PRINTER'S NO. 1685
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1552
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY HARKINS, SANCHEZ, KINSEY, SAMUELSON, SAINATO,
CIRESI, SCHLOSSBERG, FREEMAN, ROZZI AND WARREN, JUNE 7, 2021
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, JUNE 7, 2021
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled
"An act relating to the finances of the State government;
providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for
ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint
Underwriting Association, for entertainment business
financial management firms, for private dam financial
assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for
the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,
bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the
collection and recovery of fees and other money or property
due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,
the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds
and securities belonging to or in the possession of the
Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the
Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the
courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the
Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and
all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
department, board, commission, and officer of the State
government, every political subdivision of the State, and
certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
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Commonwealth," in emergency COVID-19 response, establishing
the COVID-19 Nonprofit Hazard Pay Grant Program.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known
as The Fiscal Code, is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 135-C. COVID-19 Nonprofit Hazard Pay Grant Program.
(a) Use of funds.--The sum of $100,000,000 is appropriated
from Federal funds in the account received by the Commonwealth
under section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
(Public Law 117-2, 135 Stat.223) to the department for the
purpose of making grants under this section.
(b) Establishment of program.--The COVID-19 Nonprofit Hazard
Pay Grant Program is established within the department to
provide hazard pay to employees of a nonprofit corporation that
serves a charitable purpose.
(c) Eligibility.--
(1) The following shall be eligible to apply for grants
under the program:
(i) A nonprofit corporation serving a charitable
purpose.
(ii) A purely public charity serving a charitable
purpose.
(iii) A nonprofit health care organization.
(iv) A frontline employee whose eligible employer
has not applied for a grant under the program on behalf
of the frontline employee.
(2) In order to be eligible to receive a grant under the
program, a nonprofit corporation serving a charitable purpose
or a purely public charity serving a charitable purpose shall
be located within this Commonwealth and operate or conduct
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any of the following:
(i) Care or assistance organization for individuals
with disabilities.
(ii) A food bank.
(iii) A homeless shelter.
(iv) Any other nonprofit corporation providing human
services to benefit those impacted by COVID-19 or other
vital human services.
(3) In order to be eligible to receive a grant under the
program, a health care provider shall be located within this
Commonwealth and operate or conduct any of the following:
(i) Health care or social assistance.
(ii) A nursing or residential care facility.
(iii) Residential care for individuals with physical
disabilities.
(iv) A mental health or substance abuse facility.
(v) A mental health, psychiatric or substance abuse
hospital or other facility.
(vi) A general medical or surgical hospital.
(vii) A psychiatric or substance abuse hospital.
(viii) Ambulatory health care services.
(ix) A physician's office.
(x) A dentist's office.
(xi) Any other office of a health practitioner.
(xii) An outpatient care center.
(xiii) A medical or diagnostic laboratory.
(xiv) Home health care services.
(xv) A pharmacy.
(xvi) Any other health care services.
(d) Application process.--
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(1) In order to apply for a grant under the program, an
employer shall submit the department's electronic single
application for assistance and provide all of the following
in the application:
(i) A project narrative, including all of the
following:
(A) Industry category.
(B) A brief description of the charitable
purpose the employer provides to the public.
(C) The employer's location in this
Commonwealth.
(ii) Changes to the operations and hours of the
employer due to the COVID-19 disaster emergency.
(iii) How the employer has adjusted operations to
meet the safety requirements of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention and the Department of Health
regarding COVID-19 and limited contact with the public
when possible.
(iv) The number of employees not working due to
testing positive for COVID-19, caring for a family member
with COVID-19 or lack of child care.
(v) Whether the employer is currently providing
hazard pay for the employer's employees.
(vi) The amount of the grant request.
(vii) A brief description of how the grant funds
will be used to increase hazard pay, including the
following information:
(A) The number of the employer's full-time
equivalent frontline employees eligible for hazard
pay.
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(B) The job types of the employer's full-time
equivalent frontline employees eligible for hazard
pay and the reason why the employees must remain
frontline employees during the COVID-19 disaster
emergency .
(C) The hourly rate of the employer's employees,
excluding fringe benefits.
(2) The department shall evaluate an application for a
grant under the program using the following criteria:
(i) Risk of exposure by industry.
(ii) The location and prevalence of COVID-19.
(iii) The average hourly wage paid by the employer.
(3) The department shall prioritize applications for
grants under the program in accordance with the Worker
Exposure Risk to COVID-19 released by the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration and based on the following:
(i) Employees with a high potential for exposure to
known or suspected sources of COVID-19 during specific
medical, postmortem or laboratory procedures, including
employees performing aerosol-generating procedures or
collecting or handling specimens from potentially
infectious COVID-19 individuals.
(ii) Employees with a high potential for exposure to
known or suspected sources of COVID-19, including
employees that provide health care delivery and support
or medical transport to potentially infectious COVID-19
individuals.
(iii) Employees that are in frequent close contact
with individuals who may be infected with COVID-19, but
who are not known or suspected individuals with COVID-19.
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Employees under this subparagraph shall include employees
who may have been in contact with the general public,
employees returning from locations with widespread COVID-
19 transmission and employees who do not have the ability
to socially distance at their place of employment.
(iv) Employees that do not require contact with
individuals who may be infected with COVID-19, including
employees that have minimal occupational contact with the
public or other coworkers.
(4) The department shall only consider complete
applications for grants under the program. An incomplete
application shall not be considered by the department and
shall be withdrawn.
(5) The department shall designate a time for receipt of
applications for grants under the program.
(6) After the approval of an application by the
department, the department shall electronically issue a grant
agreement to the applicant explaining the terms and
conditions of the grant along with the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-
282, 120 Stat. 1186) form. The applicant shall electronically
sign and return the grant agreement to the department within
30 days. If the applicant fails to electronically sign and
return the grant agreement to the department within 30 days,
the grant agreement may be withdrawn by the department. The
applicant shall return the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 form under this paragraph with the
signed grant agreement to the department. If the applicant
fails to return the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 form under this paragraph, the
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department may not process the grant agreement. The
department shall return a fully executed copy of the grant
agreement to the applicant with a grant payment request form
and instructions for requesting a grant payment. An applicant
may submit a grant payment request with support documentation
at the end of the eligible period seeking reimbursement for
actual hazard pay expenditures by a date established by the
department. The support documentation under this paragraph
shall include a signed hazard pay report with the names of
the employees, pay date, pay period covered, regular pay,
hazard pay, proof of payment and a description of duties of
the employees.
(7) The department shall transmit the guidelines
detailing the application process for the program to the
Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the
Pennsylvania Bulletin and post the guidelines on the
department's publicly accessible Internet website.
(e) Certification.--
(1) An employer that receives a grant under the program
shall certify compliance with all of the following
requirements to the department:
(i) The employer pays the employer's employees at
least the minimum wage under the act of January 17, 1968
(P.L.11, No.5), known as The Minimum Wage Act of 1968.
(ii) The employer pays the employer's share of the
Federal FICA tax obligations for the hazard pay.
(iii) The employer adheres to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and Department
of Health regulations and guidelines for reopening under
the Governor's phased reopening plan to protect frontline
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employees from contracting COVID-19.
(iv) The employer complies with all relevant laws,
regulations and orders of this Commonwealth during the
period of the COVID-19 disaster emergency, including, but
not limited to, orders by the Governor, Secretary of
Health or other public officials authorized to take
actions to mitigate the COVID-19 disaster emergency.
(2) An employer that fails to comply with the
requirements under paragraph (1) shall be ineligible for
grants under the program and may be required to return all,
or a portion, of the grants awarded to the employer under the
program.
(f) System requirements.--In order to be eligible for a
grant under the program, an employer shall have a data universal
numbering system number and be registered with the Federal
Government's system for award management.
(g) Administration of hazard pay.--
(1) An employer that receives a grant under the program
shall use the grant money to provide hazard pay to an
employee for a 10-week period as designated by the department
at a rate of an additional $3 per hour of the employee's
regular pay rate.
(2) Hazard pay provided to an employee shall be in
addition to any eligible overtime and other benefits,
including employer-paid hazard pay. Hazard pay may not
supplant the current compensation of an employee or supplant
any scheduled increase to the current compensation of an
employee.
(3) An employer shall provide hazard pay to an employee
according to the employee's regular pay schedule. An employer
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may not withhold hazard pay from an employee and provide the
hazard pay to the employee in a later lump sum.
(4) In order to determine the maximum grant request
under the program, an employer shall calculate the number of
the employer's full-time equivalent employees during a 10-
week period who are eligible to receive hazard pay.
(5) An employer may apply for a grant under the program
to provide hazard pay for no more than 500 eligible full-time
equivalent employees per location with a maximum of a
$600,000 grant per location.
(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
receipt of a grant under the program shall not affect an
employer's eligibility for a grant or the amount of a grant
provided under any other laws of this Commonwealth.
(7) Grant funds under the program may be used for hazard
pay for full-time equivalent frontline employees, excluding
fringe benefits and overtime, during the 10-week period
determined by the department.
(8) Hazard pay shall only be used for frontline
employees facing the hazards of COVID-19 and who have
continued working through the Governor's 20200319 TWW COVID-
19 Business Closure Order for a life-sustaining business or a
business that received a waiver from the Governor's 20200319
TWW COVID-19 Business Closure Order by the department.
(h) Limitations.--
(1) An employer that submits an application to the
department for a grant under the program shall not be
eligible for reimbursement for the administrative costs to
submit and complete the application.
(2) An employer may not provide hazard pay for any hours
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worked by an employee in excess of 40 hours in a week.
(3) The department may not award a grant under the
program in excess of $1,200 per eligible full-time equivalent
employee.
(4) An employer may receive more than $3,000,000 in
grant funding under the program. A health care nonprofit
organization applicant representing frontline employees may
not receive more than $3,000,000 in grant funding under the
program. A health care nonprofit organization that submits an
application for a grant under the program on behalf of the
organization's employees shall be eligible for grant money to
health care employees directly employed by qualified
participants in State Medicaid long-term support and services
programs.
(i) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Charitable purpose." The relief of poverty, providing food
to those in need, the prevention and treatment of disease or
injury, including mental retardation and mental disorders and
any other purpose the accomplishment of which is recognized as
important and beneficial to the public by the department during
the COVID-19 disaster emergency.
"COVID-19." The coronavirus disease 2019, an infectious
disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
2 that was first identified during December 2019 in Wuhan,
China.
"COVID-19 disaster emergency." The disaster emergency as
described in the proclamation of disaster emergency issued by
the Governor on March 6, 2020, published at 50 Pa.B. 1644 (March
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21, 2020), and any renewal of the state of disaster emergency.
"Department." The Department of Community and Economic
Development of the Commonwealth.
"Employee." An employee actively engaged in a task at the
direction of an employer serving a charitable purpose during the
COVID-19 disaster emergency. The term does not include an
employee on leave for the entire duration of the COVID-19
disaster emergency.
"Frontline employee." An employee deemed necessary by the
employer to report to work during the COVID-19 disaster
emergency for a nonprofit corporation serving a charitable
purpose.
"Hazard pay." Additional pay for performing hazardous duties
or work involving physical hardship related to COVID-19.
"Health care nonprofit organization." A 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization that provides health care services. The term
includes a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides
education, development and support for frontline employees who
provide health care services.
"Program." The COVID-19 Nonprofit Hazard Pay Grant Program.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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