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

Summary:
Emergency Portable Benefits for Independent Workers 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, expanded unemployment compensation, and retirement savings options.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4276 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4276

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 22, 2020

Mr. Warner (for himself and Mr. Daines) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 Portable Benefits for 
Independent Workers 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;
                            (v) contributions made by a State or local 
                        unit of government; or
                            (vi) a combination of two or more of the 
                        contributions described in clauses (i) through 
                        (v).
            (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, 
        and the Northern Mariana Islands.
            (7) Worker advocate non-profit organization.--The term 
        ``worker advocate non-profit organization'' means an entity--
                    (A) that is an organization--
                            (i) described in section 501(c) of the 
                        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 
                        tax under section 501(a) of such Code; or
                            (ii) wholly owned or controlled by an 
                        organization described in clause (i);
                    (B) all of whose actions regarding providing 
                benefits to workers are taken for the sole purpose of 
                maximizing benefits to the workers;
                    (C) that is neither owned nor controlled, in whole 
                or in part, by any entity that is not an organization 
                described in subparagraph (A)(i); 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 September 1, 2020, the 
        Secretary shall award funding, 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 allotments.--Allotments awarded under this 
        subsection shall be for not less than a 2-year period.
    (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 this section 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 section 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 the 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, in partnership with a local government, labor 
        organization, or worker advocate nonprofit organization, 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, including 
                paid family leave and medical leave, paid sick days, 
                and annual leave;
                    (B) providing a job seeker's allowance;
                    (C) retirement-related benefits;
                    (D) the long-term expansion of eligibility for 
                unemployment compensation; and
                    (E) 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 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, in the aggregate and disaggregated by socio-economic 
and racial or ethnic demographic variables.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

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