I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6988 
To promote the general health and well-being of individuals accessing work 
through digital marketplace companies, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 22, 2020 
Mrs. MILLER (for herself, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. MOONEY of 
West Virginia, and Mr. WOODALL) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To promote the general health and well-being of individuals 
accessing work through digital marketplace companies, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Gig Economy 
Workers Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. DIGITAL MARKETPLACE COMPANY SAFE HARBOR. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COVID–19 
EMERGENCY
PERIOD.—The 
term ‘‘COVID–19 emergency period’’ means the pe-
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riod beginning March 15, 2020, and ending on the 
later of— 
(A) June 30, 2021; or 
(B) the date of expiration of the public 
health emergency declared by the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services under section 319 
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
247d) on January 31, 2020, with respect to 
COVID–19. 
(2) DIGITAL
MARKETPLACE
COMPANY.—The 
term ‘‘digital marketplace company’’ means a busi-
ness entity affecting commerce that— 
(A) maintains an online-enabled applica-
tion or platform to facilitate the exchange of 
goods or services by users of the online-enabled 
application or platform; 
(B) licenses access to an online-enabled ap-
plication or platform to facilitate the exchange 
of goods or services; and 
(C) does not require a licensee using the 
online-enabled application or platform to gen-
erate business to accept any specific job request 
as a condition of maintaining access to the enti-
ty’s online-enabled application or platform. 
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(3) INDIVIDUAL ACCESSING WORK THROUGH A 
DIGITAL MARKETPLACE COMPANY.—The term ‘‘indi-
vidual accessing work through a digital marketplace 
company’’ means an individual who— 
(A) is provided with the option to accept or 
reject job requests through an online-enabled 
application or platform maintained by a digital 
marketplace company; and 
(B) provides services to digital platform 
consumers upon connection through a digital 
network maintained by the digital marketplace 
company in exchange for compensation or pay-
ment of a fee. 
(b) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, in order to promote the general health and 
well-being of individuals accessing work through digital 
marketplace companies and to facilitate financial assist-
ance during public health emergencies, actions described 
in subsection (c) taken by a digital marketplace company 
during the COVID–19 emergency period shall not be used 
under any Federal, State, or local law, ordinance, or regu-
lation as evidence for the purposes of— 
(1) determining whether an individual accessing 
work through the digital marketplace company is an 
employee or independent contractor; or 
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(2) determining whether the digital marketplace 
company is the joint employer of an individual who 
is providing services on behalf of another company. 
(c) PROTECTED ACTIONS.—The actions described in 
this subsection are— 
(1) providing financial assistance to individuals 
who previously accessed work through the digital 
marketplace company but are unable to work be-
cause of health or safety concerns; 
(2) directly providing benefits that are related 
to the health or safety of individuals accessing work 
through the digital marketplace company; 
(3) providing training or information related to 
the health or safety of such individuals or the public; 
(4) providing medical or cleaning supplies to 
such individuals; 
(5) performing health checks on such individ-
uals; 
(6) providing medical testing to such individ-
uals; and 
(7) taking any action, including those required 
or suggested by any Federal, State, or local law, or-
dinance, order, or directive of any type, that is in-
tended to protect public health and safety. 
Æ 
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