Title: Job Protection for Quarantined Individuals Act of 2020
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Job Protection for Quarantined Individuals Act of 2020  This bill prohibits employers from taking adverse actions (e.g., terminating, disciplining, threatening, or penalizing) against employees who are unable to work because the employee is or has been (1) quarantined, (2) in isolation, or (3) caring for a family member in isolation or quarantine. Such isolation or quarantine may be due to (1) a regulation by the Office of the Surgeon General concerning the spread of a communicable disease; (2) an order by a state, local, or tribal government; (3) a written recommendation by such government; or (4) voluntary health monitoring pursuant to guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or other applicable public health agency.  Employees may enforce this prohibition through civil claims to recover damages and reinstatement of employment, if appropriate. The Department of Labor also may conduct administrative actions and file civil claims on behalf of employees.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3491 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3491

To prohibit adverse employment actions against quarantined or isolated 
                  individuals, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 12, 2020

 Ms. Smith (for herself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Van Hollen, 
 Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Casey, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Sanders, and Ms. Klobuchar) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit adverse employment actions against quarantined or isolated 
                  individuals, 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 ``Job Protection for Quarantined 
Individuals Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON ADVERSE EMPLOYMENT ACTIONS AGAINST QUARANTINED 
              OR ISOLATED INDIVIDUALS.

    (a) In General.--An employer shall not discharge, discipline, 
threaten, or penalize an employee of the employer, or otherwise 
discriminate in the work terms, conditions, location, or privileges of 
the employee, because the employee--
            (1) has been, or is, in isolation or quarantine; or
            (2) has responsibility for the care of a family member in 
        isolation or quarantine, regardless of whether such employee 
        has assumed responsibility for all or a portion of such care 
        voluntarily, by contract, or by agreement.
    (b) Enforcement Authority.--
            (1) Investigative authority.--
                    (A) In general.--To ensure compliance with the 
                provisions of subsection (a) or any order issued under 
                this section, the Secretary shall have the 
                investigative authority provided under section 11(a) of 
                the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
                211(a)), with respect to employers, employees, and 
                other individuals affected.
                    (B) Subpoena authority.--For the purposes of any 
                investigation provided for in this paragraph, the 
                Secretary shall have the subpoena authority provided 
                for under section 9 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
                1938 (29 U.S.C. 209).
            (2) Civil action by employees or individuals.--
                    (A) Right of action.--An action to recover the 
                damages or equitable relief prescribed in subparagraph 
                (B) may be maintained against any employer in any 
                Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction by one 
                or more employees or individuals or their 
                representative for and on behalf of--
                            (i) the employees or individuals; or
                            (ii) the employees or individuals and 
                        others similarly situated.
                    (B) Liability.--Any employer who violates 
                subsection (a) shall be liable to any employee or 
                individual affected--
                            (i) for damages equal to--
                                    (I) the amount of--
                                            (aa) any wages, salary, 
                                        employment benefits, or other 
                                        compensation denied or lost by 
                                        reason of the violation; or
                                            (bb) in a case in which 
                                        wages, salary, employment 
                                        benefits, or other compensation 
                                        have not been denied or lost, 
                                        any actual monetary losses 
                                        sustained as a direct result of 
                                        the violation;
                                    (II) the interest on the amount 
                                described in subclause (I) calculated 
                                at the prevailing rate; and
                                    (III) an additional amount as 
                                liquidated damages; and
                            (ii) for such equitable relief as may be 
                        appropriate, including employment, 
                        reinstatement, and promotion.
                    (C) Fees and costs.--The court in an action under 
                this paragraph shall, in addition to any judgment 
                awarded to the plaintiff, allow a reasonable attorney's 
                fee, reasonable expert witness fees, and other costs of 
                the action to be paid by the defendant.
            (3) Action by the secretary.--
                    (A) Administrative action.--The Secretary shall 
                receive, investigate, and attempt to resolve complaints 
                of violations of subsection (a) in the same manner that 
                the Secretary receives, investigates, and attempts to 
                resolve complaints of violations of sections 6 and 7 of 
                the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206 and 
                207).
                    (B) Civil action.--The Secretary may bring an 
                action in any court of competent jurisdiction to 
                recover the damages described in paragraph (2)(B)(i).
                    (C) Sums recovered.--Any sums recovered by the 
                Secretary pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall be held in 
                a special deposit account and shall be paid, on order 
                of the Secretary, directly to each employee or 
                individual affected. Any such sums not paid to an 
                employee or individual affected because of inability to 
                do so within a period of 3 years shall be deposited 
                into the Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous 
                receipts.
            (4) Limitation.--
                    (A) In general.--An action may be brought under 
                paragraph (2), (3), or (5) not later than 2 years after 
                the date of the last event constituting the alleged 
                violation for which the action is brought.
                    (B) Commencement.--In determining when an action is 
                commenced under paragraph (2), (3), or (5) for the 
                purposes of this paragraph, it shall be considered to 
                be commenced on the date when the complaint is filed.
            (5) Action for injunction by secretary.--The district 
        courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction, for cause 
        shown, in an action brought by the Secretary--
                    (A) to restrain violations of subsection (a), 
                including the restraint of any withholding of payment 
                of wages, salary, employment benefits, or other 
                compensation, plus interest, found by the court to be 
                due to employees under this section; or
                    (B) to award such other equitable relief as may be 
                appropriate, including employment, reinstatement, and 
                promotion.
            (6) Solicitor of labor.--The Solicitor of Labor may appear 
        for and represent the Secretary on any litigation brought under 
        paragraph (3) or (5).
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) FMLA definitions.--The terms ``parent'', ``son or 
        daughter'', ``spouse'', and ``covered servicemember'' have the 
        meanings given the terms in section 101 of the Family and 
        Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611).
            (2) Any other individual related by blood or affinity whose 
        close association is the equivalent of a family relationship.--
        The term ``any other individual related by blood or affinity 
        whose close association is the equivalent of a family 
        relationship'', used with respect to an employee, means any 
        person with whom the employee has a significant personal bond 
        that is or is like a family relationship, regardless of 
        biological or legal relationship.
            (3) Domestic partner.--The term ``domestic partner'', used 
        with respect to an employee, means--
                    (A) the person recognized as the domestic partner 
                of the employee under any domestic partnership or civil 
                union law of a State or political subdivision of a 
                State; or
                    (B) in the case of an unmarried employee, an 
                unmarried adult person who is in a committed, personal 
                relationship with the employee, is not a domestic 
                partner as described in subparagraph (A) to or in such 
                a relationship with any other person, and who is 
                designated to the employer by such employee as that 
                employee's domestic partner.
            (4) Employer.--The term ``employer'' means a person engaged 
        in an industry affecting commerce.
            (5) Family member.--The term ``family member'' means--
                    (A) a spouse or domestic partner, son or daughter, 
                son-in-law, daughter-in-law, parent, parent-in-law, 
                grandparent, grandchild, sibling, uncle or aunt, or 
                nephew or niece; or
                    (B) the next of kin of a covered servicemember, or 
                any other individual related by blood or affinity whose 
                close association is the equivalent of a family 
                relationship with the covered servicemember.
            (6) Grandchild.--The term ``grandchild'' means the son or 
        daughter of an employee's son or daughter.
            (7) Grandparent.--The term ``grandparent'' means a parent 
        of a parent of an employee.
            (8) Isolation or quarantine.--The term ``isolation or 
        quarantine'', with respect to an individual, means isolation or 
        quarantine because of--
                    (A) a quarantine order under section 361 of the 
                Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 264);
                    (B) an order or directive of a State, local, or 
                Tribal government;
                    (C) an order of a Federal, State, or Tribal court;
                    (D) a written recommendation of a State, local, or 
                Tribal official that the individual enter isolation or 
                quarantine; or
                    (E) voluntary health monitoring, which occurs when 
                an individual does not have symptoms but is believed to 
                have been exposed to someone who is sick based on 
                guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention or the applicable State, local, or Tribal 
                health department.
            (9) Nephew; niece.--The terms ``nephew'' and ``niece'', 
        used with respect to an employee, mean a son or daughter of the 
        employee's sibling.
            (10) Parent-in-law.--The term ``parent-in-law'' means a 
        parent of the spouse or domestic partner of an employee.
            (11) Sibling.--The term ``sibling'' means any person who is 
        a son or daughter of an employee's parent (other than the 
        employee).
            (12) Son-in-law; daughter-in-law.--The terms ``son-in-law'' 
        and ``daughter-in-law'', used with respect to an employee, mean 
        any person who is a spouse or domestic partner of a son or 
        daughter, as the case may be, of the employee.
            (13) Uncle; aunt.--The terms ``uncle'' and ``aunt'', used 
        with respect to an employee, mean the son or daughter, as the 
        case may be, of the employee's grandparent (other than the 
        employee's parent).
    (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to alter the sick leave or sick pay terms of any employment 
relationship or require payment of wages for hours not worked.
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