Preventing Layoffs During a Public Health Emergency Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3496 To provide for Federal financing of short-time compensation programs during public health emergencies. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 12, 2020 Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide for Federal financing of short-time compensation programs during public health emergencies. 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Preventing Layoffs During a Public Health Emergency 5 Act of 2020’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Federal financing of short-time compensation payments during a public health emergency in States with programs in law. Sec. 3. Temporary Federal financing of short-time compensation agreements during a public health emergency. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S3496.IS S3496 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3496 IS Sec. 4. Assistance and guidance in implementing short-time compensation pro- grams. SEC. 2. FEDERAL FINANCING OF SHORT-TIME COMPENSA- 1 TION PAYMENTS DURING A PUBLIC HEALTH 2 EMERGENCY IN STATES WITH PROGRAMS IN 3 LAW. 4 (a) PAYMENTS TO STATES.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3) 6 and subsections (b) and (c), there shall be paid to 7 a State an amount equal to 100 percent of the 8 amount of short-time compensation paid under a 9 short-time compensation program (as defined in sec- 10 tion 3306(v) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) 11 under the provisions of the State law in any area of 12 the State for which a public health emergency has 13 been declared. 14 (2) TERMS OF PAYMENTS.—Payments made to 15 a State under paragraph (1) shall be payable by way 16 of reimbursement in such amounts as the Secretary 17 estimates the State will be entitled to receive under 18 this section for each calendar month, reduced or in- 19 creased, as the case may be, by any amount by 20 which the Secretary finds that the Secretary’s esti- 21 mates for any prior calendar month were greater or 22 less than the amounts which should have been paid 23 to the State. Such estimates may be made on the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3496.IS S3496 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3496 IS basis of such statistical, sampling, or other method 1 as may be agreed upon by the Secretary and the 2 State agency of the State involved. 3 (3) LIMITATIONS ON PAYMENTS.— 4 (A) GENERAL PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.— 5 No payments shall be made to a State under 6 this section for short-time compensation paid to 7 an individual by the State during a benefit year 8 in excess of 26 times the amount of regular 9 compensation (including dependents’ allow- 10 ances) under the State law payable to such in- 11 dividual for a week of total unemployment. 12 (B) EMPLOYER LIMITATIONS.—No pay- 13 ments shall be made to a State under this sec- 14 tion for benefits paid to an individual by the 15 State under a short-time compensation program 16 if such individual is employed by the partici- 17 pating employer on a seasonal, temporary, or 18 intermittent basis. 19 (b) APPLICABILITY DURING A PUBLIC HEALTH 20 EMERGENCY AND FOR 1 YEAR AFTER THE END OF SUCH 21 EMERGENCY.—Payments to a State under subsection (a) 22 shall be available, with respect to an area, for weeks of 23 unemployment— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3496.IS S3496 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3496 IS (1) beginning on or after the date of the dec- 1 laration of a public health emergency for the area 2 (but in no case earlier than the date of the enact- 3 ment of this Act); and 4 (2) ending on or before the date that is 1 year 5 after the date of the termination of such declaration 6 for such area. 7 (c) NEW PROGRAMS.—Subject to subsection (b), if 8 at any point after the date of enactment of this Act a 9 State enacts a State law providing for the payment of 10 short-time compensation under a short-time compensation 11 program that meets the definition of such a program 12 under section 3306(v) of the Internal Revenue Code of 13 1986, the State shall be eligible for payments under this 14 section after the effective date of such enactment. 15 (d) FUNDING AND CERTIFICATIONS.— 16 (1) FUNDING.—There are appropriated, out of 17 moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 18 such sums as may be necessary for purposes of car- 19 rying out this section. 20 (2) CERTIFICATIONS.—The Secretary shall 21 from time to time certify to the Secretary of the 22 Treasury for payment to each State the sums pay- 23 able to such State under this section. 24 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3496.IS S3496 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3496 IS (1) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.—The term 1 ‘‘public health emergency’’ means a public health 2 emergency declared for an area by— 3 (A) the Secretary of Health and Human 4 Services under section 319 of the Public Health 5 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); or 6 (B) a State public health official with the 7 authority to declare such an emergency for the 8 area. 9 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 10 the Secretary of Labor. 11 (3) STATE; STATE AGENCY; STATE LAW.—The 12 terms ‘‘State’’, ‘‘State agency’’, and ‘‘State law’’ 13 have the meanings given those terms in section 205 14 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Com- 15 pensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note). 16 (f) TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO DEFINITION.—Sec- 17 tion 3306(v)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 18 U.S.C. 3306) is amended by striking ‘‘Workforce Invest- 19 ment Act of 1998’’ and inserting ‘‘Workforce Innovation 20 and Opportunity Act’’. 21 SEC. 3. TEMPORARY FEDERAL FINANCING OF SHORT-TIME 22 COMPENSATION AGREEMENTS DURING A 23 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY. 24 (a) FEDERAL-STATE AGREEMENTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3496.IS S3496 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3496 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Any State which desires to 1 do so may enter into, and participate in, an agree- 2 ment under this section with the Secretary provided 3 that such State’s law does not provide for the pay- 4 ment of short-time compensation under a short-time 5 compensation program (as defined in section 6 3306(v) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). 7 (2) ABILITY TO TERMINATE.—Any State which 8 is a party to an agreement under this section may, 9 upon providing 30 days’ written notice to the Sec- 10 retary, terminate such agreement. 11 (b) PROVISIONS OF FEDERAL-STATE AGREEMENT.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 13 and subsections (d) and (e), any agreement under 14 this section shall provide that the State agency of 15 the State will make payments of short-time com- 16 pensation under a plan approved by the State in any 17 area of the State for which a public health emer- 18 gency has been declared. Such plan shall provide 19 that payments are made in accordance with the re- 20 quirements under section 3306(v) of the Internal 21 Revenue Code of 1986. 22 (2) LIMITATIONS ON PLANS.— 23 (A) GENERAL PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.—A 24 short-time compensation plan approved by a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3496.IS S3496 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3496 IS State shall not permit the payment of short- 1 time compensation to an individual by the State 2 during a benefit year in excess of 26 times the 3 amount of regular compensation (including de- 4 pendents’ allowances) under the State law pay- 5 able to such individual for a week of total un- 6 employment. 7 (B) EMPLOYER LIMITATIONS.—A short- 8 time compensation plan approved by a State 9 shall not provide payments to an individual if 10 such individual is employed by the participating 11 employer on a seasonal, temporary, or intermit- 12 tent basis. 13 (3) EMPLOYER PAYMENT OF COSTS.—Any 14 short-time compensation plan entered into by an em- 15 ployer must provide that the employer will pay the 16 State an amount equal to one-half of the amount of 17 short-time compensation paid under such plan. Such 18 amount shall be deposited in the State’s unemploy- 19 ment fund and shall not be used for purposes of cal- 20 culating an employer’s contribution rate under sec- 21 tion 3303(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 22 1986. 23 (c) PAYMENTS TO STATES.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3496.IS S3496 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3496 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be paid to each 1 State with an agreement under this section an 2 amount equal to— 3 (A) one-half of the amount of short-time 4 compensation paid to individuals by the State 5 pursuant to such agreement; and 6 (B) any additional administrative expenses 7 incurred by the State by reason of such agree- 8 ment (as determined by the Secretary). 9 (2) TERMS OF PAYMENTS.—Payments made to 10 a State under paragraph (1) shall be payable by way 11 of reimbursement in such amounts as the Secretary 12 estimates the State will be entitled to receive under 13 this section for each calendar month, reduced or in- 14 creased, as the case may be, by any amount by 15 which the Secretary finds that the Secretary’s esti- 16 mates for any prior calendar month were greater or 17 less than the amounts which should have been paid 18 to the State. Such estimates may be made on the 19 basis of such statistical, sampling, or other method 20 as may be agreed upon by the Secretary and the 21 State agency of the State involved. 22 (3) FUNDING.—There are appropriated, out of 23 moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3496.IS S3496 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3496 IS such sums as may be necessary for purposes of car- 1 rying out this section. 2 (4) CERTIFICATIONS.—The Secretary shall 3 from time to time certify to the Secretary of the 4 Treasury for payment to each State the sums pay- 5 able to such State under this section. 6 (d) APPLICABILITY DURING A PUBLIC HEALTH 7 EMERGENCY AND FOR 1 YEAR AFTER THE END OF SUCH 8 EMERGENCY.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 10 after an agreement is entered into under this sec- 11 tion, such agreement shall apply, with respect to an 12 area, to weeks of unemployment— 13 (A) beginning on or after the date of the 14 declaration of a public health emergency for the 15 area; and 16 (B) ending on or before the date that is 1 17 year after the date of the termination of such 18 declaration for such area. 19 (2) TERMINATION.—No payments shall be 20 made under an agreement under this section for 21 weeks of unemployment beginning on or after the 22 date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of 23 this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3496.IS S3496 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3496 IS (e) SPECIAL RULE.—If a State has entered into an 1 agreement under this section and subsequently enacts a 2 State law providing for the payment of short-time com- 3 pensation under a short-time compensation program that 4 meets the definition of such a program under section 5 3306(v) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the 6 State— 7 (1) shall not be eligible for payments under this 8 section for weeks of unemployment beginning after 9 the effective date of such State law; and 10 (2) shall be eligible to receive payments under 11 the provisions of section 2 after the effective date of 12 such State law. 13 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 14 (1) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.—The term 15 ‘‘public health emergency’’ means a public health 16 emergency declared for an area by— 17 (A) the Secretary of Health and Human 18 Services under section 319 of the Public Health 19 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); or 20 (B) a State public health official with the 21 authority to declare such an emergency for the 22 area. 23 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 24 the Secretary of Labor. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3496.IS S3496 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3496 IS (3) STATE; STATE AGENCY; STATE LAW.—The 1 terms ‘‘State’’, ‘‘State agency’’, and ‘‘State law’’ 2 have the meanings given those terms in section 205 3 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Com- 4 pensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note). 5 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE AND GUIDANCE IN IMPLEMENTING 6 SHORT-TIME COMPENSATION PROGRAMS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to assist States in estab- 8 lishing, qualifying, and implementing short-time com- 9 pensation programs (as defined in section 3306(v) of the 10 Internal Revenue Code of 1986), the Secretary of Labor 11 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall— 12 (1) develop model legislative language which 13 may be used by States in developing and enacting 14 such programs and periodically review and revise 15 such model legislative language; 16 (2) provide technical assistance and guidance in 17 developing, enacting, and implementing such pro- 18 grams; and 19 (3) establish reporting requirements for States, 20 including reporting on— 21 (A) the number of estimated averted lay- 22 offs; 23 (B) the number of participating employers 24 and workers; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Mar 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3496.IS S3496 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3496 IS (C) such other items as the Secretary of 1 Labor determines are appropriate. 2 (b) MODEL LANGUAGE AND GUIDANCE.—The model 3 language and guidance developed under subsection (a) 4 shall allow sufficient flexibility by States and participating 5 employers while ensuring accountability and program in- 6 tegrity. 7 (c) CONSULTATION.—In developing the model legisla- 8 tive language and guidance under subsection (a), and in 9 order to meet the requirements of subsection (b), the Sec- 10 retary shall consult with employers, labor organizations, 11 State workforce agencies, and other program experts. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt [Text truncated for display. 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