I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6271 
To provide certain unemployment assistance for individuals impacted by quar-
antine order for a national or State public health emergency, including 
a virus threat or other health pandemic. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 13, 2020 
Ms. JACKSON LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To provide certain unemployment assistance for individuals 
impacted by quarantine order for a national or State 
public health emergency, including a virus threat or other 
health pandemic. 
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 ‘‘Unemployment Assist-
ance for Individuals Impacted by Quarantine Order for a 
National or State Public Health Emergency Act of 2020’’. 
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SEC. 2. UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE. 
The President may treat a national or State public 
health emergency, including a virus threat or other health 
pandemic, as a major disaster for purposes of providing 
unemployment assistance under section 410 of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5177). For the duration of such a public health 
emergency, the President may provide any assistance 
available under such section, and may provide additional 
unemployment assistance that meets the following require-
ments: 
(1) For individuals occupying a part-time or 
full-time position of employment who do not receive 
paid sick leave and who are under quarantine or-
ders, or have minor children under quarantine or-
ders, issued by a Federal, State, or local public 
health authority, compensation for absence from 
such employment for the duration of such quar-
antine orders. 
(2) Compensation provided under this section 
shall be based on the number of regular hours that 
the individual would have worked if such individual 
were not under quarantine orders, or was not accom-
panying a minor child under quarantine orders. 
(3) Proof of pay for the period within 60 days 
of an order described in paragraph (2) and proof of 
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employment during the duration of the order shall 
serve as evidence of the compensation level to be de-
termined under such paragraph. 
(4) Assistance may be provided under this sec-
tion to individuals described in paragraph (1) who 
are eligible for paid sick leave but denied such ben-
efit in the case of a quarantine order. 
(5) Assistance may be provided under this sec-
tion to an individual who occupies a part-time or 
full-time position of employment and is paid an 
hourly rate if such individual is the primary care-
giver to a medically at-risk person under a quar-
antine order or other medical declaration issued by 
a Federal, State, or local public health authority due 
to the public health emergency. 
(6) Benefit levels provided as assistance under 
this section shall additionally meet the following: 
(A) Benefit Levels shall be calculated 
based upon State Unemployment Insurance 
(hereinafter referred to as ‘‘UI’’) benefits where 
the individual primarily worked (which may dif-
fer from the location where a quarantine or re-
cuperation from an illness may take place). 
(B) At a minimum, individuals with em-
ployment that require that such individual 
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physically be at a location that is not accessible 
due to a quarantine or medical order due to a 
public health emergency will receive assistance 
under this section that is at least half of the av-
erage UI benefit for that State and cannot re-
ceive more than the maximum UI benefit avail-
able in that State. 
(C) The maximum UI weekly benefit 
amount shall be determined under the provi-
sions of the laws of the State in which the work 
occurs. 
(D) The UI benefit amount shall be cal-
culated to replace around 50 percent of wages 
up to a maximum benefit amount and shall not 
exceed 66 percent of the average weekly wage, 
based upon each State’s practice. 
(E) The minimum weekly assistance pro-
vided under this section shall be half of the av-
erage weekly UI benefit for the State in which 
the work occurs. 
(F) The terms of payment of UI benefits 
shall be determined by the health declaration, 
doctors orders, or public health mandate. 
(G) The benefit shall cease upon the end 
of the public health emergency, as determined 
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by the President, or upon recovery or other 
mitigation of the conditions of this section. 
(7) The President shall consider the following 
factors, with respect to the individual requesting as-
sistance for qualification under this section: 
(A) The address of employment is within 
the geographic area under quarantine. 
(B) The home address is a location where 
quarantine is declared. 
(C) The primary means of reaching work 
are not available due to quarantine. 
(D) The person is under medical care 
which prohibits them working or traveling to 
work. 
(E) Illness or suspected illness that is the 
target of the national health emergency. 
(F) Primary caregiver for someone deemed 
to be at particularly high risk who are under 
quarantine or medical directive regarding mobil-
ity or activity outside of their home. 
(G) Have a child infant through 18 with a 
place of education that is under quarantine. 
Æ 
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