The Utah senator proposed the bonus for all coronavirus pandemic essential workers, ranging from hospital employees to grocery store staff.
The Republican senator noted Friday that part of his proposal is aimed at making sure essential workers are being paid as much, if not more, than people at home who are receiving unemployment benefits. Essential workers who make more than $50,000 a year are eligible under Romney's"Patriot Pay" plan, with staggered reductions in available tax credits extending up to people who make as much as $90,000 annually.
"I think this is a matter of fundamental fairness," Romney said during a virtual Zoom press briefing Friday. "These people are taking a health risk providing food for us at our grocery stores, driving our buses and transit vehicles, making sure we have the health care we need at hospitals and clinics, and keeping our hospitals clean -- all of these frontline workers get additional compensation and it's also designed to make sure that the people who are working to care for us are actually making as much money, or more money, than those who are on unemployment," the Utah senator continued.
The U.S. Department of Labor and Congress are tasked with designating the critical industries and who exactly falls under the title of"essential worker." Romney's Senate proposal says such jobs include, but are not limited to, hospital staff, food distributors and processors and health care manufacturers. Eligible employers would need to certify that their employees have worked in conditions that increased their potential exposure to coronavirus.
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