Title: Nurse Workforce Protection Act of 2020
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Nurse Workforce Protection Act of 2020
This bill requires health care providers that receive funds made available for provider relief under certain laws enacted to address COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) to maintain nurse staffing levels and prohibits them from taking other actions with respect to nurse compensation and employment for a set period of time after receiving such funds.
Specifically, these providers must retain at least 75% of the nurses employed as of January 31, 2020, for a designated period of time. Additionally, during that period, providers may not reduce nurse pay or hours by more than 25% or require nurses to take paid or unpaid leave. The period of time begins on the date funds are disbursed and lasts two months. However, for providers that made changes with respect to staffing, compensation or leave, the relevant period begins 30 days after the date of disbursement and lasts two months.
Providers that do not meet these requirements must repay the COVID-19 funds that they received.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6809 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6809

  To prohibit health care providers that receive funding through the 
    Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund from reducing 
employment or compensation for certain nurses employed by the provider.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 12, 2020

 Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois (for himself and Ms. Gabbard) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit health care providers that receive funding through the 
    Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund from reducing 
employment or compensation for certain nurses employed by the provider.

    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 ``Nurse Workforce Protection Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS THAT RECEIVE FUNDING 
              THROUGH THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES EMERGENCY 
              FUND FROM REDUCING EMPLOYMENT OR COMPENSATION FOR CERTAIN 
              NURSES EMPLOYED BY THE PROVIDER.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, with 
respect to funding disbursed from the Public Health and Social Services 
Emergency Fund on or after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
before the end of the emergency period described in section 
1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(g)(1)(B)), 
if such disbursement is made from funds made available for provider 
relief under the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136) or the Paycheck 
Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (Public Law 116-
139), a health care provider shall be eligible to receive such a 
disbursement only if such provider agrees, with respect to the period 
beginning on the date such disbursement (or, in the case of a specified 
provider (as defined in subsection (b)), beginning on the date that is 
30 days after the date of such disbursement) and ending 2 months after 
such disbursement (or, in the case of a specified provider, ending 2 
months after the date that is 30 days after such disbursement)--
            (1) not to require any nurse (defined in subsection (d)) to 
        take paid or unpaid leave; and
            (2) to maintain--
                    (A) the employment of a number of nurses that is 
                equal to or greater than 75 percent of the number of 
                such nurses that were employed by such provider as of 
                January 31, 2020;
                    (B) an average salary for such nurses that is at 
                least 75 percent of the average salary payable by such 
                provider for such nurses as of January 31, 2020; and
                    (C) an average number of paid hours per day for 
                such nurses that is greater than or equal to 75 percent 
                of the average number of paid hours per day for such 
                nurses as of January 31, 2020.
    (b) Specified Provider Defined.--For purposes of subsection (a), 
the term ``specified provider'' means a health care provider that, as 
of the day before the date of a disbursement described in subsection 
(a)--
            (1) did not employ a number of nurses (as defined in 
        subsection (d)) that was equal to or greater than 75 percent of 
        the number of such nurses that were employed by such provider 
        as of January 31, 2020;
            (2) was not paying an average salary for such nurses that 
        was at least 75 percent of the average salary payable by such 
        provider for such nurses as of January 31, 2020; or
            (3) did not have an average number of paid hours per day 
        for such nurses that was at least 75 percent of the average 
        number of paid hours per day for such nurses as of January 31, 
        2020.
    (c) Repayment in Case of Failure To Maintain Employment.--The 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall require a health care 
provider that violates an agreement described in subsection (a) with 
respect to a disbursement described in such subsection to repay to the 
Secretary 100 percent of the amount of such disbursement.
    (d) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``nurse'' 
includes a registered nurse, a licensed practical nurse, a licensed 
vocational nurse, and an advanced practice registered nurse (such as a 
nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse midwife, 
and certified registered nurse anesthetist).
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