Air Carrier Worker Support Extension Act of 2020

II Calendar No. 563 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4774 To provide support for air carrier workers, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 30 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 29), 2020 Mr. WICKER (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read the first time OCTOBER 1, 2020 Read the second time and placed on the calendar A BILL To provide support for air carrier 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 ‘‘Air Carrier Worker 4 Support Extension Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4774.PCS S4774 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4774 PCS SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 Unless otherwise specified, the terms in section 2 40102(a) of title 49, United States Code, shall apply to 3 this Act, except that— 4 (1) the term ‘‘airline catering employee’’ means 5 an employee who performs airline catering services; 6 (2) the term ‘‘airline catering services’’ means 7 preparation, assembly, or both, of food, beverages, 8 provisions and related supplies for delivery, and the 9 delivery of such items, directly to aircraft or to a lo- 10 cation on or near airport property for subsequent 11 delivery to aircraft; 12 (3) the term ‘‘contractor’’ means— 13 (A) a person that performs, under contract 14 with a passenger air carrier conducting oper- 15 ations under part 121 of title 14, Code of Fed- 16 eral Regulations— 17 (i) catering functions; or 18 (ii) functions on the property of an 19 airport that are directly related to the air 20 transportation of persons, property, or 21 mail, including but not limited to the load- 22 ing and unloading of property on aircraft; 23 assistance to passengers under part 382 of 24 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; se- 25 curity; airport ticketing and check-in func- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4774.PCS S4774 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4774 PCS tions; ground-handling of aircraft; or air- 1 craft cleaning and sanitization functions 2 and waste removal; or 3 (B) a subcontractor that performs such 4 functions; 5 (4) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an individual, 6 other than a corporate officer, who is employed by 7 an air carrier or a contractor; and 8 (5) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 9 of the Treasury. 10 SEC. 3. PANDEMIC RELIEF FOR AVIATION WORKERS. 11 (a) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR EMPLOYEE WAGES, 12 SALARIES, AND BENEFITS.—Notwithstanding any other 13 provision of law, to preserve aviation jobs and compensate 14 air carrier industry workers, the Secretary shall provide 15 financial assistance that shall exclusively be used for the 16 continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries, and 17 benefits to— 18 (1) passenger air carriers, in an aggregate 19 amount up to $25,500,000,000; 20 (2) cargo air carriers, in the aggregate amount 21 up to $300,000,000; and 22 (3) contractors, in an aggregate amount up to 23 $3,000,000,000. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4774.PCS S4774 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4774 PCS (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Notwithstanding 1 any other provision of law, the Secretary, may use 2 $100,000,000 of the funds made available under section 3 11(a) for costs and administrative expenses associated 4 with providing financial assistance under this Act. 5 SEC. 4. PROCEDURES FOR PROVIDING PAYROLL SUPPORT. 6 (a) AWARDABLE AMOUNTS.—The Secretary shall 7 provide financial assistance under this Act— 8 (1) to an air carrier required to file reports pur- 9 suant to part 241 of title 14, Code of Federal Regu- 10 lations, as of March 27, 2020, in an amount equal 11 to— 12 (A) the amount such air carrier received 13 under section 4113 of the CARES Act (15 14 U.S.C. 9073); or 15 (B) at the request of such air carrier, the 16 amount of the salaries and benefits reported by 17 the air carrier to the Department of Transpor- 18 tation pursuant to such part 241, for the period 19 from October 1, 2019, through March 31, 20 2020; 21 (2) to an air carrier that did not transmit re- 22 ports under such part 241, as of March 27, 2020, 23 in an amount equal to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4774.PCS S4774 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4774 PCS (A) the amount such air carrier received 1 under section 4113 of the CARES Act (15 2 U.S.C. 9073), plus an additional 15 percent of 3 such amount; or 4 (B) at the request of such carrier, the sum 5 of— 6 (i) the amount that such air carrier 7 certifies, using sworn financial statements 8 or other appropriate data, as the amount 9 of total salaries and related fringe benefits 10 that such air carrier incurred and would be 11 required to be reported to the Department 12 of Transportation pursuant to such part 13 241, if the carrier were required to trans- 14 mit such information during the period 15 from April 1, 2019, through September 30, 16 2019; and 17 (ii) an additional amount equal to the 18 difference between the amount certified 19 under clause (i) and the amount the air 20 carrier received under section 4113 of the 21 CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073); and 22 (3) to a contractor in an amount equal to the 23 amount such contractor received under section 4113 24 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4774.PCS S4774 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4774 PCS (b) ADDITIONAL AWARDABLE AMOUNTS.—The Sec- 1 retary shall provide financial assistance under this Act to 2 an air carrier that did not receive assistance under section 3 4113 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073) and does not 4 transmit reports under such part 241 in an amount that 5 such an air carrier certifies, using sworn financial state- 6 ments or other appropriate data, as the amount of total 7 salaries and related fringe benefits that such air carrier 8 incurred and would be required to be reported to the De- 9 partment of Transportation pursuant to such part 241, 10 if the carrier were required to transmit such information 11 during the period from April 1, 2019, through September 12 30, 2019. 13 (c) DEADLINES AND PROCEDURES.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.— 15 (A) FORMS; TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Fi- 16 nancial assistance provided to an air carrier or 17 contractor under this Act shall be in such form, 18 on such terms and conditions (including re- 19 quirements for audits and the clawback of any 20 financial assistance provided upon failure by a 21 passenger air carrier, cargo air carrier, or con- 22 tractor to honor the assurances specified in sec- 23 tion 5), as agreed to by the Secretary and the 24 recipient for assistance received under section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4774.PCS S4774 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4774 PCS 4113 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073), ex- 1 cept where inconsistent with this Act. 2 (B) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall 3 publish streamlined and expedited procedures 4 not later than 5 days after the date of enact- 5 ment of this Act for air carriers and contractors 6 to submit requests for financial assistance 7 under this Act. 8 (2) DEADLINE FOR IMMEDIATE PAYROLL AS- 9 SISTANCE.—Not later than 10 days after the date of 10 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall make ini- 11 tial payments to air carriers and contractors that 12 submit requests for financial assistance approved by 13 to the Secretary. 14 (3) SUBSEQUENT PAYMENTS.—The Secretary 15 shall determine an appropriate method for timely 16 distribution of payments to air carriers and contrac- 17 tors with approved requests for financial assistance 18 from any funds remaining available after providing 19 initial financial assistance payments under para- 20 graph (2). 21 (d) PRO RATA REDUCTIONS.—The amounts under 22 subsections (a)(1)(B), (a)(2)(B)(i), and (b) shall, to the 23 maximum extent practicable, be subject to the same pro 24 rata reduction applied by the Secretary to passenger or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4774.PCS S4774 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4774 PCS cargo air carriers, as applicable, that received assistance 1 under section 4113 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073). 2 (e) AUDITS.—The Inspector General of the Depart- 3 ment of the Treasury shall audit certifications made under 4 subsection (a) or (b). 5 SEC. 5. REQUIRED ASSURANCES. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for financial assist- 7 ance under this Act, an air carrier or contractor shall 8 enter into an agreement with the Secretary, or otherwise 9 certify in such form and manner as the Secretary shall 10 prescribe, that the air carrier or contractor shall— 11 (1) refrain from conducting involuntary fur- 12 loughs or reducing pay rates and benefits until 13 March 31, 2021; 14 (2) through March 31, 2022, ensure that nei- 15 ther the air carrier or contractor nor any affiliate of 16 the air carrier or contractor may, in any transaction, 17 purchase an equity security of the air carrier or con- 18 tractor or the parent company of the air carrier or 19 contractor that is listed on a national securities ex- 20 change; 21 (3) through March 31, 2022, ensure that the 22 air carrier or contractor shall not pay dividends, or 23 make other capital distributions, with respect to the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4774.PCS S4774 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4774 PCS common stock (or equivalent interest) of the air car- 1 rier or contractor; and 2 (4) meet the requirements of sections 6 and 7. 3 (b) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY 4 TO CONDITION ASSISTANCE ON CONTINUATION OF SERV- 5 ICE.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor- 7 tation is authorized to require, to the extent reason- 8 able and practicable, an air carrier provided finan- 9 cial assistance under this Act to maintain scheduled 10 air transportation service, as the Secretary of Trans- 11 portation deems necessary, to ensure services to any 12 point served by that carrier before March 1, 2020. 13 (2) REQUIRED CONSIDERATIONS.—When con- 14 sidering whether to exercise the authority provided 15 by this subsection, the Secretary of Transportation 16 shall take into consideration the air transportation 17 needs of small and remote communities and the need 18 to maintain well-functioning health care supply 19 chains, including medical devices and supplies, and 20 pharmaceutical supply chains. 21 (3) SUNSET.—The authority provided under 22 this subsection shall terminate on April 1, 2022, and 23 any requirements issued by the Secretary of Trans- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4774.PCS S4774 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4774 PCS portation under this subsection shall cease to apply 1 after that date. 2 SEC. 6. PROTECTION OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREE- 3 MENT. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Secretary, nor any 5 other actor, department, or agency of the Federal Govern- 6 ment, shall condition the issuance of financial assistance 7 under this Act on an air carrier’s or contractor’s imple- 8 mentation of measures to enter into negotiations with the 9 certified bargaining representative of a craft or class of 10 employees of the air carrier or contractor under the Rail- 11 way Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) or the National 12 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), regarding 13 pay or other terms and conditions of employment. 14 (b) PERIOD OF EFFECT.—With respect to an air car- 15 rier or contractor to which financial assistance is provided 16 under this Act, this section shall be in effect with respect 17 to the air carrier or contractor beginning on the date on 18 which the air carrier or contractor is first issued such fi- 19 nancial assistance and ending on March 31, 2021. 20 SEC. 7. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN EMPLOYEE COMPENSA- 21 TION. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may only provide 23 financial assistance under this Act to an air carrier or con- 24 tractor after such carrier or contractor enters into an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4774.PCS S4774 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4774 PCS agreement with the Secretary which provides that, during 1 the 2-year period beginning March 24, 2020, and ending 2 March 24, 2022, no officer or employee of the air carrier 3 or contractor whose total compensation exceeded 4 $425,000 in calendar year 2019 (other than an employee 5 whose compensation is determined through an existing col- 6 lective bargaining agreement entered into prior to enact- 7 ment of this Act)— 8 (1) will receive from the air carrier or con- 9 tractor total compensation which exceeds, during 10 any 12 consecutive months of such 2-year period, 11 the total compensation received by the officer or em- 12 ployee from the air carrier or contractor in calendar 13 year 2019; 14 (2) will receive from the air carrier or con- 15 tractor severance pay or other benefits upon termi- 16 nation of employment with the air carrier or con- 17 tractor which exceeds twice the maximum total com- 18 pensation received by the officer or employee from 19 the air carrier or contractor in calendar year 2019; 20 and 21 (3) no officer or employee of the eligible busi- 22 ness whose total compensation exceeded $3,000,000 23 in calendar year 2019 may receive during any 12 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4774.PCS S4774 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4774 PCS consecutive months of such period total compensa- 1 tion in excess of the sum of— 2 (A) $3,000,000; and 3 (B) 50 percent of the excess over 4 $3,000,000 of the total compensation received 5 by the officer or employee from the eligible 6 business in calendar year 2019. 7 (b) TOTAL COMPENSATION DEFINED.—In this sec- 8 tion, the term ‘‘total compensation’’ includes salary, bo- 9 nuses, awards of stock, and other financial benefits pro- 10 vided by an air carrier or contractor to an officer or em- 11 ployee of the air carrier or contractor. 12 SEC. 8. TAX PAYER PROTECTION. 13 (a) CARES ACT ASSISTANCE RECIPIENTS.—With 14 respect to a recipient of assistance under section 4113 of 15 the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073) [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]