I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1499 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2023 

Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of 

Georgia, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. POCAN, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. 

TONKO, Mr. TORRES of New York, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mrs. WATSON

COLEMAN, Ms. TITUS, Mr. NADLER, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. CASAR, Ms. 

KAPTUR, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. CRAIG, and Mr. GOMEZ) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

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

3 (1) Safe and effective airport operations are es4 sential to national commerce and the general wel5 fare. 

6 (2) A well-trained, stable workforce at our Na7 tion’s airports is critical to ensuring public safety 

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

9 public and protection from infectious diseases. 

10 (3) The Federal Government has invested bil11 lions of dollars in creating and maintaining our Na12 tion’s aviation infrastructure, reflecting the national 

13 interest in maintaining airports across the country. 

14 (4) Airport services are most effective when the 

15 workforce providing those services is able to earn a 

16 living wage and able to secure adequate health ben17 efit coverage. In fact, meeting the growing chal18 lenges of operating airports securely and efficiently 

19 requires the recruitment and retention of excellent 

20 staff in all of the classifications of employees who 

21 work in airport services and operations. 

22 (5) Effective management of airports and effec23 tive airport security requires that workforce turnover 

24 be reduced and that the workforce be highly trained 

25 and highly motivated. 


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1 (6) In connection with setting workplace stand2 ards for those engaged in airport services, there is 

3 a need to establish an orderly system that reconciles 

4 competing interests without undue disruption. 

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

6 (1) to provide a mechanism for ensuring min7 imum workplace standards for individuals who work 

8 in airports whose operators are grantees of Federal 

9 assistance or derive revenue from fees authorized by 

10 the Federal Government; and 

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

12 the United States by stabilizing the workplace condi13 tions of the labor pool that supports our Nation’s 

14 airport operations. 

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

16 CODE TO ENSURE MINIMUM WAGE AND BEN17 EFITS FOR COVERED SERVICE WORKERS. 

18 (a) COVERED SERVICE WORKER DEFINITION.—Sec19 tion 47102 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(29) ‘covered service worker’— 

22 ‘‘(A) means an individual who furnishes 

23 services on the property or premises of a small 

24 hub airport, medium hub airport, or large hub 

25 airport, performing— 


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1 ‘‘(i) functions that are related to the 

2 air transportation of persons, property, or 

3 mail, including— 

4 ‘‘(I) the loading or unloading of 

5 property on aircraft or a building or 

6 facility on the airport property; 

7 ‘‘(II) assistance to passengers, 

8 including assistance under part 382 of 

9 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; 

10 ‘‘(III) security; 

11 ‘‘(IV) airport ticketing or check12 in functions; 

13 ‘‘(V) ground-handling of aircraft 

14 or related equipment (but not includ15 ing mechanical services, machinery 

16 maintenance, car service maintenance, 

17 services at maintenance-related stores, 

18 fueling, de-icing, or other mechanic19 related functions); 

20 ‘‘(VI) aircraft cleaning and sani21 tization functions or waste removal; 

22 ‘‘(VII) cleaning within an airport 

23 terminal or other building or facility 

24 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 to 

11 whom the exemption under section 13(a)(1) of 

12 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

13 U.S.C. 213(a)(1)) applies; and 

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

15 State, municipality, or other political subdivi16 sion of a State or an authority created by an 

17 agreement between 2 or more States.’’. 

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

19 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(x) LABOR STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN AIRPORT

22 SERVICE JOBS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Trans24 portation may approve a project grant application 

25 under this subchapter for an airport development 


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

2 if the Secretary receives written assurances, satisfac3 tory to the Secretary, that the airport owner or op4 erator will ensure that all covered service workers, 

5 including those subject to a collective bargaining 

6 agreement, employed by any employer at such air7 port shall be paid a wage and fringe benefits that 

8 are— 

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

10 than the higher of— 

11 ‘‘(i) 15 dollars per hour; 

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

13 appropriate locality and classification as 

14 determined in accordance with chapter 67 

15 of title 41, United States Code (commonly 

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

17 the Secretary of Labor under paragraph 

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

19 changes made by such Secretary in such 

20 determinations; 

21 ‘‘(iii) the minimum hourly wage re22 quired under any Federal regulation, pol23 icy, or directive issued by the President 

24 pursuant to subtitle I of title 40, United 

25 States Code, for workers employed in the 


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1 performance of any Federal contract for 

2 the procurement of services; or 

3 ‘‘(iv) the minimum hourly wage re4 quired under an applicable State or local 

5 minimum wage law (including a regula6 tion) or policy, including the policy of a po7 litical subdivision of a State or an author8 ity created by a compact between 2 or 

9 more States or 1 or more States and the 

10 District of Columbia, that applies to cov11 ered service workers; and 

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

13 not less than the greater of— 

14 ‘‘(i) the minimum fringe benefits for 

15 the appropriate locality and classification 

16 as determined in accordance with chapter 

17 67 of title 41, United States Code (com18 monly known as the ‘Service Contract 

19 Act’), by the Secretary of Labor under 

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

21 reflect any changes made by such Sec22 retary in such determinations; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) the minimum fringe benefits re24 quired under an applicable State or local 

25 law (including a regulation) or policy, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Mar 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1499.IH H1499

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1 cluding the policy of a political subdivision 

2 of a State or an authority created by a 

3 compact between 2 or more States or 1 or 

4 more States and the District of Columbia, 

5 that applies to covered service workers. 

6 ‘‘(2) CLASSIFICATIONS AND WAGE DETERMINA7 TIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

9 Labor shall— 

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

11 date of enactment of this subsection and in 

12 accordance with subparagraph (B), issue a 

13 wage determination with minimum hourly 

14 wage and fringe benefits under chapter 67 

15 of title 41, United States Code (commonly 

16 known as the ‘Service Contract Act’), ap17 propriate for each class of covered service 

18 worker for purposes of subparagraphs 

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

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

21 date of enactment of this subsection and 

22 annually thereafter, provide to the Sec23 retary of Transportation the applicable 

24 minimum hourly wage and fringe benefits 

25 required for purposes of such paragraph 


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1 with respect to each such class of covered 

2 service worker. 

3 ‘‘(B) NEW OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORIES.— 

4 In issuing the wage determinations under sub5 paragraph (A)(i), the Secretary of Labor— 

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

7 covered service worker is classified appro8 priately in a category of occupation covered 

9 under chapter 67 of title 41, United States 

10 Code; and 

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

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

13 categories of occupation covered under 

14 chapter 67 of title 41, United States Code, 

15 to ensure that all classes of covered service 

16 workers have an appropriate determination 

17 of minimum hourly wage and fringe bene18 fits. 

19 ‘‘(3) AIRPORT SPONSOR CERTIFICATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An airport spon22 sor subject to the requirement under para23 graph (1) shall certify to the Secretary, on 

24 an annual basis, that each covered service 

25 worker, including those subject to a collecVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Mar 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1499.IH H1499

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1 tive bargaining agreement, is paid a wage 

2 and fringe benefits that comply with the 

3 requirements described in subparagraphs 

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

5 ‘‘(ii) EVIDENCE OF CERTIFICATION.— 

6 Where certification is required under 

7 clause (i), an airport sponsor shall obtain 

8 from each entity that employs a covered 

9 service worker a certification that each 

10 such covered service worker at such airport 

11 is paid a wage and fringe benefits that 

12 comply with the requirements described in 

13 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph 

14 (1). 

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

16 ensure compliance, an airport sponsor subject 

17 to the requirement under paragraph (1) shall 

18 require any entity that employs a covered serv19 ice worker at such airport to submit a report to 

20 the airport sponsor, on an annual basis, certi21 fying compliance with the requirements de22 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of para23 graph (1). 

24 ‘‘(C) COMPLIANCE AUTHORITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

2 Transportation shall have the authority to 

3 ensure compliance with this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(ii) GOOD FAITH COMPLIANCE BY

5 AIRPORT SPONSOR.—The Secretary of 

6 Transportation may, at the Secretary’s dis7 cretion, determine that an airport sponsor 

8 shall not be considered to be in violation of 

9 this subsection upon a showing of good 

10 faith compliance with the requirements of 

11 subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

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

13 LAWS.—Nothing in this subsection shall preempt 

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

15 policy that requires a higher minimum wage or oth16 erwise requires greater benefits or protections for 

17 covered service workers than the requirements of 

18 this subsection.’’. 

19 (c) PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES.—Section 

20 40117(d) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

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

22 end; 

23 (2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para24 graph (5); and 


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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol2 lowing: 

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

4 in compliance with the requirements under section 

5 47107(x), if such requirements apply to the eligible 

6 agency; and’’. 

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

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

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

10 the end; 

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

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

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

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

15 requirements under section 47107(x), if such 

16 requirements apply to the sponsor.’’. 

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

18 UNDER THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT 

19 AND JOBS ACT. 

20 (a) AIRPORT INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS.—The 

21 amounts made available under the heading ‘‘AIRPORT IN22 FRASTRUCTURE GRANTS (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF

23 FUNDS)’’ under the heading ‘‘FEDERAL AVIATION ADMIN24 ISTRATION’’ in title VIII of division J of the Infrastructure 

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


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1 1416) shall only be made available to a person who is in 

2 compliance with the labor standards for covered service 

3 workers, as required by the Secretary of Transportation 

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

5 added by section 3(b)). 

6 (b) AIRPORT TERMINAL PROGRAM.—The amounts 

7 made available under the heading ‘‘AIRPORT TERMINAL

8 PROGRAM’’ under the heading ‘‘FEDERAL AVIATION AD9 MINISTRATION’’ in title VIII of division J of the Infra10 structure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58; 

11 135 Stat. 1418) shall only be made available to a person 

12 who is in compliance with the labor standards for covered 

13 service workers, as required by the Secretary of Transpor14 tation under section 47107(x) of title 49, United States 

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

Æ 


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