 

25 the items, the owner or operator shall— 


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1 (i) not later than 7 days after the 

2 date on which the owner or operator is un3 able to acquire each applicable item, sub4 mit to the Secretary a written notice ex5 plaining the efforts made and obstacles 

6 faced by the owner or operator to acquire 

7 that item; and 

8 (ii) continue making efforts to acquire 

9 that item until the item is acquired. 

10 (B) UPDATED NOTICE WITH RESPECT TO

11 THE SAME ITEM.—If an owner or operator is 

12 unable to acquire an item described in a notice 

13 submitted under subparagraph (A) by the date 

14 described in paragraph (4)(B)(ii) with respect 

15 to the notice, the owner or operator may submit 

16 an updated notice with respect to that item. 

17 (2) REASONABLE EFFORT DETERMINATION.— 

18 With respect to each notice submitted under para19 graph (1), the Secretary shall determine whether the 

20 owner or operator submitting the notice has made 

21 reasonable efforts to acquire the item described in 

22 the notice. 

23 (3) NOTICE OF COMPLIANCE.—Not later than 7 

24 days after the date on which an owner or operator 

25 acquires an item described in a notice submitted by 


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1 that owner or operator under paragraph (1) in a 

2 quantity sufficient to comply with the requirements 

3 prescribed under subsection (b)(1), the owner or op4 erator shall submit to the Secretary a written notice 

5 of compliance with those requirements. 

6 (4) LIST OF OWNERS AND OPERATORS MAKING

7 REASONABLE EFFORTS TO ACQUIRE UNAVAILABLE

8 ITEMS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

10 publish on a public website of the Department 

11 of Transportation a list that, with respect to 

12 each notice submitted to the Secretary under 

13 paragraph (1) for which the Secretary has 

14 made a positive determination under paragraph 

15 (2)— 

16 (i) identifies the owner or operator 

17 that submitted the notice; 

18 (ii) identifies the item that the owner 

19 or operator was unable to acquire; and 

20 (iii) describes the reasonable efforts 

21 made by the owner or operator to acquire 

22 that item. 

23 (B) REMOVAL FROM LIST.—The Secretary 

24 shall remove each entry on the list described in 

25 subparagraph (A) on the earlier of— 


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1 (i) the date on which the applicable 

2 owner or operator submits to the Secretary 

3 a notice of compliance under paragraph (3) 

4 with respect to the item that is the subject 

5 of the entry; and 

6 (ii) the date that is 90 days after the 

7 date on which the entry was added to the 

8 list. 

9 (d) PENALTIES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), an 

11 owner or operator described in subsection (b)(1) that 

12 fails to perform the duties prescribed under that 

13 subsection is liable to the Federal Government for a 

14 civil penalty of $1,000 for each employee affected by 

15 each violation, to be distributed to those affected 

16 employees. 

17 (2) EXEMPTION.—An owner or operator identi18 fied on the list described in subsection (c)(4)(A) 

19 shall not be subject to the penalties described in 

20 paragraph (1) with respect to a failure to perform 

21 a duty prescribed under subsection (b)(1) during the 

22 time period in which the owner or operator is identi23 fied on that list if the failure is due to the market 

24 unavailability of the item for which the owner or op25 erator is included on that list. 


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1 SEC. 5. PROTECTION OF CERTAIN FEDERAL AVIATION AD2 MINISTRATION EMPLOYEES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the duration of the national 

4 emergency declared by the President under the National 

5 Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) with respect 

6 to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19), in order 

7 to maintain the safe and efficient operation of the air traf8 fic control system, the Administrator of the Federal Avia9 tion Administration shall— 

10 (1) provide any air traffic controller and airway 

11 transportation systems specialist of the Federal 

12 Aviation Administration with masks or protective 

13 face coverings, gloves, and hand sanitizer and wipes 

14 of sufficient alcohol content; 

15 (2) ensure that each air traffic control facility 

16 is cleaned, disinfected, and sanitized frequently in 

17 accordance with Centers for Disease Control and 

18 Prevention guidance; and 

19 (3) provide any employee of the Federal Avia20 tion Administration whose job responsibilities involve 

21 cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing a facility de22 scribed in paragraph (2) with masks or protective 

23 face coverings and gloves, and ensure that each con24 tractor of the Federal Aviation Administration pro25 vides any employee of the contractor with those ma26 terials. 


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1 (b) SOURCE OF EQUIPMENT.—The items described 

2 in subsection (a)(1) may be procured or provided under 

3 that subsection through any source available to the Ad4 ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. 

Æ 


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