Senate Democrats have proposed a major hazard payout for workers at the front lines of the fight against Coronavirus.
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats proposed a “Heroes Fund” for workers proving essential services in the U.S. during the Coronavirus pandemic, including workers in the medical field, grocery store workers, pharmacists, and truck drivers.
A Heroes Fund for essential workers should be a part of the next phase of the Congressional response to coronavirus.
No proposal will be complete without addressing the needs of our doctors, nurses, medical workers, truck drivers, grocers, transit workers, and more.
Our Heroes.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 7, 2020
The fund would allow for the payment of $25,000 to essential workers who earn less than $200,000 per year and a $5,000 payment for those who earn more than $200,000 per year.
The funding would be provided directly to employers, who would then be responsible for directly paying out workers and providing proof of those payments to the federal government.
Schumer said during a conference call on the “Heroes Fund” proposal, “As the COVID pandemic has reached alarming new levels, our health care system is strained to the max, our economy is strained to the max. Doctors and nurses, medical personnel of all types are putting their lives on the line every single day to fight this disease and save others. And so are people not in the medical profession but in essential services: grocery store workers, truck drivers, drug store workers and pharmacists. For these Americans, working for home is not an option. Social distancing is not an option. We’re calling it a ‘Heroes Fund’ because that’s who it’s for, our heroes”
Senators are pushing for the hazard pay benefit to be added to a Coronavirus relief bill to be negotiated later this month.