Title: Emergency Benefits for Independent Workers Program Act
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Emergency Benefits for Independent Workers Program Act  This bill establishes grants for states to provide workers in alternative work arrangements such as independent contractors, domestic workers, temporary workers, or self-employed individuals with portable, work-related benefits. Specifically, states must use such grants to address the state's administration of unemployment compensation and design and implement approaches to provide individuals in alternative work arrangements with benefits that may be maintained upon changing jobs including, but not limited to, paid leave, health insurance, and retirement savings options.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6746 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6746

To require the Secretary of Labor to establish a program for providing 
     portable benefits to eligible workers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 8, 2020

   Ms. DelBene (for herself, Mr. Foster, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Kilmer) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Labor to establish a program for providing 
     portable benefits to eligible workers, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Benefits for Independent 
Workers Program Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Many independent workers and workers in alternative 
        work arrangements, constituting a sizable percentage of the 
        workforce in the United States, do not have access to benefits 
        and protections typically provided through traditional full-
        time employment.
            (2) Workers in alternative work arrangements include 
        independent contractors, domestic workers, temporary workers, 
        the self-employed, and others in contingent work arrangements.
            (3) According to a 2017 survey by the Bureau of Labor 
        Statistics, workers in alternative work arrangements as their 
        primary form of occupation constitute 10.1 percent of the labor 
        force, roughly 16,000,000 Americans.
            (4) In response to the global pandemic caused by the 
        coronavirus, Congress created the temporary Pandemic 
        Unemployment Assistance program under title II of division A of 
        the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Public 
        Law 116-136) to provide access to unemployment insurance to 
        previously ineligible workers, such as gig workers, 
        freelancers, and the self-employed.
            (5) The people of the United States should not need an Act 
        of Congress to have access to essential benefits and 
        protections during the next economic downturn.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Coronavirus.--The term ``coronavirus'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 506 of the Coronavirus Preparedness 
        and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 
        116-123).
            (2) Eligible work.--The term ``eligible work'' means any 
        work performed for pay that is not in connection with 
        traditional full-time employment.
            (3) Eligible worker.--The term ``eligible worker'' means--
                    (A) any worker who is not a permanent full-time 
                employee of the parent entity hiring the worker for the 
                eligible work, including any independent contractor, 
                contract worker, self-employed individual, freelance 
                worker, or temporary worker; and
                    (B) any worker not traditionally eligible for 
                unemployment compensation under the law of the State, 
                including such a worker who has been affected by the 
                coronavirus.
            (4) Portable benefits.--The term ``portable benefits''--
                    (A) means work-related benefits that are provided 
                to eligible workers for eligible work in a manner that 
                allows the worker to maintain the benefits upon 
                changing jobs; and
                    (B) includes--
                            (i) contributions on behalf of the eligible 
                        worker made by a hiring entity (including 
                        multiple entities, if applicable) in connection 
                        with eligible work performed by the worker for 
                        the entity, including entities that facilitate 
                        the sale of such work;
                            (ii) contributions made by the eligible 
                        worker;
                            (iii) contributions on behalf of the 
                        eligible worker made by consumers;
                            (iv) contributions on behalf of the 
                        eligible worker made by labor organizations or 
                        worker advocate non-profit organizations; or
                            (v) a combination of 2 or more of the 
                        contributions described in clauses (i), (ii), 
                        (iii), and (iv).
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Labor.
            (6) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto 
        Rico, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, 
        the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
            (7) Worker advocate non-profit organization.--The term 
        ``worker advocate non-profit organization'' means an entity--
                    (A) that is an organization described in section 
                501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt 
                from tax under section 501(a) of such Code;
                    (B) for which all actions taken by the organization 
                regarding providing benefits to workers are for the 
                sole purpose of maximizing benefits to the workers;
                    (C) that is independent from all business entities, 
                organizations, corporations, or individuals that would 
                pursue any financial interest in conflict with that of 
                the workers; and
                    (D) that has a board of directors that holds a 
                fiduciary duty to the workers with respect to provision 
                of the benefits.
            (8) Work-related benefits.--The term ``work-related 
        benefits'' means benefits of a type that are commonly provided 
        to traditional full-time employees, such as workers' 
        compensation, paid leave, skills training, disability coverage, 
        health insurance coverage, retirement saving, income security, 
        and short-term saving.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PORTABLE BENEFITS PROGRAM.

    (a) Emergency Portable Benefits Program Established.--
            (1) In general.--By not later than June 1, 2020, the 
        Secretary, in consultation with the head of any other relevant 
        Federal agency, shall award grants through allotments described 
        in subsection (b), to States to--
                    (A) assist in the technology modernization 
                necessary for the expansion of unemployment insurance; 
                and
                    (B) support broad innovation and experimentation 
                with respect to portable benefits.
            (2) Duration of grant.--A grant awarded under this 
        paragraph shall be for not less than a 2-year period.
            (3) Partnerships authorized.--A State receiving an 
        allotment under this Act may carry out the activities under the 
        grant in partnership with a local government, labor 
        organization, or worker advocate non-profit organization.
    (b) Formula.--Each State's allotment under this section shall bear 
the same relation to the amount available to carry out this section as 
the population of the State bears to the population of all States.
    (c) State Requirements.--
            (1) Plan and implementation requirements.--A State that 
        accepts an allotment under subsection (a) shall agree to--
                    (A) submit a plan for the use of the allotment, in 
                accordance with the requirements of subsection (d), by 
                not later than 90 days after receiving the allotment; 
                and
                    (B) fully implement the plan submitted under 
                subparagraph (A) by not later than 2 years after 
                receiving the allotment.
            (2) Return of funds.--A State that does not wish to receive 
        an allotment under this Act or does not submit a plan described 
        in paragraph (1)(A) by the deadline required under such 
        paragraph shall return the State's allotment to the Secretary 
        of Labor.
            (3) Use of returned funds.--The Secretary of Labor shall 
        use any funds returned under paragraph (2) to provide 
        supplemental allotments to the States that did submit a plan 
        under paragraph (1), in the same manner as under subsection 
        (b).
    (d) Uses of Funds.--
            (1) Use of funds to improve unemployment compensation 
        administration.--A State receiving an allotment under this 
        section shall use 50 percent of the amount of such allotment 
        for improving the administration systems of its unemployment 
        compensation law, including by taking such steps as may be 
        necessary to ensure adequate resources in periods of high 
        demand and by modernizing the information technology 
        infrastructure used for such administration.
            (2) Use of funds to establish experimental portable benefit 
        programs.--A State receiving an allotment under this section 
        shall use 50 percent of the amount of such allotment for the 
        design, implementation, and evaluation of new models or 
        approaches for providing portable benefits to eligible workers, 
        including--
                    (A) innovative proposals for paid leave;
                    (B) providing a job seeker's allowance;
                    (C) qualified health plans offered on the Exchanges 
                established under section 1311 or 1321 of the Patient 
                Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031);
                    (D) retirement-related benefits;
                    (E) the long-term expansion of eligibility for 
                unemployment compensation; and
                    (F) other programs specific to local economies in 
                the State.

SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than September 30, 2022, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall evaluate the outcome of the allotments provided 
under section 4(a) and provide a report on such evaluation to Congress. 
Such report shall include an assessment of the impact of such 
allotments on the compensation of workers receiving portable benefits 
under section 4.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this section $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2021.
    (b) Availability.--Amounts appropriated under subsection (a) shall 
remain available until expended.
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