Essential Workforce Parity Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7538 To amend the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to provide paid sick leave for health care providers and emergency responders, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 9, 2020 Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Com- mittees on House Administration, Oversight and Reform, and the Judici- ary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to provide paid sick leave for health care providers and emergency responders, 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 ‘‘Essential Workforce 4 Parity Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7538.IH H7538 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7538 IH SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5102 of the Families 2 First Coronavirus Response Act (29 U.S.C. 2601 note) 3 is amended— 4 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter following 5 paragraph (6)— 6 (A) by inserting ‘‘of paragraphs (1), (3), 7 (4), (5), and (6)’’ after ‘‘employee from the ap- 8 plication’’; and 9 (B) by adding ‘‘Paragraph (2) shall apply 10 with respect to an employee who is a health 11 care provider by substituting ‘because such pro- 12 vider determines that the employee has tested 13 positive for COVID–19 or attests that the em- 14 ployee is at greater risk for COVID–19 because 15 the employee is living with someone who has 16 tested positive for COVID–19.’ for ‘due to con- 17 cerns related to COVID-19’.’’; and 18 (2) by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION FOR HEALTH CARE PRO- 20 VIDERS.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an employer requires 22 that a request for leave by a health care provider 23 under subsection (a)(2) be certified, the employer 24 may require documentation for certification not ear- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7538.IH H7538 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7538 IH lier than 5 weeks after the date on which the em- 1 ployee takes such leave. 2 ‘‘(2) SUFFICIENT DOCUMENTATION.—Docu- 3 mentation of a positive COVID–19 test or an attes- 4 tation from a health care provider of an employee 5 that the employee meets the requirements under 6 subsection (a)(2) shall be sufficient for certifi- 7 cation.’’. 8 (b) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—Section 5111 of the 9 Families First Coronavirus Response Act (29 U.S.C. 2601 10 note) is amended by striking paragraph (1) and redesig- 11 nating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (1) and (2), 12 respectively. 13 SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR HEALTH CARE PRO- 14 FESSIONALS AND RELATED HEALTH CARE 15 ENTITIES RELATED TO COVID–19 EMER- 16 GENCY RESPONSE. 17 (a) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Except as provided 18 in subsection (c), a health care professional, the profes- 19 sional’s related health care entity, and any other staff of 20 the related health care entity, shall not be liable for dam- 21 ages under any law of the United States or of any State 22 (or political subdivision thereof) for any harm caused by 23 any act or omission of such health care professional, re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7538.IH H7538 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7538 IH lated health care entity, or other staff, in the course of 1 arranging for or providing health care services if— 2 (1) the act or omission occurs during the 3 COVID–19 emergency period and the 60-day period 4 following such emergency period; 5 (2) the act or omission occurs in the course of 6 providing health care services that— 7 (A) are within the scope of the license, reg- 8 istration, or certification of the health care pro- 9 fessional, as defined by the health care profes- 10 sional’s State of licensure, registration, or cer- 11 tification; and 12 (B) do not exceed the scope of license, reg- 13 istration, or certification of a substantially simi- 14 lar health professional in the State in which 15 such act or omission occurs; and 16 (3) the health care services in question were 17 provided in good faith or were withheld for reasons 18 related to the COVID–19 emergency period. 19 (b) ADDITIONAL COVERED ACTS.—Except as pro- 20 vided under subsection (c), the limitation on liability under 21 subsection (a) shall apply to any act or omission that may 22 be outside the health care professional’s normal area of 23 practice and are within the licensure and accreditation of 24 the related health care entity that is— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7538.IH H7538 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7538 IH (1) based on any direction, guidance, rec- 1 ommendation, or other statement made by a Fed- 2 eral, State, or local official to address or in response 3 to the COVID–19 emergency period; 4 (2) based on any guidance published by any 5 Federal, State, or local department or any division 6 or agency of such department in response to the 7 COVID–19 emergency period; or 8 (3) undertaken or omitted due to a lack of re- 9 sources, including manpower, attributable to the 10 COVID–19 emergency period. 11 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsections (a) and (b) do not 12 apply if— 13 (1) the harm was caused by an act or omission 14 constituting willful or criminal misconduct, gross 15 negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious fla- 16 grant indifference to the rights or safety of the indi- 17 vidual harmed by the health care professional or re- 18 lated health care entity; or 19 (2) the health care professional rendered the 20 health care services under the influence (as deter- 21 mined pursuant to applicable State law) of alcohol 22 or an intoxicating drug (other than where the health 23 care professional is properly taking a prescription 24 drug ordered by a physician). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7538.IH H7538 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7538 IH (d) PREEMPTION.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section preempts the 2 laws of a State or any political subdivision of a State 3 to the extent that such laws are inconsistent with 4 this section, unless such laws provide greater protec- 5 tion from liability. 6 (2) VOLUNTEER PROTECTION ACT.—Protec- 7 tions afforded by this section are in addition to those 8 provided by the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 9 (Public Law 105–19). 10 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 11 (1) the term ‘‘harm’’ includes physical, non- 12 physical, economic, and noneconomic injury or 13 losses; 14 (2) the term ‘‘health care professional’’ means 15 an individual who is licensed, registered, or certified 16 under Federal or State law to provide health care 17 services; 18 (3) the term ‘‘related health care entity’’ means 19 an entity with which a health care professional has 20 a professional affiliation under which the health care 21 professional performs health care services, including 22 any such skilled nursing facility, hospital, academic 23 medical center, ambulatory surgical center, group 24 medical practice, or medical clinic; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7538.IH H7538 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7538 IH (4) the term ‘‘professional affiliation’’ means 1 staff privileges, medical staff membership, employ- 2 ment or contractual relationship, partnership or 3 ownership interest, academic appointment, or other 4 affiliation under which a health care professional 5 provides health care services on behalf of, or in asso- 6 ciation with, the related health care entity; 7 (5) the term ‘‘health care services’’ means any 8 services rendered or items provided by a health care 9 professional or the professional’s related health care 10 entity, or by any individual working under the super- 11 vision of a health care professional, that relate to— 12 (A) the treatment, diagnosis, prevention, 13 or mitigation of COVID–19; 14 (B) treatment, diagnosis, or care with re- 15 spect to an individual with a confirmed or sus- 16 pected case of COVID–19; or 17 (C) treatment, diagnosis, or care with re- 18 spect to an individual who presents to a health 19 care professional or the professional’s related 20 health care entity during the COVID–19 emer- 21 gency period; and 22 (6) the term ‘‘COVID–19 emergency period’’ 23 has the meaning given the term ‘‘emergency period’’ 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7538.IH H7538 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7538 IH in section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act 1 (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g)(1)(B)). 2 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 3 respect to any act or omission described in this section 4 that occurred on or after the date on which the COVID– 5 19 emergency period began. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:34 Jul 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7538.IH H7538 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS