I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3020 

To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a coronavirus fund 

to provide hazard payments to high-risk health care workers and essential 

workers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2021 

Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of 

Pennsylvania, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. LIEU, Mr. LOWENTHAL, 

Ms. NORTON, Mr. RUSH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SEWELL, and Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee 

on Ways and Means, 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 direct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a 

coronavirus fund to provide hazard payments to highrisk health care workers and essential workers, 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 ‘‘Coronavirus Frontline 

5 Workers Fair Pay Act’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3020 IH

1 SEC. 2. HAZARD PAYMENTS FOR HIGH-RISK HEALTH CARE 

2 WORKERS AND ESSENTIAL WORKERS. 

3 (a) GENERAL RULE.—The Secretary shall make haz4 ard payments in accordance with this section for high-risk 

5 health care workers and essential workers. 

6 (b) FUND.— 

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—For the purpose of 

8 making payments under this section, not later than 

9 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

10 the Secretary of the Treasury shall establish an ac11 count in the Treasury to be known as the 

12 ‘‘Coronavirus Essential and High-Risk Health Care 

13 Workers Hazard Payment Fund’’ (hereafter in this 

14 section referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’). 

15 (2) APPROPRIATIONS TO FUND.—There is ap16 propriated, out of amounts in the Treasury not oth17 erwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending Sep18 tember 30, 2021, such sums as may be necessary to 

19 carry out this Act. 

20 (c) HAZARD PAYMENTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

22 hazard payments from the Fund each coronavirus 

23 hazard payment quarter in accordance with this sub24 section. 

25 (2) ENTITLEMENT TO HAZARD PAYMENT.—In26 dividuals who are high-risk health care workers and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3020 IH

1 essential workers as determined pursuant to this Act 

2 are entitled to hazard payments under this Act. 

3 (3) HIGH-RISK HEALTH CARE WORKER.—For 

4 purposes of this section— 

5 (A) DETERMINATION OF PAYMENT.—In 

6 the case of a high-risk health care worker, the 

7 hazard payment for such worker shall be the 

8 aggregate of $18.50 for each hour in which the 

9 worker provided high-risk health care services 

10 (excluding hours provided as telework hours). 

11 (B) LIMITATIONS.— 

12 (i) AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—The aggre13 gate amount allowed for all payments to a 

14 high-risk health care worker pursuant to 

15 paragraph (1) shall not exceed— 

16 (I) $35,000 in the case of a 

17 worker whose annual earned income 

18 for calendar year 2020 is $200,000 or 

19 less; and 

20 (II) $15,000 in the case of a 

21 worker whose estimated annual 

22 earned income for calendar year 2020 

23 is greater than $200,000. 

24 (ii) WEEKLY LIMIT.—The aggregate 

25 number of hours taken into account for 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3020 IH

1 purposes of subparagraph (A) shall not ex2 ceed 40 hours per week. 

3 (C) HIGH-RISK HEALTH CARE WORKER

4 DEFINED.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘high6 risk health care worker’’ means— 

7 (I) an individual working in a 

8 health care occupation, including— 

9 (aa) physicians; 

10 (bb) physician assistants; 

11 (cc) podiatrists; 

12 (dd) respiratory therapists; 

13 (ee) registered nurses; 

14 (ff) nurse anesthetists; 

15 (gg) nurse midwives; 

16 (hh) nurse practitioners; 

17 (ii) anesthesiologists; 

18 (jj) dermatologists; 

19 (kk) emergency medicine 

20 physicians; 

21 (ll) family medicine physi22 cians; 

23 (mm) general internal medi24 cine physicians; 

25 (nn) neurologists; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3020 IH

1 (oo) obstetricians and gyne2 cologists; 

3 (pp) pediatricians, general; 

4 (qq) physicians, pathologists; 

5 (rr) psychiatrists; 

6 (ss) radiologists; 

7 (tt) physicians, all other; 

8 (uu) ophthalmologists, ex9 cept pediatric; 

10 (vv) orthopedic surgeons, ex11 cept pediatric; 

12 (ww) pediatric surgeons; 

13 (xx) surgeons, all other; 

14 (yy) medical and clinical lab15 oratory technologists; 

16 (zz) medical and clinical lab17 oratory technicians; 

18 (aaa) cardiovascular tech19 nologists and technicians; 

20 (bbb) diagnostic medical 

21 sonographers; 

22 (ccc) nuclear medicine tech23 nologists; 

24 (ddd) radiologic tech25 nologists and technicians; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3020 IH

1 (eee) magnetic resonance 

2 imaging technologists; 

3 (fff) medical dosimetrists; 

4 (ggg) emergency medical 

5 technicians; 

6 (hhh) paramedics; 

7 (iii) pharmacy technicians; 

8 (jjj) psychiatric technicians; 

9 (kkk) surgical technologists; 

10 (lll) licensed practical and li11 censed vocational nurses; 

12 (mmm) surgical assistants; 

13 (nnn) home health aides; 

14 (ooo) personal care aides; 

15 (ppp) nursing assistants; 

16 (qqq) orderlies; and 

17 (rrr) psychiatric aides; and 

18 (II) an individual who is pro19 viding or supporting the provision of 

20 health care services for the treatment 

21 of COVID–19, as determined by the 

22 Secretary. 

23 (4) ESSENTIAL WORKER.—For purposes of this 

24 section— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3020 IH

1 (A) DETERMINATION OF PAYMENT.—In 

2 the case of an essential worker who is not a 

3 high-risk health care worker under subsection 

4 (c)(3), the hazard payment for such individual 

5 shall be the aggregate of $13.00 for each hour 

6 in which the essential worker provided essential 

7 services (excluding hours provided as telework 

8 hours). 

9 (B) LIMITATIONS.— 

10 (i) AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—The aggre11 gate amount allowed for all payments to 

12 an essential worker under subparagraph 

13 (A) shall not exceed— 

14 (I) $25,000 in the case of an es15 sential worker whose annual earned 

16 income from providing essential serv17 ices for calendar year 2020 is 

18 $200,000 or less; and 

19 (II) $5,000 in the case of an es20 sential worker whose annual earned 

21 income from providing essential serv22 ices for calendar year 2020 is greater 

23 than $200,000. 

24 (ii) WEEKLY LIMIT.—The aggregate 

25 number of hours taken into account for 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 3020 IH

1 purposes of subparagraph (A) shall not ex2 ceed 40 hours per week. 

3 (C) ESSENTIAL WORKER.—Not later than 

4 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 

5 Act, the Director of the Cybersecurity and In6 frastructure Security Agency shall issue a defi7 nition of essential worker for the purposes of 

8 making payments to essential workers under 

9 this section. In defining the term essential 

10 worker, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure 

11 Security Agency shall take into consideration 

12 its April 17th ‘‘Advisory Memorandum on Iden13 tification of Essential Critical Infrastructure 

14 Workers During COVID–19 Response’’ and 

15 shall solicit public input. 

16 (D) CORONAVIRUS HAZARD PAYMENT

17 QUARTER.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—The term 

19 ‘‘coronavirus hazard payment quarter’’ 

20 means 90-day periods in calendar years 

21 2020 and 2021 beginning on or after Jan22 uary 27, 2020, except for the last 90-day 

23 period (which will end on the last day a 

24 COVID–19 Public Health Emergency is in 

25 effect in the location of employment (as deVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3020.IH H3020

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 3020 IH

1 termined by the Secretary of the Treasury 

2 in consultation with the Secretary of 

3 Health and Human Services) or on Sep4 tember 30, 2021, whichever occurs first). 

5 (ii) SPECIAL RULE BEFORE ENACT6 MENT.—For purposes of making payments 

7 under this section, the period beginning on 

8 January 27, 2020, and ending with the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act shall be 

10 treated as one quarter and payments shall 

11 be made a lump sum. 

12 (5) PROCESS.— 

13 (A) SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY.—Begin14 ning not later than 60 days after the date of 

15 the enactment of this Act, each employer shall 

16 submit to the Secretary for each coronavirus 

17 hazard payment quarter— 

18 (i) a projection of payments of the 

19 regular rate of pay for such quarter for 

20 employees who are high-risk health care 

21 workers or essential workers; 

22 (ii) a certification of such payments 

23 for the preceding quarter; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 3020 IH

1 (iii) the rate of pay for each employee 

2 who is a high-risk health care worker or an 

3 essential worker; and 

4 (iv) the number of hours each em5 ployee provided health care service or es6 sential service each week. 

7 (B) DEVELOPMENT OF PROCESS AND

8 EVALUATION CRITERIA.—For purposes of this 

9 section, the Secretary shall develop— 

10 (i) a process for submitting applica11 tions under this section, including a proc12 ess for correcting such applications; and 

13 (ii) a criteria for evaluating each such 

14 application. 

15 (d) DISTRIBUTION OF PAYMENTS.— 

16 (1) PAYMENTS TO EMPLOYER.—Beginning not 

17 later than 75 days after the date of the enactment 

18 of this Act, the Secretary shall make coronavirus 

19 hazard payments under subsection (c)(1) on the 

20 basis of projections under subparagraph (A)(i)(I) of 

21 such subsection and shall make appropriate adjust22 ments for any surplus or deficit certified for the pre23 vious quarter under subparagraph (A)(i)(II) of such 

24 subsection. 

25 (2) PAYMENTS TO EMPLOYEE.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 3020 IH

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—From amounts paid to 

2 the employer under paragraph (1), the employer 

3 shall make the appropriate hazard payment to 

4 each employee who is a high-risk health care 

5 worker or an essential worker not later than 14 

6 days after the date the employer receives such 

7 amounts, taking into account the appropriate 

8 adjustments for any surplus or deficit certified 

9 for the previous quarter. 

10 (B) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE HAZARD

11 PAYMENTS.—The requirement to make the ap12 propriate hazard payment under subparagraph 

13 (A) shall apply to an employer after the em14 ployer receives the amounts paid to the em15 ployer pursuant to paragraph (1). 

16 (3) TREATMENT OF SELF-EMPLOYED INDIVID17 UALS.—For purposes of this section, an individual 

18 with net earnings from self-employment (as defined 

19 in section 1402(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

20 1986) shall be treated as an employer, except that 

21 an employer (within the meaning of section 

22 401(c)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) 

23 may make an election (in such manner as the Sec24 retary may provide) to be the employer for such pur25 poses. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 3020 IH

1 (4) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYERS.—An employer 

2 may not receive a payment under this section unless 

3 the employer has entered into an agreement in writ4 ing with the Secretary— 

5 (A) to make the payments described in 

6 paragraph (2); and 

7 (B) to be bound by such other terms and 

8 conditions as the Secretary may prescribe. 

9 (e) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO PAYMENTS.—For 

10 purposes of this section— 

11 (1) PAYMENTS NOT TREATED AS COMPENSA12 TION.—Payments made under subsection (c) shall 

13 not be— 

14 (A) treated as compensation with respect 

15 to wages, overtime, or any other form of remu16 neration under the Fair Labor Standards Act 

17 of 1938; and 

18 (B) taken into account for purposes of de19 terminations with respect to benefits provided 

20 by the employer. 

21 (2) CORONAVIRUS HAZARD PAYMENTS DIS22 REGARDED IN ADMINISTRATION OF FEDERAL PRO23 GRAMS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

24 law, a coronavirus hazard payment made to any in25 dividual under this title shall not be taken into acVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3020.IH H3020

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 3020 IH

1 count as income, and shall not be taken into account 

2 as resources for a period of 12 months from receipt, 

3 for purposes of determining the eligibility of such in4 dividual for benefits or assistance (or the amount or 

5 extent of benefits or assistance) under any Federal 

6 program or under any State or local program fi7 nanced in whole or in part with Federal funds. 

8 (f) PROTECTIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to an employee 

10 who is a high-risk health care worker or an essential 

11 worker, an employer may not— 

12 (A) reduce the regular rate of pay of the 

13 employee because the employee received a haz14 ard payment under this section; or 

15 (B) discriminate against the employee be16 cause the employee received a hazard payment 

17 under this section, including terminating the 

18 employment of the employee with the intent to 

19 reinstate the employee at a regular rate of pay 

20 that is lower than the previous rate of pay. 

21 (2) ENFORCEMENT UNDER FAIR LABOR STAND22 ARDS ACT.—An employer shall be treated as vio23 lating section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

24 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206) if the employer— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 3020 IH

1 (A) does not make a hazard payment 

2 under subsection (d)(2); 

3 (B) violates a provision under paragraph 

4 (1); or 

5 (C) does not abide by a term, condition, or 

6 regulation imposed by the Secretary under sub7 sections (c), (d), and (h). 

8 (g) OTHER DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For 

9 purposes of this section— 

10 (1) EARNED INCOME.—The term ‘‘earned in11 come’’ has the meaning given such term by section 

12 32(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

13 (2) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ has the 

14 meaning given the term under section 3 of the of the 

15 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203), 

16 which includes Federal employees employed by the 

17 Transportation Security Administration of the De18 partment of Homeland Security. 

19 (3) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ has the 

20 meaning given the term under section 3 of the Fair 

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

22 (4) REGULAR RATE.—The term ‘‘regular rate’’ 

23 has the meaning given the term under section 7 of 

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

25 207). 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 3020 IH

1 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Treasury. 

3 (h) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue such 

4 regulations or other guidance as may be necessary or ap5 propriate to carry out this section, including— 

6 (1) guidance with respect to maintaining em7 ployee records; 

8 (2) applying this section with respect to individ9 uals who are compensated on other than an hourly 

10 basis; 

11 (3) a procedure for ensuring that former em12 ployees are entitled to payments under this section; 

13 and 

14 (4) beginning after December 31, 2020, a pro15 cedure for resolving any overpayments and under16 payments under this section to individuals by the re17 turn of tax due for taxable years beginning in 2020. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS