Emergency Benefits for Independent Workers Program Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6746 To require the Secretary of Labor to establish a program for providing portable benefits to eligible workers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 8, 2020 Ms. DELBENE (for herself, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. KILMER) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu- cation and Labor A BILL To require the Secretary of Labor to establish a program for providing portable benefits to eligible workers, 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 ‘‘Emergency Benefits 4 for Independent Workers Program Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Many independent workers and workers in 8 alternative work arrangements, constituting a sizable 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6746.IH H6746 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6746 IH percentage of the workforce in the United States, do 1 not have access to benefits and protections typically 2 provided through traditional full-time employment. 3 (2) Workers in alternative work arrangements 4 include independent contractors, domestic workers, 5 temporary workers, the self-employed, and others in 6 contingent work arrangements. 7 (3) According to a 2017 survey by the Bureau 8 of Labor Statistics, workers in alternative work ar- 9 rangements as their primary form of occupation con- 10 stitute 10.1 percent of the labor force, roughly 11 16,000,000 Americans. 12 (4) In response to the global pandemic caused 13 by the coronavirus, Congress created the temporary 14 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program under 15 title II of division A of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, 16 and Economic Security Act (Public Law 116–136) 17 to provide access to unemployment insurance to pre- 18 viously ineligible workers, such as gig workers, free- 19 lancers, and the self-employed. 20 (5) The people of the United States should not 21 need an Act of Congress to have access to essential 22 benefits and protections during the next economic 23 downturn. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6746.IH H6746 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6746 IH SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) CORONAVIRUS.—The term ‘‘coronavirus’’ 3 has the meaning given the term in section 506 of the 4 Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supple- 5 mental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116– 6 123). 7 (2) ELIGIBLE WORK.—The term ‘‘eligible work’’ 8 means any work performed for pay that is not in 9 connection with traditional full-time employment. 10 (3) ELIGIBLE WORKER.—The term ‘‘eligible 11 worker’’ means— 12 (A) any worker who is not a permanent 13 full-time employee of the parent entity hiring 14 the worker for the eligible work, including any 15 independent contractor, contract worker, self- 16 employed individual, freelance worker, or tem- 17 porary worker; and 18 (B) any worker not traditionally eligible 19 for unemployment compensation under the law 20 of the State, including such a worker who has 21 been affected by the coronavirus. 22 (4) PORTABLE BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘portable 23 benefits’’— 24 (A) means work-related benefits that are 25 provided to eligible workers for eligible work in 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6746.IH H6746 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6746 IH a manner that allows the worker to maintain 1 the benefits upon changing jobs; and 2 (B) includes— 3 (i) contributions on behalf of the eligi- 4 ble worker made by a hiring entity (includ- 5 ing multiple entities, if applicable) in con- 6 nection with eligible work performed by the 7 worker for the entity, including entities 8 that facilitate the sale of such work; 9 (ii) contributions made by the eligible 10 worker; 11 (iii) contributions on behalf of the eli- 12 gible worker made by consumers; 13 (iv) contributions on behalf of the eli- 14 gible worker made by labor organizations 15 or worker advocate non-profit organiza- 16 tions; or 17 (v) a combination of 2 or more of the 18 contributions described in clauses (i), (ii), 19 (iii), and (iv). 20 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 21 the Secretary of Labor. 22 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 23 the several States of the United States, the District 24 of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6746.IH H6746 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6746 IH United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern 1 Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. 2 (7) WORKER ADVOCATE NON-PROFIT ORGANI- 3 ZATION.—The term ‘‘worker advocate non-profit or- 4 ganization’’ means an entity— 5 (A) that is an organization described in 6 section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 7 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) 8 of such Code; 9 (B) for which all actions taken by the or- 10 ganization regarding providing benefits to work- 11 ers are for the sole purpose of maximizing bene- 12 fits to the workers; 13 (C) that is independent from all business 14 entities, organizations, corporations, or individ- 15 uals that would pursue any financial interest in 16 conflict with that of the workers; and 17 (D) that has a board of directors that 18 holds a fiduciary duty to the workers with re- 19 spect to provision of the benefits. 20 (8) WORK-RELATED BENEFITS.—The term 21 ‘‘work-related benefits’’ means benefits of a type 22 that are commonly provided to traditional full-time 23 employees, such as workers’ compensation, paid 24 leave, skills training, disability coverage, health in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6746.IH H6746 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6746 IH surance coverage, retirement saving, income secu- 1 rity, and short-term saving. 2 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PORTABLE BENEFITS PRO- 3 GRAM. 4 (a) EMERGENCY PORTABLE BENEFITS PROGRAM 5 ESTABLISHED.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—By not later than June 1, 7 2020, the Secretary, in consultation with the head of 8 any other relevant Federal agency, shall award 9 grants through allotments described in subsection 10 (b), to States to— 11 (A) assist in the technology modernization 12 necessary for the expansion of unemployment 13 insurance; and 14 (B) support broad innovation and experi- 15 mentation with respect to portable benefits. 16 (2) DURATION OF GRANT.—A grant awarded 17 under this paragraph shall be for not less than a 2- 18 year period. 19 (3) PARTNERSHIPS AUTHORIZED.—A State re- 20 ceiving an allotment under this Act may carry out 21 the activities under the grant in partnership with a 22 local government, labor organization, or worker ad- 23 vocate non-profit organization. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:39 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6746.IH H6746 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6746 IH (b) FORMULA.—Each State’s allotment under this 1 section shall bear the same relation to the amount avail- 2 able to carry out this section as the population of the State 3 bears to the population of all States. 4 (c) STATE REQUIREMENTS.— 5 (1) PLAN AND IMPLEMENTATION REQUIRE- 6 MENTS.—A State that accepts an allotment under 7 subsection (a) shall agree to— 8 (A) submit a plan for the use of the allot- 9 ment, in accordance with the requirements of 10 subsection (d), by not later than 90 days after 11 receiving the allotment; and 12 (B) fully implement the plan submitted 13 under subparagraph (A) by not later than 2 14 years after receiving the allotment. 15 (2) RETURN OF FUNDS.—A State that does not 16 wish to receive an allotment under this Act or does 17 not submit a plan described in paragraph (1)(A) by 18 the deadline required under such paragraph shall re- 19 turn the State’s allotment to the Secretary of Labor. 20 (3) USE OF RETURNED FUNDS.—The Secretary 21 of Labor shall use any funds returned under para- 22 graph (2) to provide supplemental allotments to the 23 States that did submit a plan under paragraph (1), 24 in the same manner as under subsection (b). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:39 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6746.IH H6746 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6746 IH (d) USES OF FUNDS.— 1 (1) USE OF FUNDS TO IMPROVE UNEMPLOY- 2 MENT COMPENSATION ADMINISTRATION.—A State 3 receiving an allotment under this section shall use 4 50 percent of the amount of such allotment for im- 5 proving the administration systems of its unemploy- 6 ment compensation law, including by taking such 7 steps as may be necessary to ensure adequate re- 8 sources in periods of high demand and by modern- 9 izing the information technology infrastructure used 10 for such administration. 11 (2) USE OF FUNDS TO ESTABLISH EXPERI- 12 MENTAL PORTABLE BENEFIT PROGRAMS.—A State 13 receiving an allotment under this section shall use 14 50 percent of the amount of such allotment for the 15 design, implementation, and evaluation of new mod- 16 els or approaches for providing portable benefits to 17 eligible workers, including— 18 (A) innovative proposals for paid leave; 19 (B) providing a job seeker’s allowance; 20 (C) qualified health plans offered on the 21 Exchanges established under section 1311 or 22 1321 of the Patient Protection and Affordable 23 Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031); 24 (D) retirement-related benefits; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:10 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6746.IH H6746 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6746 IH (E) the long-term expansion of eligibility 1 for unemployment compensation; and 2 (F) other programs specific to local econo- 3 mies in the State. 4 SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 5 Not later than September 30, 2022, the Comptroller 6 General of the United States shall evaluate the outcome 7 of the allotments provided under section 4(a) and provide 8 a report on such evaluation to Congress. Such report shall 9 include an assessment of the impact of such allotments 10 on the compensation of workers receiving portable benefits 11 under section 4. 12 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 14 priated to carry out this section $500,000,000 for fiscal 15 year 2021. 16 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated under 17 subsection (a) shall remain available until expended. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:39 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6746.IH H6746 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS