On June 1, 2020, the House passed Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act or the HEROES Act, a 3 trillion bill, which is another effort to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Senate and White House said the bill was “dead on arrival,” some of its provisions may survive, since most everyone agrees another response to the pandemic is needed.
The House bill includes a number of provisions that affect federal employees, including:
• It creates hazard pay for federal workers whose jobs cannot be done by telework and requires public interaction. The bill would pay essential workers an extra $13.00 an hour, up to $10,000, retroactive to January 27. For workers who are now paid at least $200,000, the annual limit would be $5,000. OPM would be responsible for determining who is eligible.
• It expands the availability of two sick leave programs and allows VA employees to take advantage of the sick leave programs.
• It allows first responders to stay on their more generous retirement plan if they test positive for coronavirus and can no longer meet the physical demands of their positions.
• It provides that Federal employees would not be required to pay for coronavirus treatment under the Federal Employees Health Care Program.
The bill also provides another round of direct payments to individuals of $1200 a person.
In addition to the HEROES Act, the House also passed the Public Safety Officer Pandemic Response Act, H.R 6509, which expands the existing Public Safety Officers' Benefits program (PSOB) to ensure that public safety officers who contract COVID-19 are eligible for benefits should they become disabled or die from the virus.
There is also a Pandemic Heroes Compensation Act which has been introduced in the House and Senate that would create a compensation fund, modeled after the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, for workers and the families of workers deemed essential during the coronavirus pandemic who have continued to leave their homes for work even when stay-at-home orders are in place. The bill would “authorize appropriated funds as needed for five years” overseen by a special master, with funds made available to essential workers who worked outside the home and family members who became ill with coronavirus through contact with them.
The act defines essential workers as “ any individual, employee or contractor working for a “… federal … government that is determined , during the response to COVID-19 pandemic, to be essential, based on state, local, tribal or territorial orders or declarations …”