Job Protection for Quarantined Individuals Act of 2020

II 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. KLO- BUCHAR) 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 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 ‘‘Job Protection for 4 Quarantined Individuals Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3491 IS SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON ADVERSE EMPLOYMENT ACTIONS 1 AGAINST QUARANTINED OR ISOLATED INDI- 2 VIDUALS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—An employer shall not discharge, 4 discipline, threaten, or penalize an employee of the em- 5 ployer, or otherwise discriminate in the work terms, condi- 6 tions, location, or privileges of the employee, because the 7 employee— 8 (1) has been, or is, in isolation or quarantine; 9 or 10 (2) has responsibility for the care of a family 11 member in isolation or quarantine, regardless of 12 whether such employee has assumed responsibility 13 for all or a portion of such care voluntarily, by con- 14 tract, or by agreement. 15 (b) ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.— 16 (1) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.— 17 (A) IN GENERAL.—To ensure compliance 18 with the provisions of subsection (a) or any 19 order issued under this section, the Secretary 20 shall have the investigative authority provided 21 under section 11(a) of the Fair Labor Stand- 22 ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(a)), with re- 23 spect to employers, employees, and other indi- 24 viduals affected. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3491 IS (B) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.—For the pur- 1 poses of any investigation provided for in this 2 paragraph, the Secretary shall have the sub- 3 poena authority provided for under section 9 of 4 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 5 U.S.C. 209). 6 (2) CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEES OR INDIVID- 7 UALS.— 8 (A) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An action to re- 9 cover the damages or equitable relief prescribed 10 in subparagraph (B) may be maintained 11 against any employer in any Federal or State 12 court of competent jurisdiction by one or more 13 employees or individuals or their representative 14 for and on behalf of— 15 (i) the employees or individuals; or 16 (ii) the employees or individuals and 17 others similarly situated. 18 (B) LIABILITY.—Any employer who vio- 19 lates subsection (a) shall be liable to any em- 20 ployee or individual affected— 21 (i) for damages equal to— 22 (I) the amount of— 23 (aa) any wages, salary, em- 24 ployment benefits, or other com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3491 IS pensation denied or lost by rea- 1 son of the violation; or 2 (bb) in a case in which 3 wages, salary, employment bene- 4 fits, or other compensation have 5 not been denied or lost, any ac- 6 tual monetary losses sustained as 7 a direct result of the violation; 8 (II) the interest on the amount 9 described in subclause (I) calculated 10 at the prevailing rate; and 11 (III) an additional amount as liq- 12 uidated damages; and 13 (ii) for such equitable relief as may be 14 appropriate, including employment, rein- 15 statement, and promotion. 16 (C) FEES AND COSTS.—The court in an 17 action under this paragraph shall, in addition to 18 any judgment awarded to the plaintiff, allow a 19 reasonable attorney’s fee, reasonable expert wit- 20 ness fees, and other costs of the action to be 21 paid by the defendant. 22 (3) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.— 23 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The Sec- 24 retary shall receive, investigate, and attempt to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3491 IS resolve complaints of violations of subsection 1 (a) in the same manner that the Secretary re- 2 ceives, investigates, and attempts to resolve 3 complaints of violations of sections 6 and 7 of 4 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 5 U.S.C. 206 and 207). 6 (B) CIVIL ACTION.—The Secretary may 7 bring an action in any court of competent juris- 8 diction to recover the damages described in 9 paragraph (2)(B)(i). 10 (C) SUMS RECOVERED.—Any sums recov- 11 ered by the Secretary pursuant to subparagraph 12 (B) shall be held in a special deposit account 13 and shall be paid, on order of the Secretary, di- 14 rectly to each employee or individual affected. 15 Any such sums not paid to an employee or indi- 16 vidual affected because of inability to do so 17 within a period of 3 years shall be deposited 18 into the Treasury of the United States as mis- 19 cellaneous receipts. 20 (4) LIMITATION.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—An action may be 22 brought under paragraph (2), (3), or (5) not 23 later than 2 years after the date of the last 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3491 IS event constituting the alleged violation for 1 which the action is brought. 2 (B) COMMENCEMENT.—In determining 3 when an action is commenced under paragraph 4 (2), (3), or (5) for the purposes of this para- 5 graph, it shall be considered to be commenced 6 on the date when the complaint is filed. 7 (5) ACTION FOR INJUNCTION BY SECRETARY.— 8 The district courts of the United States shall have 9 jurisdiction, for cause shown, in an action brought 10 by the Secretary— 11 (A) to restrain violations of subsection (a), 12 including the restraint of any withholding of 13 payment of wages, salary, employment benefits, 14 or other compensation, plus interest, found by 15 the court to be due to employees under this sec- 16 tion; or 17 (B) to award such other equitable relief as 18 may be appropriate, including employment, re- 19 instatement, and promotion. 20 (6) SOLICITOR OF LABOR.—The Solicitor of 21 Labor may appear for and represent the Secretary 22 on any litigation brought under paragraph (3) or 23 (5). 24 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3491 IS (1) FMLA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘parent’’, 1 ‘‘son or daughter’’, ‘‘spouse’’, and ‘‘covered service- 2 member’’ have the meanings given the terms in sec- 3 tion 101 of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 4 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611). 5 (2) ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL RELATED BY 6 BLOOD OR AFFINITY WHOSE CLOSE ASSOCIATION IS 7 THE EQUIVALENT OF A FAMILY RELATIONSHIP.— 8 The term ‘‘any other individual related by blood or 9 affinity whose close association is the equivalent of 10 a family relationship’’, used with respect to an em- 11 ployee, means any person with whom the employee 12 has a significant personal bond that is or is like a 13 family relationship, regardless of biological or legal 14 relationship. 15 (3) DOMESTIC PARTNER.—The term ‘‘domestic 16 partner’’, used with respect to an employee, 17 means— 18 (A) the person recognized as the domestic 19 partner of the employee under any domestic 20 partnership or civil union law of a State or po- 21 litical subdivision of a State; or 22 (B) in the case of an unmarried employee, 23 an unmarried adult person who is in a com- 24 mitted, personal relationship with the employee, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3491 IS is not a domestic partner as described in sub- 1 paragraph (A) to or in such a relationship with 2 any other person, and who is designated to the 3 employer by such employee as that employee’s 4 domestic partner. 5 (4) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ means 6 a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce. 7 (5) FAMILY MEMBER.—The term ‘‘family mem- 8 ber’’ means— 9 (A) a spouse or domestic partner, son or 10 daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, parent, 11 parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, 12 uncle or aunt, or nephew or niece; or 13 (B) the next of kin of a covered service- 14 member, or any other individual related by 15 blood or affinity whose close association is the 16 equivalent of a family relationship with the cov- 17 ered servicemember. 18 (6) GRANDCHILD.—The term ‘‘grandchild’’ 19 means the son or daughter of an employee’s son or 20 daughter. 21 (7) GRANDPARENT.—The term ‘‘grandparent’’ 22 means a parent of a parent of an employee. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3491 IS (8) ISOLATION OR QUARANTINE.—The term 1 ‘‘isolation or quarantine’’, with respect to an indi- 2 vidual, means isolation or quarantine because of— 3 (A) a quarantine order under section 361 4 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 5 264); 6 (B) an order or directive of a State, local, 7 or Tribal government; 8 (C) an order of a Federal, State, or Tribal 9 court; 10 (D) a written recommendation of a State, 11 local, or Tribal official that the individual enter 12 isolation or quarantine; or 13 (E) voluntary health monitoring, which oc- 14 curs when an individual does not have symp- 15 toms but is believed to have been exposed to 16 someone who is sick based on guidance issued 17 by the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- 18 tion or the applicable State, local, or Tribal 19 health department. 20 (9) NEPHEW; NIECE.—The terms ‘‘nephew’’ 21 and ‘‘niece’’, used with respect to an employee, mean 22 a son or daughter of the employee’s sibling. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3491 IS (10) PARENT-IN-LAW.—The term ‘‘parent-in- 1 law’’ means a parent of the spouse or domestic part- 2 ner of an employee. 3 (11) SIBLING.—The term ‘‘sibling’’ means any 4 person who is a son or daughter of an employee’s 5 parent (other than the employee). 6 (12) SON-IN-LAW; DAUGHTER-IN-LAW.—The 7 terms ‘‘son-in-law’’ and ‘‘daughter-in-law’’, used 8 with respect to an employee, mean any person who 9 is a spouse or domestic partner of a son or daugh- 10 ter, as the case may be, of the employee. 11 (13) UNCLE; AUNT.—The terms ‘‘uncle’’ and 12 ‘‘aunt’’, used with respect to an employee, mean the 13 son or daughter, as the case may be, of the employ- 14 ee’s grandparent (other than the employee’s parent). 15 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 16 tion shall be construed to alter the sick leave or sick pay 17 terms of any employment relationship or require payment 18 of wages for hours not worked. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS