Hazard pay for essential workers has been a hot topic recently. With the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, many essential workers continue to put themselves at risk to keep our society functioning. There has been much discussion around providing additional compensation for these frontline workers who are performing critical jobs under hazardous conditions. But did a hazard pay bill actually get passed by Congress? Let’s take a look at what happened and what it could mean.
The Heroes Act and Hazard Pay
On May 15 2020 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, or the HEROES Act. This $3 trillion stimulus package included a provision for “pandemic premium pay” – essentially hazard pay bonuses for essential workers. Specifically, it allocated $200 billion for this pandemic premium pay.
The HEROES Act called for essential workers to receive an additional $13 per hour, up to a maximum of either $10,000 or $5,000 depending on their income Workers making less than $200,000 per year would be eligible for up to $10,000 in hazard pay, while those making over $200,000 could receive up to $5,000 The pay would be retroactive back to January 27, 2020 and continue until 60 days after the pandemic is over.
So in short – yes, a hazard pay bill containing $200 billion in funding did pass the U.S. House of Representatives. However, that does not mean it has been enacted into law.
The Bill Must Still Pass the Senate
While the HEROES Act passed the House, it still needs to get through the Senate before it can be signed into law by the President. And that is looking doubtful at the moment.
The HEROES Act appears to be “dead on arrival” in the Senate. The Republican-controlled Senate has expressed opposition to many components of the expansive $3 trillion package. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the bill a “liberal wishlist” and said it has “no chance of becoming law.”
Senate Republicans have taken issue with provisions for state and local government aid, as well as the broad stimulus payments to American families. They have not specifically cited issues with the hazard pay component, but the whole bill package seems unlikely to pass the Senate in its current form.
However, that does not mean hazard pay for essential workers is completely off the table. McConnell has said that the Senate will likely take up “something smaller” in the coming weeks and months to provide additional COVID-19 relief. Some Senate Republicans have voiced support for providing some form of hazard pay bonuses to frontline essential workers who have risked their health during the pandemic. So a scaled-down version of hazard pay could still make it into future relief legislation.
A Look at Other Hazard Pay Proposals
The HEROES Act is not the only hazard pay proposal that has been discussed in Congress. In early May, Senator Mitt Romney introduced the Patriot Pay Act, which would provide essential workers with bonuses equivalent to a $12 per hour raise from May 1 through July 31. Those bonuses would be capped at $12,000 per worker.
Romney’s Patriot Pay Act is targeted specifically at lower-income essential workers, applying only to those making less than $90,000 per year. The allocated budget for this proposal was much lower than the HEROES Act, with only $25 billion in funding. However, Romney’s bill has not advanced since he introduced it.
President Trump has also voiced support for providing hazard pay to doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers on the frontlines of the pandemic. In April, he called hazard pay for healthcare workers “so important” and said his administration would ask Congress to provide funding.
So while the original $200 billion HEROES Act provision may not advance as part of a final relief deal, there still appears to be bipartisan interest in enacting some form of hazard pay or bonus pay for essential pandemic workers. Amounts, eligibility, and other details would still need to be negotiated.
Which Workers Would Be Eligible?
The HEROES Act outlined a broad list of essential workers who would qualify for hazard pay, including:
- Healthcare workers like doctors, nurses, nurse assistants, home health providers
- First responders like police, firefighters, EMS
- Teachers and childcare workers
- Grocery store and retail workers
- Postal workers and delivery drivers
- Public transit workers
- Food production and agriculture workers
- Janitors, sanitation workers, housekeepers
- Mortuary and funeral home employees
Eligibility requirements could change depending on any new proposals. But in general, public-facing essential workers with high risk of coronavirus exposure appear to be the intended recipients of any potential hazard pay program.
There has been debate around whether hazard pay should only go to frontline workers making below a certain income level. The HEROES Act’s two-tiered payment structure tried to account for this by capping payments for higher earners. Other proposals may seek to restrict eligibility based on income thresholds.
Unresolved Questions on Hazard Pay
If a federal hazard pay plan does get enacted, many details would still need to be clarified, including:
- Exact amount of pay increases or bonuses
- Cap on total payments per employee
- Eligibility requirements and definitions for “essential workers”
- Funding amount and source
- Oversight for distribution of funds
- Retroactive payments back to the start of the pandemic
- How long enhanced pay would extend past the end of the pandemic
The HEROES Act defined some of these details, but anything passed by the Senate will likely look substantially different. There is also the question of how hazard pay would be implemented – as direct payments from the government or as grants/reimbursements for employers who provide premium pay to their workers. Those logistics would need to be sorted out.
State and local governments may also explore their own hazard pay programs for essential workers, though budget shortfalls may make that difficult without federal assistance.
The Bottom Line
While the House passed comprehensive hazard pay legislation as part of the HEROES Act, actual enactment into law faces an uphill battle in the Senate. However, both parties seem to acknowledge the need to provide some form of additional compensation for frontline essential workers who have kept working amid health risks during the pandemic.
Exactly what shape that enhanced pay ultimately takes remains to be seen. The amount of funding, eligible workers, payment structure, and duration are still open questions. But the door does not appear to be completely closed on some version of hazard pay becoming part of a final relief package that can pass both chambers of Congress. Essential workers will have to wait and see if lawmakers can come together to agree on how to show their appreciation to America’s everyday heroes.
How Does Hazard Pay Work?
Employees who receive hazard pay will also earn a general wage. Hazard pay is an addition to your regular hourly wages or salary, typically in the form of an hourly rate.
You may also receive hazard pay in a percentage, for example, a 15% premium from your employer when the employee works under hazardous conditions. So, for the period where they were performing a hazardous job, they would get 15% more pay.
Hazard pay may impact overtime pay, especially if an employee is eligible for both. If the individual is working both overtime and hazard pay, they will receive the paid overtime on their base salary, plus the 15% premium on top of it.
This sounds like a good incentive to do some dangerous work. Alternatively, some organizations may choose to pay their employees a flat fee for hazard pay. For example, individuals might receive $500 extra per month for hazard pay.
Depending on the type of job you have, employees are generally only eligible for hazard pay for the specific amount of time they spent in a hazardous location.
Jobs Eligible for Hazard Pay
- Logging: Logging workers work long, laborious days, with dangers arising from both the machinery involved and the job’s physical demands. Workers are often expected to work the entire day cutting up trees, typically in high places where things move fast. With unstable or rough terrain coupled with inclement weather, logging can be one of the most dangerous jobs out there.
- Commercial fishing: Commercial fishing is very different from fishing for leisure. This is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, with fishermen being 42 times more likely to meet a fatality at work than workers in other fields.
The environment is very dangerous in the middle of the ocean, and fishermen often aren’t trained properly. Without that proper training, individuals won’t know how to use lifesaving equipment or resources.
It’s also a competitive market, with fishermen tapping into limited supplies or resources. By engaging in a race to catch fish, you’ll find that fishermen are more likely to venture out in dangerous conditions.
- Pilots: Pilots are highly trained individuals, but the statistics don’t lie – it’s one of the world’s most dangerous jobs. This job requires high vigilance, which can create high-stress environments that lead to other health concerns. Because of the time spent in high altitudes, pilots can face unique health issues such as deep vein thrombosis, dehydration, and high rates of skin cancer.
- Roofers: Working on roofs is a job that can make your stomach drop. A single fall can kill you, but that’s not the only hazard you’ll need to watch out for. Burns from volatile tar, exposed power lines, and injuries from falling debris are just a few risks these individuals might face on a daily basis.
- Trash collectors: Although this might seem like a fairly simple job, it’s actually relatively dangerous. Navigating broken materials like the glass is a common cause of injury, as is moving trash bags that might contain things like broken glass or metal blades, resulting in serious injury. The truck is also a dangerous piece of equipment that you’ll need to be properly trained to use.
- Truck drivers: Transportation incidents account for 40% of fatalities annually, making a truck driver’s job fairly dangerous. However, one of the most common injuries occurs due to fatigue. Most truck drivers drive for hours on end, and fatigue can cause a dangerous accident, not only for the driver but for others on the road.
- Farmers: Despite popular belief, farming is one of the most dangerous professions in the world. OSHA lists farm machinery and equipment, agricultural chemicals, grain bins, livestock management and handling, inclement weather including sun and heat, toxic gasses, and wells as some of the most dangerous farming hazards associated with this job.
- Construction: The work of a construction worker is inherently dangerous, and individuals who choose this career path are typically exposed to hazardous work conditions on a daily basis. This could put them at risk for injury from falls, machinery, or structural collapses.
- Lawn care and landscaping: The most dangerous part of this work is being exposed to the outdoor elements. Landscapers face environmental hazards, such as long hours in the sun that could lead to heatstroke and lead to adverse long-term effects like skin cancer.
Is hazard pay real? Not really
Did the Federal hazard pay bill include essential workers?
That bill did not include any hazard pay for essential workers. It also excluded new state and local aid, which would shore up struggling state and local government budgets with the funds necessary to keep public sector frontline essential workers employed. The result was dimmed prospects for any federal hazard pay.
How many versions of the hazard pay bill are there?
There is one version of the bill. To provide hazard pay to frontline essential workers employed during the COVID–19 pandemic.
What is hazard pay?
Hazard pay is a popular response to the risks that frontline essential workers face. In a May survey, more than three-quarters of Americans surveyed supported providing hazard pay or additional compensation to workers in essential jobs. Hazard pay is also popular among frontline essential workers themselves.
Who is the sponsor of the hazard pay bill?
To provide hazard pay to frontline essential workers employed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill’s titles are written by its sponsor. Sponsor. Representative for New Jersey’s 2nd congressional district. Republican. This bill was introduced on September 22, 2020, in a previous session of Congress, but it did not receive a vote.