Essential Transportation Employee Safety Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3884 To require the Secretary of Transportation to support the efforts of State and local governments to provide for priority testing of certain transpor- tation workers with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID– 19) and require the owners and operators of equipment and facilities used by passenger or freight transportation employers to clean, disinfect, and sanitize that equipment and provide personal protective equipment to certain employees, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 3, 2020 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To require the Secretary of Transportation to support the efforts of State and local governments to provide for priority testing of certain transportation workers with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) and require the owners and operators of equipment and facilities used by passenger or freight transportation em- ployers to clean, disinfect, and sanitize that equipment and provide personal protective equipment to certain em- ployees, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:45 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3884.IS S3884 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3884 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Essential Transpor- 2 tation Employee Safety Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 4 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- 5 retary of Transportation. 6 SEC. 3. PRIORITY TESTING FOR ESSENTIAL TRANSPOR- 7 TATION EMPLOYEES. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 9 (1) adopt, for use by the Department of Trans- 10 portation in carrying out response efforts relating to, 11 and operations during, the Coronavirus Disease 12 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic, the categorization of 13 certain transportation workers as ‘‘essential critical 14 infrastructure workers’’ in accordance with the advi- 15 sory list published by the Cybersecurity and Infra- 16 structure Security Agency on May 19, 2020, entitled 17 ‘‘Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure 18 Workforce: Ensuring Community and National Re- 19 silience in COVID-19 Response’’ (or a subsequent 20 version of that advisory list); and 21 (2) coordinate with the Director of the Centers 22 for Disease Control and Prevention and the Admin- 23 istrator of the Federal Emergency Management 24 Agency to support the efforts of State and local gov- 25 ernments to provide for priority testing of transpor- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:45 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3884.IS S3884 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3884 IS tation workers categorized as essential critical infra- 1 structure workers under paragraph (1) with respect 2 to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19). 3 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF 4 EQUIPMENT OR FACILITIES USED BY PAS- 5 SENGER OR FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION EM- 6 PLOYERS. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 (1) AT-RISK EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘at-risk 9 employee’’ means an employee (including a Federal 10 employee) or contractor of a passenger or freight 11 transportation employer— 12 (A) whose job responsibilities involve inter- 13 action with— 14 (i) passengers; 15 (ii) the public; or 16 (iii) coworkers who interact with the 17 public; 18 (B) who handles items which are handled 19 or will be handled by the public; or 20 (C) who works in locations where social 21 distancing and other preventative measures 22 with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 23 (COVID–19) are not possible. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:45 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3884.IS S3884 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3884 IS (2) PASSENGER OR FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION 1 EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘passenger or freight trans- 2 portation employer’’ includes— 3 (A) the owner, charterer, managing oper- 4 ator, master, or other individual in charge of a 5 passenger vessel (as defined in section 2101 of 6 title 46, United States Code); 7 (B) an air carrier (as defined in section 8 40102 of title 49, United States Code); 9 (C) a rail carrier (as defined in section 10 24102 of title 49, United States Code); 11 (D) a rail carrier (as defined in section 12 10102 of title 49, United States Code); 13 (E) a commuter authority (as defined in 14 section 24102 of title 49, United States Code); 15 (F) a regional transportation authority (as 16 defined in section 24102 of title 49, United 17 States Code); 18 (G) a provider of public transportation (as 19 defined in section 5302 of title 49, United 20 States Code); 21 (H) a provider of motorcoach services (as 22 defined in section 32702 of the Motorcoach En- 23 hanced Safety Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 31136 24 note; Public Law 112–141)); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:45 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3884.IS S3884 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3884 IS (I) a motor carrier that owns or operates 1 more than 100 motor vehicles (as those terms 2 are defined in section 390.5 of title 49, Code of 3 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations)); 4 (J) a sponsor, owner, or operator of a pub- 5 lic-use airport (as defined in section 47102 of 6 title 49, United States Code); 7 (K) an owner or operator of a vessel oper- 8 ating in commercial service (as defined in sec- 9 tion 2101 of title 46, United States Code); 10 (L) a marine terminal operator (as defined 11 in section 40102 of title 46, United States 12 Code) and the relevant authority or operator of 13 a port or harbor; and 14 (M) the Transportation Security Adminis- 15 tration, exclusively with respect to Transpor- 16 tation Security Officers. 17 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—For the purposes of respond- 18 ing to, or for purposes relating to operations during, the 19 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic, the 20 Secretary shall require— 21 (1) the owners and operators of equipment or 22 facilities used by passenger or freight transportation 23 employers, as applicable— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:45 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3884.IS S3884 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3884 IS (A) to clean, disinfect, and sanitize, in ac- 1 cordance with guidance issued by the Centers 2 for Disease Control and Prevention, the equip- 3 ment and facilities, including, as applicable— 4 (i) buses; 5 (ii) commercial motor vehicles; 6 (iii) freight locomotives; 7 (iv) freight and passenger rail cars; 8 (v) vessels; 9 (vi) airports; 10 (vii) vehicles used for the transpor- 11 tation of workers to job sites where inter- 12 action with the public will occur; 13 (viii) aircraft, including the cockpit 14 and the cabin; and 15 (ix) other equipment and facilities; 16 (B) to ensure that facilities, including en- 17 closed facilities, owned, operated, and used by 18 passenger or freight transportation employers, 19 including facilities used for employee training or 20 the performance of indoor or outdoor mainte- 21 nance, repair, or overhaul work, are disinfected 22 and sanitized frequently in accordance with 23 guidance issued by the Centers for Disease 24 Control and Prevention; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:45 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3884.IS S3884 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3884 IS (C) to provide to at-risk employees— 1 (i) masks or protective face coverings; 2 (ii) gloves; 3 (iii) hand sanitizer; 4 (iv) sanitizing wipes with sufficient al- 5 cohol content; and 6 (v) training on the proper use of per- 7 sonal protective equipment and sanitizing 8 equipment; 9 (D) to ensure that employees whose job re- 10 sponsibilities include the cleaning, disinfecting, 11 or sanitizing described in subparagraphs (A) 12 and (B) are provided— 13 (i) masks or protective face coverings; 14 (ii) gloves; 15 (iii) hand sanitizer; and 16 (iv) sanitizing wipes with sufficient al- 17 cohol content; 18 (E) to establish guidelines, or adhere to 19 any existing applicable guidelines, for notifying 20 an employee of the owner or operator of a con- 21 firmed diagnosis of the Coronavirus Disease 22 2019 (COVID–19) with respect to any other 23 employee of the owner or operator with whom 24 the notified employee had physical contact or a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:45 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3884.IS S3884 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3884 IS physical interaction during the 48-hour period 1 preceding the time at which the diagnosed em- 2 ployee developed symptoms; 3 (F) to require that passengers wear masks 4 or protective face coverings while in or using a 5 passenger transportation carrier; and 6 (G) to require each flight crew member to 7 wear a mask or protective face covering while 8 on board an aircraft and outside the flight 9 deck; and 10 (2) an air carrier to submit to the Adminis- 11 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration a pro- 12 posal to permit pilots to wear masks or protective 13 face coverings in the flight deck, including a safety 14 risk assessment with respect to that proposal. 15 (c) MARKET UNAVAILABILITY OF NECESSARY 16 ITEMS.— 17 (1) NOTICE OF MARKET UNAVAILABILITY.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—If an owner or operator 19 described in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) is 20 unable to acquire 1 or more items necessary to 21 comply with the requirements prescribed under 22 that paragraph due to market unavailability of 23 the items, the owner or operator shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:45 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3884.IS S3884 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3884 IS (i) not later than 7 days after the 1 date on which the owner or operator is un- 2 able to acquire each applicable item, sub- 3 mit to the Secretary a written notice ex- 4 plaining the efforts made and obstacles 5 faced by the owner or operator to acquire 6 that item; and 7 (ii) continue making efforts to acquire 8 that item until the item is acquired. 9 (B) UPDATED NOTICE WITH RESPECT TO 10 THE SAME ITEM.—If an owner or operator is 11 unable to acquire an item described in a notice 12 submitted under subparagraph (A) by the date 13 described in paragraph (4)(B)(ii) with respect 14 to the notice, the owner or operator may submit 15 an updated notice with respect to that item. 16 (2) REASONABLE EFFORT DETERMINATION.— 17 With respect to each notice submitted under para- 18 graph (1), the Secretary shall determine whether the 19 owner or operator submitting the notice has made 20 reasonable efforts to acquire the item described in 21 the notice. 22 (3) NOTICE OF COMPLIANCE.—Not later than 7 23 days after the date on which an owner or operator 24 acquires an item described in a notice submitted by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:45 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3884.IS S3884 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3884 IS that owner or operator under paragraph (1) in a 1 quantity sufficient to comply with the requirements 2 prescribed under subsection (b)(1), the owner or op- 3 erator shall submit to the Secretary a written notice 4 of compliance with those requirements. 5 (4) LIST OF OWNERS AND OPERATORS MAKING 6 REASONABLE EFFORTS TO ACQUIRE UNAVAILABLE 7 ITEMS.— 8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 9 publish on a public website of the Department 10 of Transportation a list that, with respect to 11 each notice submitted to the Secretary under 12 paragraph (1) for which the Secretary has 13 made a positive determination under paragraph 14 (2)— 15 (i) identifies the owner or operator 16 that submitted the notice; 17 (ii) identifies the item that the owner 18 or operator was unable to acquire; and 19 (iii) describes the reasonable efforts 20 made by the owner or operator to acquire 21 that item. 22 (B) REMOVAL FROM LIST.—The Secretary 23 shall remove each entry on the list described in 24 subparagraph (A) on the earlier of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:45 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3884.IS S3884 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3884 IS (i) the date on which the applicable 1 owner or operator submits to the Secretary 2 a notice of compliance under paragraph (3) 3 with respect to the item that is the subject 4 of the entry; and 5 (ii) the date that is 90 days after the 6 date on which the entry was added to the 7 list. 8 (d) PENALTIES.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), an 10 owner or operator described in subsection (b)(1) that 11 fails to perform the duties prescribed under that 12 subsection is liable to the Federal Government for a 13 civil penalty of $1,000 for each employee affected by 14 each violation, to be distributed to those affected 15 employees. 16 (2) EXEMPTION.—An owner or operator identi- 17 fied on the list described in subsection (c)(4)(A) 18 shall not be subject to the penalties described in 19 paragraph (1) with respect to a failure to perform 20 a duty prescribed under subsection (b)(1) during the 21 time period in which the owner or operator is identi- 22 fied on that list if the failure is due to the market 23 unavailability of the item for which the owner or op- 24 erator is included on that list. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:45 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3884.IS S3884 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3884 IS SEC. 5. PROTECTION OF CERTAIN FEDERAL AVIATION AD- 1 MINISTRATION EMPLOYEES. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the duration of the national 3 emergency declared by the President under the National 4 Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) with respect 5 to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19), in order 6 to maintain the safe and efficient operation of the air traf- 7 fic control system, the Administrator of the Federal Avia- 8 tion Administration shall— 9 (1) provide any air traffic controller and airway 10 transportation systems specialist of the Federal 11 Aviation Administration with masks or protective 12 face coverings, gloves, and hand sanitizer and wipes 13 of sufficient alcohol content; 14 (2) ensure that each air traffic control facility 15 is cleaned, disinfected, and sanitized frequently in 16 accordance with Centers for Disease Control and 17 Prevention guidance; and 18 (3) provide any employee of the Federal Avia- 19 tion Administration whose job responsibilities involve 20 cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing [Text truncated for display. 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