HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5031        FILED ON: 4/15/2020

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4745

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Maria Duaime Robinson

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act providing hazard pay for essential workers in the COVID-19 emergency.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Maria Duaime Robinson

6th Middlesex

4/15/2020

Jack Patrick Lewis

7th Middlesex

4/16/2020

RoseLee Vincent

16th Suffolk

4/16/2020

Christopher Hendricks

11th Bristol

4/16/2020

Michael D. Brady

Second Plymouth and Bristol

4/16/2020

James J. O'Day

14th Worcester

4/16/2020

José F. Tosado

9th Hampden

4/16/2020

Stephan Hay

3rd Worcester

4/16/2020

Gerard J. Cassidy

9th Plymouth

4/16/2020

Frank A. Moran

17th Essex

4/16/2020

Sal N. DiDomenico

Middlesex and Suffolk

4/16/2020

Jay D. Livingstone

8th Suffolk

4/16/2020

Rebecca L. Rausch

Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex

4/16/2020

Peter Capano

11th Essex

4/16/2020

Tackey Chan

2nd Norfolk

4/16/2020

Nika C. Elugardo

15th Suffolk

4/16/2020

David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf

17th Worcester

4/16/2020

Brian M. Ashe

2nd Hampden

4/16/2020

Michelle L. Ciccolo

15th Middlesex

4/16/2020

Lindsay N. Sabadosa

1st Hampshire

4/16/2020

Josh S. Cutler

6th Plymouth

4/16/2020

Tram T. Nguyen

18th Essex

4/17/2020

Tricia Farley-Bouvier

3rd Berkshire

4/17/2020

Denise Provost

27th Middlesex

4/17/2020

Thomas M. Stanley

9th Middlesex

4/17/2020

Kevin G. Honan

17th Suffolk

4/17/2020

Adrian C. Madaro

1st Suffolk

4/17/2020

David M. Rogers

24th Middlesex

4/17/2020

Christine P. Barber

34th Middlesex

4/17/2020

Kathleen R. LaNatra

12th Plymouth

4/17/2020

John H. Rogers

12th Norfolk

4/18/2020

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

4/19/2020

Mindy Domb

3rd Hampshire

4/20/2020

Tami L. Gouveia

14th Middlesex

4/20/2020

Carmine Lawrence Gentile

13th Middlesex

4/20/2020

Mike Connolly

26th Middlesex

4/20/2020

Sean Garballey

23rd Middlesex

4/20/2020

James B. Eldridge

Middlesex and Worcester

4/21/2020

Patrick M. O'Connor

Plymouth and Norfolk

4/21/2020

Natalie M. Blais

1st Franklin

4/21/2020

Paul W. Mark

2nd Berkshire

4/21/2020

Nick Collins

First Suffolk

4/21/2020

Patrick Joseph Kearney

4th Plymouth

4/21/2020

Ruth B. Balser

12th Middlesex

4/21/2020

Harriette L. Chandler

First Worcester

4/21/2020

Paul J. Donato

35th Middlesex

4/21/2020

James K. Hawkins

2nd Bristol

4/22/2020


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5031        FILED ON: 4/15/2020

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4745

By Ms. Robinson of Framingham, a petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Maria Duaime Robinson and others for legislation to provide hazard pay for essential workers in the COVID-19 emergency.  Labor and Workforce Development.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

_______________

 

An Act providing hazard pay for essential workers in the COVID-19 emergency.

 

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to provide hazard pay for workers considered essential under the COVID-19 emergency order of 2020, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health.
 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Section 1. Notwithstanding chapter 149 of the General Laws or any other special or general law to the contrary, any employer that that provides "COVID-19 Essential Services" as defined in the Governor's March 23, 2020 emergency order (“COVID-19 Order No. 13”) or in the Governor's March 31, 2020 extension order (“COVID-19 Order No. 21”), or under any order further extending these orders, shall provide hazard pay, as further defined in the following section, if it employs at least six individuals, including the proprietor. This law shall not apply to any employee employed by the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions.

Section 2. “Hazard pay” shall be paid for any day that the employee performs work for an employer providing COVID-19 Essential Services outside her or his home, and it shall be calculated by as one and a half times the employee’s actual earnings for any day they were required to work. This section shall not apply to a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional person exempt from overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Section 3. No employee shall be required to perform “COVID-19 Essential Services” work, and refusal to work for any establishment shall not be grounds for discrimination, dismissal, discharge, reduction in hours, or any other penalty.

Section 4. The provisions of this law shall be enforced by the office of the attorney general pursuant to her authority under Section 150 of Chapter 149. However, an employee’s right to receive all wages due under any other statute shall not be impaired by this statute, nor shall an employee’s ability to enforce their rights under any other statute.

Section 5. This law shall be retroactively applied from the hour of the Governor's emergency order on March 23, 2020.