II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4419 

To require small, medium, and large hub airports to certify that airport 

service workers are paid the prevailing wage and provided fringe benefits, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 16, 2022 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. BOOKER, 

Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. VAN

HOLLEN, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require small, medium, and large hub airports to certify 

that airport service workers are paid the prevailing wage 

and provided fringe benefits, 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 ‘‘Good Jobs for Good 

5 Airports Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Safe and effective airport operations are es2 sential to national commerce and the general wel3 fare. 

4 (2) A well-trained, stable workforce at our Na5 tion’s airports is critical to ensuring public safety 

6 and security, as well as the health and safety of the 

7 public and protection from infectious diseases. 

8 (3) The Federal Government has invested bil9 lions of dollars in creating and maintaining our Na10 tion’s aviation infrastructure, reflecting the national 

11 interest in maintaining airports across the country. 

12 (4) Airport services are most effective when the 

13 workforce providing those services is able to earn a 

14 living wage and able to secure adequate health ben15 efit coverage. In fact, meeting the growing chal16 lenges of operating airports securely and efficiently 

17 requires the recruitment and retention of excellent 

18 staff in all of the classifications of employees who 

19 work in airport services and operations. 

20 (5) Effective management of airports and effec21 tive airport security requires that workforce turnover 

22 be reduced and that the workforce be highly trained 

23 and highly motivated. 

24 (6) In connection with setting workplace stand25 ards for those engaged in airport services, there is 


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1 a need to establish an orderly system that reconciles 

2 competing interests without undue disruption. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

4 (1) to provide a mechanism for ensuring min5 imum workplace standards for individuals who work 

6 in airports whose operators are grantees of Federal 

7 assistance or derive revenue from fees authorized by 

8 the Federal Government; and 

9 (2) to serve the best interests of the people of 

10 the United States by stabilizing the workplace condi11 tions of the labor pool that supports our Nation’s 

12 airport operations. 

13 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 49 OF THE UNITED STATES 

14 CODE TO ENSURE MINIMUM WAGE AND BEN15 EFITS FOR COVERED SERVICE WORKERS. 

16 (a) COVERED SERVICE WORKER DEFINITION.—Sec17 tion 47102 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

18 by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(29) ‘covered service worker’— 

20 ‘‘(A) means an individual who furnishes 

21 services for a small hub airport, medium hub 

22 airport, or large hub airport, performing— 

23 ‘‘(i) functions on the property or 

24 premises of an airport that are related to 


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1 the air transportation of persons, property, 

2 or mail, including— 

3 ‘‘(I) the loading or unloading of 

4 property on aircraft or a building or 

5 facility on the airport property; 

6 ‘‘(II) assistance to passengers, 

7 including assistance under part 382 of 

8 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; 

9 ‘‘(III) security; 

10 ‘‘(IV) airport ticketing or check11 in functions; 

12 ‘‘(V) ground-handling of aircraft 

13 or related equipment (but not includ14 ing mechanical services, machinery 

15 maintenance, car service maintenance, 

16 services at maintenance-related stores, 

17 fueling, de-icing, or other mechanic18 related functions); 

19 ‘‘(VI) aircraft cleaning and sani20 tization functions or waste removal; 

21 ‘‘(VII) cleaning within an airport 

22 terminal or other building or facility 

23 on the airport property; 


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1 ‘‘(VIII) transportation of employ2 ees or individuals within the airport 

3 property; or 

4 ‘‘(IX) ramp agent functions; 

5 ‘‘(ii) concessions services on the prop6 erty of an airport, including— 

7 ‘‘(I) food service, including food 

8 and beverage service, wait service, 

9 busing, cooks, or cashiers; 

10 ‘‘(II) retail service, including re11 tail related to news or gifts or duty12 free retail services; 

13 ‘‘(III) cleaning for concession 

14 services; 

15 ‘‘(IV) security for concession 

16 services; or 

17 ‘‘(V) airport lounge services, in18 cluding food, retail, cleaning, or secu19 rity services for or at an airport 

20 lounge; 

21 ‘‘(iii) airline catering services (such as 

22 the preparation or assembly of food, bev23 erages, provisions, or related supplies for 

24 delivery, and the delivery of such items, di25 rectly to aircraft or to a location on or 


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1 near airport property for subsequent deliv2 ery to aircraft at the airport); or 

3 ‘‘(iv) food or beverage service, house4 keeping, or hotel service at a hotel located 

5 on airport property; 

6 ‘‘(B) includes an individual without regard 

7 to any contractual relationship alleged to exist 

8 between the individual and a contractor or sub9 contractor; 

10 ‘‘(C) shall not include an individual em11 ployed in a bona fide executive, administrative, 

12 or professional capacity, as those terms are de13 fined in part 541 of title 29, Code of Federal 

14 Regulations; and 

15 ‘‘(D) shall not include an employee of a 

16 State, municipality, or other political subdivi17 sion of a State or an authority created by an 

18 agreement between 2 or more States.’’. 

19 (b) AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT.—Section 47107 of title 

20 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(x) LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN AIRPORT

23 SERVICE JOBS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Trans25 portation may approve a project grant application 


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1 under this subchapter for an airport development 

2 project at a small, medium, or large hub airport only 

3 if the Secretary receives written assurances, satisfac4 tory to the Secretary, that the airport owner or op5 erator will ensure that all covered service workers, 

6 including those subject to a collective bargaining 

7 agreement, employed by any employer at such air8 port shall be paid a wage and fringe benefits that 

9 are— 

10 ‘‘(A) with respect to such wage, not less 

11 than the higher of— 

12 ‘‘(i) 15 dollars per hour; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the minimum hourly wage for the 

14 appropriate locality and classification as 

15 determined in accordance with chapter 67 

16 of title 41, United States Code (commonly 

17 known as the ‘Service Contract Act’), by 

18 the Secretary of Labor under paragraph 

19 (2)(A)(i), adjusted annually to reflect any 

20 changes made by such Secretary in such 

21 determinations; 

22 ‘‘(iii) the minimum hourly wage re23 quired under any Federal regulation, pol24 icy, or directive issued by the President 

25 pursuant to subtitle I of title 40, United 


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1 States Code, for workers employed in the 

2 performance of any Federal contract for 

3 the procurement of services; or 

4 ‘‘(iv) the minimum hourly wage re5 quired under an applicable State or local 

6 minimum wage law (including a regula7 tion) or policy, including the policy of a po8 litical subdivision of a State or an author9 ity created by a compact between 2 or 

10 more States or 1 or more States and the 

11 District of Columbia, that applies to cov12 ered service workers; and 

13 ‘‘(B) with respect to such fringe benefits, 

14 not less than the higher of— 

15 ‘‘(i) the minimum fringe benefits for 

16 the appropriate locality and classification 

17 as determined in accordance with chapter 

18 67 of title 41, United States Code (com19 monly known as the ‘Service Contract 

20 Act’), by the Secretary of Labor under 

21 paragraph (2)(A)(i), adjusted annually to 

22 reflect any changes made by such Sec23 retary in such determinations; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) the minimum fringe benefits re25 quired under an applicable State or local 


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1 law (including a regulation) or policy, in2 cluding the policy of a political subdivision 

3 of a State or an authority created by a 

4 compact between 2 or more States or 1 or 

5 more States and the District of Columbia, 

6 that applies to covered service workers. 

7 ‘‘(2) CLASSIFICATIONS AND WAGE DETERMINA8 TIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

10 Labor shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) not later than 90 days after the 

12 date of enactment of this subsection and in 

13 accordance with subparagraph (B), issue a 

14 wage determination with minimum hourly 

15 wage and fringe benefits under chapter 67 

16 of title 41, United States Code (commonly 

17 known as the ‘Service Contract Act’), ap18 propriate for each class of covered service 

19 worker for purposes of subparagraphs 

20 (A)(ii) and (B)(i) of paragraph (1); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) not later than 90 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this subsection and 

23 annually thereafter, provide to the Sec24 retary of Transportation the applicable 

25 minimum hourly wage and fringe benefits 


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1 required for purposes of such paragraph 

2 with respect to each such class of covered 

3 service worker. 

4 ‘‘(B) NEW OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORIES.— 

5 In issuing the wage determinations under sub6 paragraph (A)(i), the Secretary of Labor— 

7 ‘‘(i) shall ensure that each class of 

8 covered service worker is classified appro9 priately in a category of occupation covered 

10 under chapter 67 of title 41, United States 

11 Code; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) to the extent needed to carry out 

13 clause (i), may establish 1 or more new 

14 categories of occupation covered under 

15 chapter 67 of title 41, United States Code, 

16 to ensure that all classes of covered service 

17 workers have an appropriate determination 

18 of minimum hourly wage and fringe bene19 fits. 

20 ‘‘(3) AIRPORT SPONSOR CERTIFICATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An airport spon23 sor subject to the requirement under para24 graph (1) shall certify to the Secretary, on 

25 an annual basis, that each covered service 


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1 worker, including those subject to a collec2 tive bargaining agreement, is paid a wage 

3 and fringe benefits that comply with the 

4 requirements described in subparagraphs 

5 (A) and (B) of such paragraph. 

6 ‘‘(ii) EVIDENCE OF CERTIFICATION.— 

7 Where certification is required under 

8 clause (i), an airport sponsor shall obtain 

9 from each entity that employs a covered 

10 service worker a certification that each 

11 such covered service worker at such airport 

12 is paid a wage and fringe benefits that 

13 comply with the requirements described in 

14 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph 

15 (1). 

16 ‘‘(B) COMPLIANCE REPORT.—In order to 

17 ensure compliance, an airport sponsor subject 

18 to the requirement under paragraph (1) shall 

19 require any entity that employs a covered serv20 ice worker at such airport to submit a report to 

21 the airport sponsor, on an annual basis, certi22 fying compliance with the requirements de23 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of para24 graph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(4) NON-PREEMPTION OF STATE OR LOCAL

2 LAWS.—Nothing in this subsection shall preempt 

3 any State or local law (including a regulation) or 

4 policy that requires a higher minimum wage or oth5 erwise requires greater benefits or protections for 

6 covered service workers than the requirements of 

7 this subsection.’’. 

8 (c) PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES.—Section 

9 40117(d) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

11 end; 

12 (2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para13 graph (5); and 

14 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(4) the eligible agency has certified that it is 

17 in compliance with the requirements under section 

18 47107(x), if such requirements apply to the eligible 

19 agency;’’. 

20 (d) DISCRETIONARY GRANT.—Section 47115(d)(2) 

21 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

23 the end; 

24 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

25 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(C) the sponsor is in compliance with the 

3 requirements under section 47107(x), if such 

4 requirements apply to the sponsor.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. RESTRICTION ON THE USE OF CERTAIN FUNDS 

6 UNDER THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT 

7 AND JOBS ACT. 

8 (a) AIRPORT INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS.—The 

9 amounts made available under the heading ‘‘AIRPORT IN10 FRASTRUCTURE GRANTS (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF

11 FUNDS)’’ under the heading ‘‘FEDERAL AVIATION ADMIN12 ISTRATION’’ in title VIII of division J of the Infrastructure 

13 Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58; 135 Stat. 

14 1416) shall only be made available to a person who is in 

15 compliance with the labor standards for covered service 

16 workers, as required by the Secretary of Transportation 

17 under section 47107(x) of title 49, United States Code (as 

18 added by section 3(b)). 

19 (b) AIRPORT TERMINAL PROGRAM.—The amounts 

20 made available under the heading ‘‘AIRPORT TERMINAL

21 PROGRAM’’ under the heading ‘‘FEDERAL AVIATION AD22 MINISTRATION’’ in title VIII of division J of the Infra23 structure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58; 

24 135 Stat. 1418) shall only be made available to a person 

25 who is in compliance with the labor standards for covered 


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1 service workers, as required by the Secretary of Transpor2 tation under section 47107(x) of title 49, United States 

3 Code (as added by section 3(b)). 

Æ 


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