SUPPORT for New Workers Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4015 To amend subtitle A of title II of division A of the CARES Act to support workers as they re-enter the labor force by providing a newly employed worker allowance, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 17, 2021 Ms. SHERRILL (for herself, Mr. MEIJER, and Ms. SPANBERGER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend subtitle A of title II of division A of the CARES Act to support workers as they re-enter the labor force by providing a newly employed worker allowance, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Unem- 4 ployment Programs to Provide Opportunities for Recovery 5 and Training for New Workers Act’’ or the ‘‘SUPPORT 6 for New Workers Act’’. 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:14 Jul 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4015.IH H4015 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4015 IH SEC. 2. NEWLY EMPLOYED WORKER ALLOWANCE. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2104(b) of the Cares Act 2 (Public Law 116–136) is amended— 3 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para- 4 graph (5); and 5 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘(4) NEWLY EMPLOYED WORKER ALLOW- 8 ANCE.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any agreement under 10 this section shall provide that the State agency 11 of the State will, in addition to payments de- 12 scribed in paragraph (1), make up to 9 weekly 13 payments for each week during the benefit pe- 14 riod, in the amount of $180, to each individual 15 who— 16 ‘‘(i) was eligible for Federal Pandemic 17 Unemployment Compensation under para- 18 graph (1) or for pandemic unemployment 19 assistance under section 2102 for any week 20 ending on or after the date of enactment 21 of this paragraph; 22 ‘‘(ii) is no longer so eligible (as deter- 23 mined by the State), as a result of earn- 24 ings due to commencing employment; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:14 Jul 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4015.IH H4015 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4015 IH ‘‘(iii) remains employed, as verified by 1 the individual (with notice of such pay- 2 ments provided to the individual’s em- 3 ployer) on at least a biweekly basis, 4 throughout the benefit period. 5 ‘‘(B) BENEFIT PERIOD.—For purposes of 6 this paragraph, the term ‘benefit period’ means, 7 with respect to an individual, a period— 8 ‘‘(i) beginning on the date the indi- 9 vidual commenced employment as de- 10 scribed in subparagraph (A)(ii); and 11 ‘‘(ii) ending on September 6, 2021. 12 ‘‘(C) TIMING OF PAYMENTS.— 13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Payments for 14 which an individual is eligible under this 15 paragraph (including a one-time lump sum 16 payment as described in clause (ii)) shall 17 be made as soon as practicable after the 18 individual has commenced employment as 19 described in subparagraph (A)(ii). 20 ‘‘(ii) ONE-TIME PAYMENT EXCEP- 21 TION.—In any case in which a State cer- 22 tifies to the Secretary that payments under 23 subparagraph (A) cannot be implemented, 24 due to administrative challenges, before the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:14 Jul 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4015.IH H4015 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4015 IH date that is 3 weeks after the date of en- 1 actment of this paragraph, such State may 2 elect, in lieu of making the payments de- 3 scribed in such subparagraph, to make a 4 one-time lump sum payment to each indi- 5 vidual described in clauses (i) and (ii) of 6 such subparagraph in an amount equal to 7 the product of $180 multiplied by the 8 number of weeks in the individual’s benefit 9 period. 10 ‘‘(D) CONDITIONS OF REPAYMENT.—In 11 any case in which an individual who receives a 12 payment under this paragraph after com- 13 mencing employment voluntarily separates from 14 such employment before the date that is 6 15 weeks after the date of such payment, such in- 16 dividual shall be ineligible for regular com- 17 pensation and any unemployment benefits de- 18 scribed in subsection (i)(2) until such time as 19 the individual repays all payments received 20 under this paragraph to the State agency, ex- 21 cept that this subparagraph shall not apply if 22 the individual voluntarily separated from em- 23 ployment for the purpose of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:14 Jul 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4015.IH H4015 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4015 IH ‘‘(i) quarantining due to a COVID-19 1 infection or recovering from a COVID-19 2 infection; 3 ‘‘(ii) caring for a relative who has con- 4 tracted COVID-19 or a child whose school 5 or day care center is closed because of 6 COVID-19; or 7 ‘‘(iii) avoiding contraction of COVID- 8 19 as a result of unsafe working conditions 9 that violate OSHA health and safety regu- 10 lations. 11 ‘‘(E) SPECIAL RULE.—Payments made 12 pursuant to an agreement under this paragraph 13 shall not be considered to violate the withdrawal 14 requirements of section 303(a)(5) of the Social 15 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503(a)(5)) or section 16 3304(a)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 17 1986.’’. 18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 2104 of 19 such Act is amended— 20 (1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘will make 21 payments’’ and inserting ‘‘will, in addition to pay- 22 ments described in paragraph (4), make payments’’; 23 (2) in subsections (d) and (f), by inserting ‘‘, 24 payments under subsection (b)(4),’’ after ‘‘Federal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:14 Jul 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4015.IH H4015 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4015 IH Pandemic Unemployment Compensation’’ each place 1 it appears; and 2 (3) in subsection (h), by inserting ‘‘, and any 3 payment under subsection (b)(4),’’ after ‘‘Federal 4 Pandemic Unemployment Compensation’’. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:14 Jul 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4015.IH H4015 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS