I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8349 

To provide hazard pay to frontline essential workers employed during the 

COVID–19 pandemic. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 

Mr. VAN DREW introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on 

Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Veterans’ Affairs, Oversight 

and Reform, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide hazard pay to frontline essential workers 

employed during the COVID–19 pandemic. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Hazard Pay for Essential Workers Act of 2020’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—HAZARD PAY FOR ESSENTIAL WORKERS 


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Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Pandemic premium pay for essential workers. 

Sec. 103. COVID–19 Hazard Fund. 

Sec. 104. COVID–19 Hazard Fund grants. 

Sec. 105. Enforcement and outreach. 

Sec. 106. Funding for the Department of the Treasury Office of Inspector General. 

Sec. 107. Authorization and appropriations. 

1 TITLE I—HAZARD PAY FOR 

2 ESSENTIAL WORKERS 

3 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this title: 

5 (1) COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.— 

6 The term ‘‘COVID–19 Public Health Emergency’’ 

7 means the public health emergency first declared on 

8 January 31, 2020, by the Secretary of Health and 

9 Human Services under section 319 of the Public 

10 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) with respect to 

11 COVID–19. 

12 (2) EMPLOYEE.—Except as provided in para13 graph (3)(C)(iii), the term ‘‘employee’’ means an in14 dividual (not employed by an entity excluded from 

15 the definition of the term ‘‘employer’’ for purposes 

16 of this title under paragraph (3)(B)) who is— 

17 (A) an employee, as defined in section 3(e) 

18 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

19 U.S.C. 203(e)), except that a reference in such 

20 section 3(e) to an employer shall be considered 


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1 to be a reference to an employer described in 

2 clauses (i)(I) and (ii) of paragraph (3)(A); 

3 (B) a State employee described in section 

4 304(a) of the Government Employee Rights Act 

5 of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16c(a)); or 

6 (C) an employee of a Tribal employer. 

7 (3) EMPLOYER.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘employer’’ 

9 means, except as provided in subparagraph (B), 

10 a person who is— 

11 (i)(I) a covered employer, as defined 

12 in subparagraph (C); 

13 (II) an entity employing a State em14 ployee described in section 304(a) of the 

15 Government Employee Rights Act of 1991; 

16 or 

17 (III) a Tribal employer; and 

18 (ii) engaged in commerce (including 

19 government), or an industry or activity af20 fecting commerce (including government). 

21 (B) EXCLUSION OF EXECUTIVE, LEGISLA22 TIVE, AND JUDICIAL ENTITIES.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘em24 ployer’’ does not include— 


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1 (I) each agency, office, or other 

2 establishment in the executive, legisla3 tive, or judicial branch of the Federal 

4 Government including those listed in 

5 clause (ii), except, only as provided in 

6 section 102(g)(2), the VA Office of 

7 Geriatrics & Extended Care of the 

8 Veterans Health Administration; 

9 (II) the United States Postal 

10 Service or the Postal Regulatory Com11 mission; or 

12 (III) a nonappropriated fund in13 strumentality under the jurisdiction of 

14 the Armed Forces. 

15 (ii) INCLUSIONS.—The agencies, of16 fices, are other establishments listed in this 

17 clause include— 

18 (I) each agency, office, or other 

19 establishment in the executive, legisla20 tive, or judicial branch of the Federal 

21 Government, including— 

22 (aa) an Executive agency, as 

23 that term is defined in section 

24 105 of title 5, United States 

25 Code; 


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1 (bb) a military department, 

2 as that term is defined in section 

3 102 of title 5, United States 

4 Code; 

5 (cc) the Federal Aviation 

6 Administration; 

7 (dd) the Transportation Se8 curity Administration; 

9 (ee) the Department of Vet10 erans Affairs; and 

11 (ff) the Government Ac12 countability Office; 

13 (II) the District of Columbia 

14 courts and the District of Columbia 

15 Public Defender Service; and 

16 (III)(aa) an Indian tribe or tribal 

17 organization carrying out a contract 

18 or compact under the Indian Self-De19 termination and Education Assistance 

20 Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 

21 (bb) an Indian tribe or tribal or22 ganization that receives a grant under 

23 the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 

24 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.); and 


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1 (cc) an urban Indian organiza2 tion that receives a grant or carries 

3 out a contract under title V of the In4 dian Health Care Improvement Act 

5 (25 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.). 

6 (C) COVERED EMPLOYER.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—In subparagraph 

8 (A)(i)(I), the term ‘‘covered employer’’— 

9 (I) means any person engaged in 

10 commerce (including government), or 

11 in any industry or activity affecting 

12 commerce (including government), 

13 who employs 1 or more employees; 

14 (II) includes— 

15 (aa) any person who acts di16 rectly or indirectly in the interest 

17 of (within the meaning of section 

18 3(d) of the Fair Labor Standards 

19 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(d))) 

20 an employer in relation to any of 

21 the employees of such employer; 

22 and 

23 (bb) any successor in inter24 est of an employer; 


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1 (III) except as provided in sub2 paragraph (B), includes any public 

3 agency, as defined in section 3(x) of 

4 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

5 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(x)); 

6 (IV) includes any person de7 scribed in subclause (I) who conducts 

8 business as a not-for-profit organiza9 tion; 

10 (V) includes— 

11 (aa) an entity or person that 

12 contracts directly with a State, 

13 locality, Tribal government, or 

14 the Federal Government, to pro15 vide care (which may include 

16 items and services) through em17 ployees of such entity or person 

18 to individuals under the Medicare 

19 program under title XVIII of the 

20 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 1395 et seq.), under a State 

22 Medicaid plan under title XIX of 

23 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 

24 seq.) or under a waiver of such 

25 plan, or under any other program 


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1 established or administered by a 

2 State, locality, Tribal govern3 ment, or the Federal Govern4 ment; 

5 (bb) a subcontractor of an 

6 entity or person described in item 

7 (aa); 

8 (cc) an individual client (or 

9 a representative on behalf of an 

10 individual client), an entity, or a 

11 person, that employs an indi12 vidual to provide care (which may 

13 include items and services) to the 

14 individual client under a self-di15 rected service delivery model 

16 through a program established or 

17 administered by a State, locality, 

18 Tribal government, or the Fed19 eral Government; or 

20 (dd) an individual client (or 

21 a representative on behalf of an 

22 individual client) that, on their 

23 own accord, employs an indi24 vidual to provide care (which may 

25 include items and services) to the 


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1 individual client using the indi2 vidual client’s own finances; 

3 (VI) includes the United States 

4 Postal Service; 

5 (VII) includes a nonappropriated 

6 fund instrumentality under the juris7 diction of the Armed Forces; and 

8 (VIII) includes, only with respect 

9 to section 102(g)(2), the VA Office of 

10 Geriatrics & Extended Care of the 

11 Veterans Health Administration. 

12 (ii) PUBLIC AGENCY.—For purposes 

13 of this title, a public agency shall be con14 sidered to be a person engaged in com15 merce or in an industry or activity affect16 ing commerce. 

17 (iii) DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE.—For 

18 purposes of clause (i), the term ‘‘em19 ployee’’ has the meaning given such term 

20 in section 3(e), except such term does not 

21 include any individual employed by entity 

22 excluded from the definition of the term 

23 ‘‘employer’’ for purposes of this title under 

24 subparagraph (B). 


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1 (D) PREDECESSORS.—Any reference in 

2 this paragraph to an employer shall include a 

3 reference to any predecessor of such employer. 

4 (E) DEFINITION OF COMMERCE.—For pur5 poses of this paragraph, the terms ‘‘commerce’’ 

6 and ‘‘industry or activity affecting com7 merce’’— 

8 (i) mean any activity, business, or in9 dustry in commerce or in which a labor 

10 dispute would hinder or obstruct commerce 

11 or the free flow of commerce; 

12 (ii) include commerce and any indus13 try affecting commerce, as such terms are 

14 defined in paragraphs (1) and (3) of sec15 tion 501 of the Labor Management Rela16 tions Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C. 142(1) and 

17 (3)); and 

18 (iii) include commerce, as defined in 

19 section 3(b) of the Fair Labor Standards 

20 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(b)) and as de21 scribed in section 2(a) of such Act (29 

22 U.S.C. 202(a)). 

23 (4) EMPLOYER PAYROLL TAXES.—The term 

24 ‘‘employer payroll taxes’’ means— 


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1 (A) taxes imposed under sections 3111(b), 

2 3221(a) (but only to the extent attributable to 

3 the portion of such tax attributable to the tax 

4 imposed by section 3111(b)), 3221(b), and 

5 3301 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

6 and 

7 (B) taxes imposed by a State or local gov8 ernment on an employer with respect to 

9 amounts paid by such employer for work by em10 ployees. 

11 (5) ESSENTIAL WORK.—The term ‘‘essential 

12 work’’ means any work that— 

13 (A) is performed during the period that be14 gins on January 27, 2020, and ends 60 days 

15 after the last day of the COVID–19 Public 

16 Health Emergency; 

17 (B) is not performed while teleworking 

18 from a residence; 

19 (C) involves— 

20 (i) regular in-person interactions 

21 with— 

22 (I) patients; 

23 (II) the public; or 

24 (III) coworkers of the individual 

25 performing the work; or 


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1 (ii) regular physical handling of items 

2 that were handled by, or are to be handled 

3 by— 

4 (I) patients; 

5 (II) the public; or 

6 (III) coworkers of the individual 

7 performing the work; and 

8 (D) is in any of the following areas: 

9 (i) First responder work, in the public 

10 sector or private sector, including services 

11 in response to emergencies that have the 

12 potential to cause death or serious bodily 

13 injury, such as police, fire, emergency med14 ical, protective, child maltreatment, domes15 tic violence, and correctional services (in16 cluding activities carried out by employees 

17 in fire protection activities, as defined in 

18 section 3(y) of the Fair Labor Standards 

19 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(y)) and activi20 ties of law enforcement officers, as defined 

21 in section 1204(6) of the Omnibus Crime 

22 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

23 U.S.C. 10284(6)). 

24 (ii) Health care work physically pro25 vided in inpatient settings (including hosVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Oct 08, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8349.IH H8349

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1 pitals and other inpatient post-acute care 

2 settings such as nursing homes, inpatient 

3 rehabilitation facilities, and other related 

4 settings) and other work physically per5 formed in such inpatient settings that sup6 ports or is in furtherance of such health 

7 care work physically provided in inpatient 

8 settings. 

9 (iii) Health care work physically pro10 vided in outpatient settings (including at 

11 physician offices, community health cen12 ters, rural health clinics and other clinics, 

13 hospital outpatient departments, free14 standing emergency departments, ambula15 tory surgical centers, and other related set16 tings), and other work physically per17 formed in such inpatient settings that sup18 ports or is in furtherance of such health 

19 care work physically provided in outpatient 

20 settings. 

21 (iv) Pharmacy work, physically per22 formed in pharmacies, drug stores, or 

23 other retail facilities specializing in medical 

24 goods and supplies. 


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1 (v) Any work physically performed in 

2 a facility that performs medical testing and 

3 diagnostic services, including laboratory 

4 processing, medical testing services, or re5 lated activities. 

6 (vi) Home and community-based 

7 work, including home health care, residen8 tial care, assistance with activities of daily 

9 living, and any services provided by direct 

10 care workers (as defined in section 799B 

11 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

12 U.S.C. 295p)), personal care aides, job 

13 coaches, or supported employment pro14 viders, and any other provision of care to 

15 individuals in their homes by direct service 

16 providers, personal care attendants, and 

17 home health aides. 

18 (vii) Biomedical research regarding 

19 SARS–CoV–2 and COVID–19 that in20 volves the handling of hazardous materials 

21 such as COVID–19 samples. 

22 (viii) Behavioral health work requiring 

23 physical interaction with individuals, in24 cluding mental health services and subVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Oct 08, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8349.IH H8349

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1 stance use disorder prevention, treatment, 

2 and recovery services. 

3 (ix) Nursing care and residential care 

4 work physically provided in a facility. 

5 (x) Family care, including child care 

6 services, in-home child care services such 

7 as nanny services, and care services pro8 vided by family members to other family 

9 members. 

10 (xi) Social services work, including so11 cial work, case management, social and 

12 human services, child welfare, family serv13 ices, shelter and services for people who 

14 have experienced intimate partner violence 

15 or sexual assault, services for individuals 

16 who are homeless, child services, commu17 nity food and housing services, and other 

18 emergency social services. 

19 (xii) Public health work conducted at 

20 State, local, territorial, and Tribal govern21 ment public health agencies, including epi22 demiological activities, surveillance, contact 

23 tracing, data analysis, statistical research, 

24 health education, and other disease detec25 tion, prevention, and response methods. 


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1 (xiii) Tribal vital services, as defined 

2 by the Commissioner of the Administration 

3 for Native Americans in consultation with 

4 Tribal governments and after conferring 

5 with urban Indian organizations. 

6 (xiv) Grocery work physically per7 formed at grocery stores, supermarkets, 

8 convenience stores, corner stores, drug 

9 stores, retail facilities specializing in med10 ical goods and supplies, bodegas, and other 

11 locations where individuals purchase non12 prepared food items. 

13 (xv) Restaurant work, including carry14 out, drive-thru, or food delivery work, re15 quiring physical interaction with individ16 uals or food products. 

17 (xvi) Food production work involving 

18 the physical interaction with food products, 

19 including all agricultural work, farming, 

20 fishing, forestry, ranching, processing, can21 ning, slaughtering, packaging, baking, 

22 butchering, and other food production 

23 work, such as any service or activity in24 cluded within the provisions of section 3(f) 

25 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 


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1 (29 U.S.C. 203(f)), or section 3121(g) of 

2 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and 

3 the handling, planting, drying, packing, 

4 packaging, processing, freezing, or grading 

5 prior to delivery for storage of any agricul6 tural or horticultural commodity in its un7 manufactured state. 

8 (xvii) Transportation work, includ9 ing— 

10 (I) any services in public trans11 portation, as defined in section 

12 5302(14) of title 49, United States 

13 Code; 

14 (II) any private transportation of 

15 people, such as transportation pro16 vided by air, rail, bus, taxicab, per17 sonal car or truck, non-motorized ve18 hicle, or otherwise, including all serv19 ices performed by individuals working 

20 in or on such vehicles, vehicle depots, 

21 or transit facilities; 

22 (III) any private transportation 

23 of goods in bulk, including transpor24 tation via heavy or light truck, rail, 

25 air, or otherwise; 


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1 (IV) any public or private trans2 portation of mail or packages; 

3 (V) any private transportation of 

4 food or other goods to individuals, in5 cluding in a personal car or truck, 

6 non-motorized vehicle, or otherwise; 

7 (VI) any services in passenger 

8 rail transportation, including com9 muter rail, intercity passenger rail, or 

10 Amtrak, including services performed 

11 by employees of contractors of such 

12 entities; 

13 (VII) any services in the trans14 portation of persons, property, or mail 

15 by an aircraft of an air carrier con16 ducting operations under part 121 of 

17 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations 

18 (or successor regulations), or a for19 eign air carrier within, to, or from the 

20 United States, either on board an air21 craft or on the ground at an airport, 

22 including services performed by em23 ployees of contractors of air carriers, 

24 or foreign air carriers, as described in 


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1 section 4111(3) of the CARES Act 

2 (Public Law 116–136); 

3 (VIII) any services as an aircraft 

4 mechanic or technician who performs 

5 maintenance, repair, or overhaul work 

6 on an aircraft of an air carrier con7 ducting operations under such part 

8 121 or foreign air carrier within the 

9 United States; 

10 (IX) services as maritime work11 ers who qualify as seamen under sec12 tion 10101(3) of title 46, United 

13 States Code, and other maritime em14 ployees including— 

15 (aa) longshoremen, harbor 

16 workers, and shipbuilders covered 

17 under section 2(3) of the 

18 Longshore and Harbor Workers’ 

19 Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 

20 902(3)) involved in the transpor21 tation of merchandise or pas22 sengers by water; and 

23 (bb) shipbuilders and ship 

24 repairers who are working for an 

25 employer performing shipbuilding 


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1 or ship repair work under con2 tract or subcontract to the De3 partments of Defense, Energy, or 

4 Homeland Security for military 

5 or other national security pur6 poses; and 

7 (X) services as maritime trans8 portation workers supporting or ena9 bling transportation functions, includ10 ing such services as— 

11 (aa) barge workers, tug op12 erators, and port and facility se13 curity personnel; 

14 (bb) marine dispatchers; and 

15 (cc) workers who repair and 

16 maintain marine vessels (includ17 ing the equipment and infra18 structure that enables operations 

19 that encompass movement of 

20 cargo and passengers). 

21 (xviii) Work physically performed in a 

22 warehouse or other facility in warehousing 

23 (including all services performed by indi24 viduals picking, sorting, packing, and ship25 ping in warehouses), storage, distribution, 


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1 or call center support facilities, and other 

2 essential operational support functions that 

3 are necessary to accept, store, and process 

4 goods, and that facilitate the goods’ trans5 portation and delivery. 

6 (xix) Cleaning work and building 

7 maintenance work physically performed on 

8 the grounds of a facility, including all cus9 todial or janitorial services, security serv10 ices, and repair and maintenance services. 

11 (xx) Work in the collection, removal, 

12 transport, storage, or disposal of residen13 tial, industrial, or commercial solid waste 

14 and recycling, including services provided 

15 by individuals who drive waste or recycling 

16 trucks, who pick up waste or recycling 

17 from residential or commercial locations, 

18 or who work at waste or recycling centers 

19 or landfills. 

20 (xxi) Work in the gathering, proc21 essing, disseminating, and delivery of news 

22 and information that serves the public in23 terest to the public through mass media, 

24 including television, radio, and newspapers. 


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1 (xxii) Any work performed by an em2 ployee of a State, locality, or Tribal gov3 ernment, that is determined to be essential 

4 work by the highest authority of such 

5 State, locality, or Tribal government. 

6 (xxiii) Educational work, school nutri7 tion work, and other work required to op8 erate a school facility, including early 

9 childhood programs, preschool programs, 

10 elementary and secondary education, and 

11 higher education. 

12 (xxiv) Laundry work, including work 

13 in laundromats, laundry service companies, 

14 and dry cleaners. 

15 (xxv) Elections work physically per16 formed at polling places or otherwise 

17 amongst the public, including public-sector 

18 elections personnel and private-sector elec19 tions personnel. 

20 (xxvi) Hazardous materials manage21 ment, response, and cleanup work associ22 ated with any other essential work covered 

23 under this paragraph, including health 

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1 tion), and testing operations (including 

2 laboratories processing test kits). 

3 (xxvii) Disinfection work for all facili4 ties and modes of transportation involved 

5 in other essential work covered under this 

6 paragraph. 

7 (xxviii) Work in critical clinical re8 search, development, and testing necessary 

9 for COVID–19 response that involves 

10 physical interaction with hazardous mate11 rials, such as samples of COVID–19. 

12 (xxix) Work in mortuary, funeral, cre13 mation, burial, cemetery, and related serv14 ices. 

15 (xxx) Work requiring physical inter16 actions with patients in physical therapy, 

17 occupational therapy, speech-language pa18 thology, and respiratory therapy and other 

19 therapy services. 

20 (xxxi) Dental care work requiring 

21 physical interaction with patients. 

22 (xxxii) Work performed by employees 

23 of the U.S. Postal Service. 


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1 (xxxiii) Work at hotel and commercial 

2 lodging facilities that are used for COVID– 

3 19 mitigation and containment measures. 

4 (xxxiv) Work installing or repairing a 

5 telecommunications line or equipment. 

6 (6) ESSENTIAL WORKER.—The term ‘‘essential 

7 worker’’ means an individual, whose work and duties 

8 include essential work, and who is— 

9 (A) an employee of an employer; or 

10 (B) an individual performing any services 

11 or labor for remuneration for an employer, re12 gardless of whether the individual is classified 

13 as an independent contractor by the employer. 

14 (7) ESSENTIAL WORK EMPLOYER.—The term 

15 ‘‘essential work employer’’ means an employer who 

16 employs, or provides remuneration for services or 

17 labor to, an essential worker. 

18 (8) FLSA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘employ’’, ‘‘per19 son’’, ‘‘regular rate’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the mean20 ings given the terms in section 3 of the Fair Labor 

21 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 

22 (9) HIGHLY-COMPENSATED ESSENTIAL WORK23 ER.—The term ‘‘highly-compensated essential work24 er’’ means an essential worker who is paid the equivVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Oct 08, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8349.IH H8349

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1 alent of $200,000 or more per year by an essential 

2 work employer. 

3 (10) LARGE ESSENTIAL WORK EMPLOYER.— 

4 The term ‘‘large essential work employer’’ means an 

5 essential work employer who has more than 500 in6 dividuals who are employed by the employer or are 

7 otherwise providing services or labor for remunera8 tion for the employer. 

9 (11) SELF-DIRECTED CARE WORKER.—The 

10 term ‘‘self-directed care worker’’ means an indi11 vidual employed to provide care (which may include 

12 items and services) to an individual client— 

13 (A) under a self-directed service delivery 

14 model through a program established or admin15 istered by a State, locality, Tribal government, 

16 or the Federal Government; or 

17 (B) on the individual client’s own accord 

18 and using the individual client’s own finances. 

19 (12) TRIBAL EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

20 employer’’ means— 

21 (A) any Tribal government, a subdivision 

22 of a Tribal government (determined in accord23 ance with section 7871(d) of the Internal Rev24 enue Code), or an agency or instrumentality of 

25 a Tribal government or subdivision thereof; 


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1 (B) any Tribal organization (as the term 

2 ‘‘tribal organization’’ is defined in section 4(l) 

3 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 

4 Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(l))); 

5 (C) any corporation if more than 50 per6 cent (determined by vote and value) of the out7 standing stock of such corporation is owned, di8 rectly or indirectly, by any entity described in 

9 subparagraph (A) or (B); or 

10 (D) any partnership if more than 50 per11 cent of the value of the capital and profits in12 terests of such partnership is owned, directly or 

13 indirectly, by any entity described in subpara14 graph (A) or (B). 

15 (13) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

16 government’’ means the recognized governing body 

17 of any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, 

18 pueblo, village, community, component band, or com19 ponent reservation individually identified (including 

20 parenthetically) in the list published most recently as 

21 of the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to sec22 tion 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe 

23 List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 


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1 (14) WORK.—The term ‘‘work’’ means employ2 ment by, or engagement in providing labor or serv3 ices for, an employer. 

4 SEC. 102. PANDEMIC PREMIUM PAY FOR ESSENTIAL WORK5 ERS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning 3 days after an essen7 tial work employer receives a grant under section 104 

8 from the Secretary of the Treasury, the essential work em9 ployer shall— 

10 (1) be required to comply with subsections (b) 

11 through (h); and 

12 (2) be subject to the enforcement requirements 

13 of section 105. 

14 (b) PANDEMIC PREMIUM PAY.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—An essential work employer 

16 receiving a grant under section 104 shall, in accord17 ance with this subsection, provide each essential 

18 worker of the essential work employer with premium 

19 pay at a rate equal to $13 for each hour of work 

20 performed by the essential worker for the employer 

21 from January 27, 2020, until the date that is 60 

22 days after the last day of the COVID–19 Public 

23 Health Emergency. 

24 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.—The total amount of 

25 all premium pay under this subsection that an essenVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Oct 10, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8349.IH H8349

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1 tial work employer is required to provide to an es2 sential worker, including through any retroactive 

3 payment under paragraph (3), shall not exceed— 

4 (A) for an essential worker who is not a 

5 highly-compensated essential worker, $10,000 

6 reduced by employer payroll taxes with respect 

7 to such premium pay; or 

8 (B) for a highly-compensated essential 

9 worker, $5,000 reduced by employer payroll 

10 taxes with respect to such premium pay. 

11 (3) RETROACTIVE PAYMENT.—For all work 

12 performed by an essential worker during the period 

13 from January 27, 2020, through the date on which 

14 the essential work employer of the worker receives a 

15 grant under this title, the essential work employer 

16 shall use a portion of the amount of such grant to 

17 provide such worker with premium pay under this 

18 subsection for such work at the rate provided under 

19 paragraph (1). Such amount shall be provided to the 

20 essential worker as a lump sum in the next paycheck 

21 (or other payment form) that immediately follows 

22 the receipt of the grant by the essential work em23 ployer. In any case where it is impossible for the em24 ployer to arrange for payment of the amount due in 

25 such paycheck (or other payment form), such 


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1 amounts shall be paid as soon as practicable, but in 

2 no event later than the second paycheck (or other 

3 payment form) following the receipt of the grant by 

4 the essential work employer. 

5 (4) NO EMPLOYER DISCRETION.—An essential 

6 work employer receiving a grant under section 104 

7 shall not have any discretion to determine which 

8 portions of work performed by an essential worker 

9 qualify for premium pay under this subsection, but 

10 shall pay such premium pay for any increment of 

11 time worked by the essential worker for the essential 

12 work employer up to the maximum amount applica13 ble to the essential worker under paragraph (2). 

14 (c) PROHIBITION ON REDUCING COMPENSATION AND

15 DISPLACEMENT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any payments made to an 

17 essential worker as premium pay under subsection 

18 (b) shall be in addition to all other compensation, in19 cluding all wages, remuneration, or other pay and 

20 benefits, that the essential worker otherwise receives 

21 from the essential work employer. 

22 (2) REDUCTION OF COMPENSATION.—An essen23 tial work employer receiving a grant under section 

24 104 shall not, during the period beginning on the 

25 date of enactment of this Act and ending on the 


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1 date that is 60 days after the last day of the 

2 COVID–19 Public Health Emergency, reduce or in 

3 any other way diminish, any other compensation, in4 cluding the wages, remuneration, or other pay or 

5 benefits, that the essential work employer provided 

6 to the essential worker on the day before the date 

7 of enactment of this Act. 

8 (3) DISPLACEMENT.—An essential work em9 ployer shall not take any action to displace an essen10 tial worker (including partial displacement such as a 

11 reduction in hours, wages, or employment benefits) 

12 for purposes of hiring an individual for an equivalent 

13 position at a rate of compensation that is less than 

14 is required to be provided to an essential worker 

15 under paragraph (2). 

16 (d) DEMARCATION FROM OTHER COMPENSATION.— 

17 The amount of any premium pay paid under subsection 

18 (b) shall be clearly demarcated as a separate line item in 

19 each paystub or other document provided to an essential 

20 worker that details the remuneration the essential worker 

21 received from the essential work employer for a particular 

22 period of time. If any essential worker does not otherwise 

23 regularly receive any such paystub or other document from 

24 the employer, the essential work employer shall provide 

25 such paystub or other document to the essential worker 


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1 for the duration of the period in which the essential work 

2 employer provides premium pay under subsection (b). 

3 (e) EXCLUSION FROM WAGE-BASED CALCULA4 TIONS.—Any premium pay under subsection (b) paid to 

5 an essential worker under this section by an essential work 

6 employer receiving a grant under section 104 shall be ex7 cluded from the amount of remuneration for work paid 

8 to the essential worker for purposes of— 

9 (1) calculating the essential worker’s eligibility 

10 for any wage-based benefits offered by the essential 

11 work employer; 

12 (2) computing the regular rate at which such 

13 essential worker is employed under section 7 of the 

14 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207); 

15 and 

16 (3) determining whether such essential worker 

17 is exempt from application of such section 7 under 

18 section 13(a)(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1)). 

19 (f) ESSENTIAL WORKER DEATH.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which an es21 sential worker of an essential work employer receiv22 ing a grant under section 104 exhibits symptoms of 

23 COVID–19 and dies, the essential work employer 

24 shall pay as a lump sum to the next of kin of the 


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1 essential worker for premium pay under subsection 

2 (b)— 

3 (A) for an essential worker who is not a 

4 highly-compensated essential worker, the 

5 amount determined under subsection (b)(2)(A) 

6 minus the total amount of any premium pay the 

7 worker received under subsection (b) prior to 

8 the death; or 

9 (B) for a highly-compensated essential 

10 worker, the amount determined under sub11 section (b)(2)(B) minus the amount of any pre12 mium pay the worker received under subsection 

13 (b) prior to the death. 

14 (2) TREATMENT OF LUMP SUM PAYMENTS.— 

15 (A) TREATMENT AS PREMIUM PAY.—For 

16 purposes of this title, any payment made under 

17 this subsection shall be treated as a premium 

18 pay under subsection (b). 

19 (B) TREATMENT FOR PURPOSES OF IN20 TERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.—For pur21 poses of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

22 any payment made under this subsection shall 

23 be treated as a payment for work performed by 

24 the essential worker. 


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1 (g) APPLICATION TO SELF-DIRECTED CARE WORK2 ERS FUNDED THROUGH MEDICAID OR THE VETERAN-DI3 RECTED CARE PROGRAM.— 

4 (1) MEDICAID.—In the case of an essential 

5 work employer receiving a grant under section 104 

6 that is a covered employer described in section 

7 101(3)(C)(i)(V) who, under a State Medicaid plan 

8 under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) or under a waiver of such plan, 

10 has opted to receive items or services using a self11 directed service delivery model, the preceding re12 quirements of this section, including the require13 ments to provide premium pay under subsection (b) 

14 (including a lump sum payment in the event of an 

15 essential worker death under subsection (f)) and the 

16 requirements of sections 104 and 105, shall apply to 

17 the State Medicaid agency responsible for the ad18 ministration of such plan or waiver with respect to 

19 self-directed care workers employed by that em20 ployer. In administering payments made under this 

21 title to such self-directed care workers on behalf of 

22 such employers, a State Medicaid agency shall— 

23 (A) exclude and disregard any payments 

24 made under this title to such self-directed work25 ers from the individualized budget that applies 


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1 to the items or services furnished to the indi2 vidual client employer under the State Medicaid 

3 plan or waiver; 

4 (B) to the extent practicable, administer 

5 and provide payments under this title directly 

6 to such self-directed workers through arrange7 ments with entities that provide financial man8 agement services in connection with the self-di9 rected service delivery models used under the 

10 State Medicaid plan or waiver; and 

11 (C) ensure that individual client employers 

12 of such self-directed workers are provided notice 

13 of, and comply with, the prohibition under sec14 tion 105(b)(1)(B). 

15 (2) VETERAN-DIRECTED CARE PROGRAM.—In 

16 the case of an essential work employer that is a cov17 ered employer described in section 101(3)(C)(i)(V) 

18 who is a veteran participating in the Veteran Di19 rected Care program administered by the VA Office 

20 of Geriatrics & Extended Care of the Veterans 

21 Health Administration, the preceding requirements 

22 of this section and sections 104 and 105, shall apply 

23 to such VA Office of Geriatrics & Extended Care 

24 with respect to self-directed care workers employed 

25 by that employer. Paragraph (1) of this subsection 


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1 shall apply to the administration by the VA Office 

2 of Geriatrics & Extended Care of payments made 

3 under this title to such self-directed care workers on 

4 behalf of such employers in the same manner as 

5 such requirements apply to State Medicaid agencies. 

6 (3) PENALTY ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary 

7 of Labor shall consult with the Secretary of Health 

8 and Human Services and the Secretary of Veterans 

9 Affairs regarding the enforcement of penalties im10 posed under section 105(b)(2) with respect to viola11 tions of subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 

12 105(b)(1) that involve self-directed workers for 

13 which the requirements of this section and sections 

14 104 and 105 are applied to a State Medicaid agency 

15 under paragraph (1) or the VA Office of Geriatrics 

16 & Extended Care under paragraph (2). 

17 (h) INTERACTION WITH STAFFORD ACT.—Nothing 

18 in this section shall nullify, supersede, or otherwise change 

19 a State’s ability to seek reimbursement under section 403 

20 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

21 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b) for the costs of pre22 mium pay based on pre-disaster labor policies for eligible 

23 employees. 

24 (i) CALCULATION OF PAID LEAVE UNDER FFCRA 

25 AND FMLA.— 


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1 (1) FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE

2 ACT.—Section 5110(5)(B) of the Families First 

3 Coronavirus Response Act (29 U.S.C. 2601 note) is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(iii) PANDEMIC PREMIUM PAY.— 

6 Compensation received by an employee 

7 under section 102(b) of the Hazard Pay 

8 for Essential Workers Act of 2020 shall be 

9 included as remuneration for employment 

10 paid to the employee for purposes of com11 puting the regular rate at which such em12 ployee is employed.’’. 

13 (2) FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT OF

14 1993.—Section 110(b)(2)(B) of the Family and Med15 ical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2620(b)(2)(B)) is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(iii) PANDEMIC PREMIUM PAY.— 

18 Compensation received by an employee 

19 under section 102(b) of the Hazard Pay 

20 for Essential Workers Act of 2020 shall be 

21 included as remuneration for employment 

22 paid to the employee for purposes of com23 puting the regular rate at which such em24 ployee is employed.’’. 


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1 SEC. 103. COVID–19 HAZARD FUND. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

3 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the 

4 ‘‘COVID–19 Hazard Fund’’ (referred to in this section as 

5 the ‘‘Fund’’), consisting of amounts appropriated to the 

6 fund under section 107. 

7 (b) FUND ADMINISTRATION.—The Fund shall be ad8 ministered by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

9 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Fund shall be 

10 available to the Secretary of the Treasury for carrying out 

11 section 104. 

12 SEC. 104. COVID–19 HAZARD FUND GRANTS. 

13 (a) GRANTS.— 

14 (1) FOR PANDEMIC PREMIUM PAY.—The Sec15 retary of the Treasury shall, subject to the avail16 ability of amounts provided in this title, award a 

17 grant to each essential work employer that applies 

18 for a grant, in accordance with this section, for the 

19 purpose of providing premium pay to essential work20 ers under section 102(b), including amounts paid 

21 under section 102(f). 

22 (2) ELIGIBILITY.— 

23 (A) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYERS GENERALLY.— 

24 Any essential work employer shall be eligible for 

25 a grant under paragraph (1). 


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1 (B) SELF-DIRECTED CARE WORKERS.—A 

2 self-directed care worker employed by an essen3 tial work employer other than an essential work 

4 employer described in section 102(g), shall be 

5 eligible to apply for a grant under paragraph 

6 (1) in the same manner as an essential work 

7 employer. Such a worker shall provide premium 

8 pay to himself or herself in accordance with this 

9 section, including the recordkeeping and refund 

10 requirements of this section. 

11 (b) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The maximum amount avail13 able for making a grant under subsection (a)(1) to 

14 an essential work employer shall be equal to the sum 

15 of— 

16 (A) the amount obtained by multiplying 

17 $10,000 by the number of essential workers the 

18 employer certifies, in the application submitted 

19 under subsection (c)(1), as employing, or pro20 viding remuneration to for services or labor, 

21 who are paid wages or remuneration by the em22 ployer at a rate that is less than the equivalent 

23 of $200,000 per year; and 

24 (B) the amount obtained by multiplying 

25 $5,000 by the number of highly-compensated 


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•HR 8349 IH

1 essential workers the employer certifies, in the 

2 application submitted under subsection (c)(1), 

3 as employing, or providing remuneration to for 

4 services or labor, who are paid wages or remu5 neration by the employer at a rate that is equal 

6 to or greater than the equivalent of $200,000 

7 per year. 

8 (2) NO PARTIAL GRANTS.—The Secretary of 

9 the Treasury shall not award a grant under this sec10 tion in an amount less than the maximum described 

11 in paragraph (1). 

12 (c) GRANT APPLICATION AND DISBURSAL.— 

13 (1) APPLICATION.—Any essential work em14 ployer seeking a grant under subsection (a)(1) shall 

15 submit an application to the Secretary of the Treas16 ury at such time, in such manner, and complete with 

17 such information as the Secretary may require. 

18 (2) NOTICE AND CERTIFICATION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 

20 Treasury shall, within 15 days after receiving a 

21 complete application from an essential work em22 ployer eligible for a grant under this section— 

23 (i) notify the employer of the Sec24 retary’s findings with respect to the re25 quirements for the grant; and 


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1 (ii)(I) if the Secretary finds that the 

2 essential work employer meets the require3 ments under this section for a grant under 

4 subsection (a), provide a certification to 

5 the employer— 

6 (aa) that the employer has met 

7 such requirements; or 

8 (bb) of the amount of the grant 

9 payment that the Secretary has deter10 mined the employer shall receive 

11 based on the requirements under this 

12 section; or 

13 (II) if the Secretary finds that the es14 sential work employer does not meet the 

15 requirements under this section for a grant 

16 under subsection (a), provide a notice of 

17 denial stating the reasons for the denial 

18 and provide an opportunity for administra19 tive review by not later than 10 days after 

20 the denial. 

21 (B) TRANSFER.—Not later than 7 days 

22 after making a certification under subpara23 graph (A)(ii) with respect to an essential work 

24 employer, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 


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•HR 8349 IH

1 make the appropriate transfer to the employer 

2 of the amount of the grant. 

3 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—An essential work employer 

5 receiving a grant under this section shall use the 

6 amount of the grant solely for the following pur7 poses: 

8 (A) Providing premium pay under section 

9 102(b) to essential workers in accordance with 

10 the requirements for such payments under such 

11 section, including providing payments described 

12 in section 102(f) to the next of kin of essential 

13 workers in accordance with the requirements 

14 for such payments under such section. 

15 (B) Paying employer payroll taxes with re16 spect to premium pay amounts described in 

17 subparagraph (A), including such payments de18 scribed in section 102(f). 

19 Each dollar of a grant received by an essential work 

20 employer under this title shall be used as provided 

21 in subparagraph (A) or (B) or returned to the Sec22 retary of the Treasury. 

23 (2) NO OTHER USES AUTHORIZED.—An essen24 tial work employer who uses any amount of a grant 


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•HR 8349 IH

1 for a purpose not required under paragraph (1) shall 

2 be— 

3 (A) considered to have misused funds in 

4 violation of section 102; and 

5 (B) subject to the enforcement and rem6 edies provided under section 105. 

7 (3) REFUND.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—If an essential work 

9 employer receives a grant under this section 

10 and, for any reason, does not provide every dol11 lar of such grant to essential workers in accord12 ance with the requirements of this title, then 

13 the employer shall refund any such dollars to 

14 the Secretary of the Treasury not later than 

15 June 30, 2021. Any amounts returned to the 

16 Secretary shall be deposited into the Fund and 

17 be available for any additional grants under this 

18 section. 

19 (B) REQUIREMENT FOR NOT REDUCING

20 COMPENSATION.—An essential work employer 

21 who is required to refund any amount under 

22 this paragraph shall not reduce or otherwise di23 minish an eligible worker’s compensation or 

24 benefits in response to or otherwise due to such 

25 refund. 


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1 (e) RECORDKEEPING.—An essential work employer 

2 that receives a grant under this section shall— 

3 (1) maintain records, including payroll records, 

4 demonstrating how each dollar of funds received 

5 through the grant were provided to essential work6 ers; and 

7 (2) provide such records to the Secretary of the 

8 Treasury or the Secretary of Labor upon the request 

9 of either such Secretary. 

10 (f) RECOUPMENT.—In addition to all other enforce11 ment and remedies available under this title or any other 

12 law, the Secretary of the Treasury shall establish a process 

13 under which the Secretary shall recoup the amount of any 

14 grant awarded under subsection (a)(1) if the Secretary de15 termines that the essential work employer receiving the 

16 grant— 

17 (1) did not provide all of the dollars of such 

18 grant to the essential workers of the employer; 

19 (2) did not, in fact, have the number of essen20 tial workers certified by the employer in accordance 

21 with subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection 

22 (b)(1); 

23 (3) did not pay the essential workers for the 

24 number of hours the employer claimed to have paid; 

25 or 


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1 (4) otherwise misused funds or violated this 

2 title. 

3 (g) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES OF

4 TRIBAL EMPLOYERS.—Essential workers of Tribal em5 ployers who receive funds under title II shall not be eligi6 ble to receive funds from grants under this section. 

7 (h) TAX TREATMENT.— 

8 (1) EXCLUSION FROM INCOME.—For purposes 

9 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, any grant re10 ceived by an essential work employer under this sec11 tion shall not be included in the gross income of 

12 such essential work employer. 

13 (2) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an essen15 tial work employer that receives a grant under 

16 this section— 

17 (i) amounts paid under subsection (b) 

18 or (f) of section 102 shall not be taken 

19 into account as wages for purposes of sec20 tions 41, 45A, 51, or 1396 of the Internal 

21 Revenue Code of 1986 or section 2301 of 

22 the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136); 

23 and 

24 (ii) any deduction otherwise allowable 

25 under such Code for applicable payments 


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1 during any taxable year shall be reduced 

2 (but not below zero) by the excess (if any) 

3 of— 

4 (I) the aggregate amounts of 

5 grants received under this section; 

6 over 

7 (II) the sum of any amount re8 funded under subsection (d) plus the 

9 aggregate amount of applicable pay10 ments made for all preceding taxable 

11 years. 

12 (B) APPLICABLE PAYMENTS.—For pur13 poses of this paragraph, the term ‘‘applicable 

14 payments’’ means amounts paid as premium 

15 pay under subsection (b) or (f) of section 102 

16 and amounts paid for employer payroll taxes 

17 with respect to such amounts. 

18 (C) AGGREGATION RULE.—Rules similar 

19 to the rules of subsections (a) and (b) of section 

20 52 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall 

21 apply for purposes of this section. 

22 (3) INFORMATION REPORTING.—The Secretary 

23 of the Treasury shall submit to the Commissioner of 

24 Internal Revenue statements containing— 


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1 (A) the name and tax identification num2 ber of each essential work employer receiving a 

3 grant under this section; 

4 (B) the amount of such grant; and 

5 (C) any amounts refunded under section 

6 (d)(3). 

7 (i) REPORTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

9 obligating the last dollar of the funds appropriated 

10 under this title, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

11 submit a report, to the Committees of Congress de12 scribed in paragraph (2), that— 

13 (A) certifies that all funds appropriated 

14 under this title have been obligated; and 

15 (B) indicates the number of pending appli16 cations for grants under this section that will 

17 be rejected due to the lack of funds. 

18 (2) COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.—The Commit19 tees of Congress described in this paragraph are— 

20 (A) the Committee on Ways and Means of 

21 the House of Representatives; 

22 (B) the Committee on Education and 

23 Labor of the House of Representatives; 

24 (C) the Committee on Finance of the Sen25 ate; and 


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1 (D) the Committee on Health, Education, 

2 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 

3 SEC. 105. ENFORCEMENT AND OUTREACH. 

4 (a) DUTIES OF SECRETARY OF LABOR.—The Sec5 retary of Labor shall— 

6 (1) have authority to enforce the requirements 

7 of section 102, in accordance with subsections (b) 

8 through (e); 

9 (2) conduct outreach as described in subsection 

10 (f); and 

11 (3) coordinate with the Secretary of the Treas12 ury as needed to carry out the Secretary of Labor’s 

13 responsibilities under this section. 

14 (b) PROHIBITED ACTS, PENALTIES, AND ENFORCE15 MENT.— 

16 (1) PROHIBITED ACTS.—It shall be unlawful for 

17 a person to— 

18 (A) violate any provision of section 102 ap19 plicable to such person; or 

20 (B) discharge or in any other manner dis21 criminate against any essential worker because 

22 such essential worker has filed any complaint or 

23 instituted or caused to be instituted any pro24 ceeding under or related to this title, or has tesVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Oct 08, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8349.IH H8349

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1 tified or is about to testify in any such pro2 ceeding. 

3 (2) ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES.— 

4 (A) PREMIUM PAY VIOLATIONS.—A viola5 tion described in paragraph (1)(A) shall be 

6 deemed a violation of section 7 of the Fair 

7 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207) 

8 and unpaid amounts required under this section 

9 shall be treated as unpaid overtime compensa10 tion under such section 7 for the purposes of 

11 sections 15 and 16 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 215 

12 and 216). 

13 (B) DISCHARGE OR DISCRIMINATION.—A 

14 violation of paragraph (1)(B) shall be deemed a 

15 violation of section 15(a)(3) of the Fair Labor 

16 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3)). 

17 (c) INVESTIGATION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—To ensure compliance with 

19 the provisions of section 102, including any regula20 tion or order issued under that section, the Sec21 retary of Labor shall have the investigative authority 

22 provided under section 11(a) of the Fair Labor 

23 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(a)). For the 

24 purposes of any investigation provided for in this 

25 subsection, the Secretary of Labor shall have the 


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1 subpoena authority provided for under section 9 of 

2 such Act (29 U.S.C. 209). 

3 (2) STATE AGENCIES.—The Secretary of Labor 

4 may, for the purpose of carrying out the functions 

5 and duties under this section, utilize the services of 

6 State and local agencies in accordance with section 

7 11(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

8 U.S.C. 211(b)). 

9 (d) ESSENTIAL WORKER ENFORCEMENT.— 

10 (1) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An action alleging a 

11 violation of paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) 

12 may be maintained against an essential work em13 ployer receiving a grant under section 104 in any 

14 Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction by 

15 one or more essential workers or their representative 

16 for and on behalf of the essential workers, or the es17 sential workers and others similarly situated, in the 

18 same manner, and subject to the same remedies (in19 cluding attorney’s fees and costs of the action), as 

20 an action brought by an employee alleging a viola21 tion of section 7 or 15(a)(3), respectively, of the 

22 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207, 

23 215(a)(3)). 

24 (2) NO WAIVER.—In an action alleging a viola25 tion of paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) 


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1 brought by one or more essential workers or their 

2 representative for and on behalf of the persons as 

3 described in paragraph (1), to enforce the rights in 

4 section 102, no court of competent jurisdiction may 

5 grant the motion of an essential work employer re6 ceiving a grant under section 104 to compel arbitra7 tion, under chapter 1 of title 9, United States Code, 

8 or any analogous State arbitration statute, of the 

9 claims involved. An essential worker’s right to bring 

10 an action described in paragraph (1) or subsection 

11 (b)(2)(A) on behalf of similarly situated essential 

12 workers to enforce such rights may not be subject to 

13 any private agreement that purports to require the 

14 essential workers to pursue claims on an individual 

15 basis. 

16 (e) RECORDKEEPING.—An essential work employer 

17 receiving a grant under section 104 shall make, keep, and 

18 preserve records pertaining to compliance with section 102 

19 in accordance with section 11(c) of the Fair Labor Stand20 ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(c)) and in accordance 

21 with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor. 

22 (f) OUTREACH AND EDUCATION.—Out of amounts 

23 appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury under sec24 tion 107 for a fiscal year, the Secretary of the Treasury 


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1 shall transfer to the Secretary of Labor, $3,000,000, of 

2 which the Secretary of Labor shall use— 

3 (1) $2,500,000 for outreach to essential work 

4 employers and essential workers regarding the pre5 mium pay under section 102; and 

6 (2) $500,000 to implement an advertising cam7 paign encouraging large essential work employers to 

8 provide the same premium pay provided for by sec9 tion 102 using the large essential work employers’ 

10 own funds and without utilizing grants under this 

11 title. 

12 (g) CLARIFICATION OF ENFORCING OFFICIAL.— 

13 Nothing in the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 

14 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16a et seq.) or section 3(e)(2)(C) of the 

15 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

16 203(e)(2)(C)) shall be construed to prevent the Secretary 

17 of Labor from carrying out the authority of the Secretary 

18 under this section in the case of State employees described 

19 in section 304(a) of the Government Employee Rights Act 

20 of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16c(a)). 

21 SEC. 106. FUNDING FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREAS22 URY OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL. 

23 There is appropriated, out of money in the Treasury 

24 not otherwise appropriated, to the Office of the Inspector 

25 General of the Department of the Treasury, $1,000,000 


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52 

•HR 8349 IH

1 to carry out audits, investigations, and other oversight ac2 tivities authorized under the Inspector General Act of 

3 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) that are related to the provisions 

4 of, and amendments made by, this title, to remain avail5 able until December 31, 2022. 

6 SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION AND APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 There is authorized to be appropriated, and there is 

8 hereby appropriated, $180,000,000,000 to carry out this 

9 title, to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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