[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8819 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8819
To provide employment protection and paid emergency leave to workers
impacted by certain climate disasters, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 14, 2022
Ms. Bush (for herself, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Espaillat, Ms.
Clarke of New York, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New
York, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Tlaib, and Mr. Bowman)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide employment protection and paid emergency leave to workers
impacted by certain climate disasters, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Worker Safety in
Climate Disasters Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Paid emergency time.
Sec. 3. Employment protection during climate disaster.
Sec. 4. Employer requirements.
Sec. 5. Prohibited acts.
Sec. 6. Enforcement.
Sec. 7. Definitions.
Sec. 8. Regulatory authorities.
Sec. 9. Rules of construction.
Sec. 10. Effective date.
SEC. 2. PAID EMERGENCY TIME.
(a) In General.--An employer shall provide to each employee
employed by the employer paid emergency time to the extent that the
employee is unable to work (or telework) due to an applicable climate
disaster, including--
(1) a need to relocate for safety;
(2) recovery efforts relating to economic stability and
community safety--
(A) in the community in which the employee resides;
(B) at the workplace of the employee; and
(C) at the home of the employee;
(3) a need to care for family members resulting from the
closure of schools or other facilities;
(4) an injury or illness affecting either the employee or
their immediate family; and
(5) disruptions of public transit services or commuter
routes.
(b) Duration of Paid Emergency Time.--
(1) In general.--An employee shall be entitled to paid
emergency time for a number of hours determined under paragraph
(2).
(2) Number of hours.--The number of hours of paid emergency
time to which an employee is entitled during an applicable
climate disaster period shall be as follows:
(A) For full-time employees, 80 hours.
(B) For part-time employees, a number of hours
equal to the number of hours that such employee works,
on average, over a 2-week period.
(c) Prohibition.--An employer may not require, as a condition of
providing paid emergency time under this Act, that the employee
involved search for or find a replacement employee to cover the hours
during which the employee is using paid emergency time.
(d) Availability of Paid Emergency Time.--The paid emergency time
under subsection (a) shall be available for immediate use by the
employee for the purposes described in such subsection, regardless of
how long the employee has been employed by an employer.
(e) Prohibition on Substitution of Leave Time.--An employer may not
require an employee to substitute any of the accrued paid vacation
leave, personal leave, or family leave of such employee for paid
emergency time provided under subsection (a).
(f) Amount of Paid Emergency Time.--
(1) In general.--The amount of paid emergency time provided
to an employee under this section shall be calculated based on
the employee's required compensation under paragraph (2) and
the number of hours the employee would otherwise be normally
scheduled to work (or the number of hours calculated under
paragraph (3)), except that in no event shall the amount of
such paid emergency time paid per day exceed--
(A) for calendar year 2022, $511; and
(B) for any calendar year after 2022, an amount
equal to the product of--
(i) $511, multiplied by
(ii) the quotient obtained by dividing--
(I) the Consumer Price Index for
Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers
(as published by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics) for the calendar year
immediately preceding such calendar
year; by
(II) the Consumer Price Index for
calendar year 2021.
(2) Required compensation.--Subject to paragraph (1), the
employee's required compensation under this subparagraph shall
be not less than the greater of the following:
(A) The employee's regular rate of pay (as
determined under section 7(e) of the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207(e))).
(B) The minimum wage rate in effect under section
6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
U.S.C. 206(a)(1)).
(C) The minimum wage rate in effect for such
employee in the applicable State or locality, whichever
is greater, in which the employee is employed.
(3) Varying schedule hours calculation.--In the case of a
part-time employee described in subsection (b)(2)(B) whose
schedule varies from week to week to such an extent that an
employer is unable to determine with certainty the number of
hours the employee would have worked if such employee had not
taken paid emergency time under subsection (a), the employer
shall use the following in place of such number:
(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), a number equal to
the average number of hours that the employee was
scheduled per week over the 6-month period ending on
the date on which the employee takes the paid emergency
time, including hours for which the employee took leave
of any type.
(B) If the employee did not work over such period,
the reasonable expectation of the employee at the time
of hiring of the average number of hours per week that
the employee would normally be scheduled to work.
(4) Guidelines.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall issue
guidelines to assist employers in calculating the amount of
paid emergency time under paragraph (1).
(5) Reasonable and practicable notice.--After the first
workday (or portion thereof) an employee receives paid
emergency time under this Act, an employer may require the
employee to follow reasonable and practicable notice procedures
in order to continue receiving such paid emergency time.
(6) Publication of pay limitation.--Not later than December
1 of each year, the Secretary of Labor shall publish the amount
determined under paragraph (1)(B) that will be in effect for
the following calendar year.
SEC. 3. EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION DURING CLIMATE DISASTER.
(a) Restoration to Position.--Any eligible employee who uses paid
emergency time under section 2 for the intended purpose of the paid
emergency time shall be entitled, on return from using paid emergency
time--
(1) to be restored by the employer to the position of
employment held by the employee when the use of paid emergency
time commenced; or
(2) to be restored to an equivalent position with
equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and
conditions of employment.
(b) Loss of Benefits.--The use of paid emergency time shall not
result in the loss of any employment benefit accrued prior to the date
on which the use of paid emergency time commenced.
(c) Limitations.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to
entitle any restored employee to--
(1) the accrual of any seniority or employment benefits
during any period during which such restored employee uses paid
emergency time; or
(2) any right, benefit, or position of employment other
than any right, benefit, or position to which the employee
would have been entitled had the employee not used paid
emergency time.
(d) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to
prohibit an employer from requiring an employee to report periodically
to the employer on the status and intention of the employee to return
to work.
SEC. 4. EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Monitoring for Applicable Climate Disaster.--
(1) In general.--An employer shall monitor for, using the
tools identified by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to
paragraph (3), and notify an employee of the existence of,
applicable climate disasters.
(2) Exclusion for remote employees.--
(A) In general.--An employer is not required to
monitor for applicable climate disasters affecting
remote employees.
(B) Exclusion for remote employers.--An employer
who employs only remote employees shall monitor for,
and notify an employee of the existence of, applicable
climate disasters affecting the area where the largest
concentration of such remote employees reside.
(3) Monitoring guidelines.--Not later than one year after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall
issue guidelines that identify tools for employers to use in
monitoring for applicable climate disasters.
(b) Notice.--
(1) In general.--Each employer shall post and keep posted,
in conspicuous places on the premises of the employer where
notices to employees are customarily posted, a notice, to be
prepared or approved by the Secretary of Labor, of the
requirements described in this Act.
(2) Model notice.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall make
publicly available a model of a notice that meets the
requirements of paragraph (1).
SEC. 5. PROHIBITED ACTS.
(a) Interference With Rights.--
(1) Exercise of rights.--It shall be unlawful for any
employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of
or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under this Act.
(2) Discrimination.--It shall be unlawful for any employer
to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any
individual for opposing any practice made unlawful by this Act.
(b) Interference With Proceedings or Inquiries.--It shall be
unlawful for any person to discharge or in any other manner
discriminate against any individual because such individual--
(1) has filed any charge, or has instituted or caused to be
instituted any proceeding, under or related to this Act;
(2) has given, or is about to give, any information in
connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right
provided under this Act; or
(3) has testified, or is about to testify, in any inquiry
or proceeding relating to any right provided under this Act.
SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Unpaid Emergency Leave Time.--An employer who violates section
2 shall--
(1) be considered to have failed to pay minimum wages in
violation of section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
(29 U.S.C. 206); and
(2) be subject to the penalties described in sections 16
and 17 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 216; 217) with respect to such
violation, except that no person shall be imprisoned under such
sections for a violation of section 2 of this Act.
(b) Unlawful Action Against Employee.--An employer who willfully
violates section 5 shall--
(1) be considered to be in violation of section 15(a)(3) of
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3)); and
(2) be subject to the penalties described in sections 16
and 17 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 216; 217) with respect to such
violation, except that no person shall be imprisoned under such
sections for a violation of section 2 of this Act.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) Employee.--The term ``employee'' means any individual
employed by an employer.
(2) Employer.--
(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the
term ``employer''--
(i) means any individual who employs an
employee; and
(ii) includes any individual acting
directly or indirectly in the interest of an
employer in relation to an employee.
(B) Exclusion of public employers.--The term
``employer'' does not include--
(i) the Government of the United States;
(ii) the government of any State; or
(iii) any unit of local government,
department, agency, or instrumentality thereof.
(3) FLSA terms.--The terms ``employ'' and ``State'' have
the meanings given such terms in section 3 of the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203).
(4) Applicable climate disaster.--
(A) In general.--The term ``applicable climate
disaster'' means, with respect to an employee, a
climate disaster determined by the Secretary to affect
or be likely to affect such employee.
(B) Climate disaster.--The term ``climate
disaster'' means a weather or climate event (including
an earthquake, flood, heat event, hurricane, severe
blizzard, superstorm, tornado, tsunami, utility
failure, volcanic explosion, or wildfire) with the
potential to cause great damage or loss of life.
SEC. 8. REGULATORY AUTHORITIES.
The Secretary of Labor shall have the authority to issue
regulations for good cause under sections 553(b)(B) and 553(d)(A) of
title 5, United States Code--
(1) to exempt small businesses with fewer than 50 employees
from the requirements of paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 2(a)
when the imposition of such requirements would jeopardize the
viability of the business as a going concern; and
(2) as necessary, to carry out the purposes of this Act.
SEC. 9. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed--
(1) to in any way diminish the rights or benefits that an
employee is entitled to under any--
(A) other Federal, State, or local law;
(B) collective bargaining agreement; or
(C) existing employer policy; or
(2) to require financial or other reimbursement to an
employee from an employer upon the employee's termination,
resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment
for paid emergency leave time under this Act that has not been
used by such employee.
SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act, and the requirements under this Act, shall take effect
not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
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