A substitute for HB 2015 defined an essential worker as a healthcare provider, homecare provider, airport worker, or one that works for an essential retail business. Essential retail businesses do not include restaurants, banks, or financial institutions.
Lawmakers unanimously shot down legislation this week that would have required employers to provide hazard pay to essential employees and provide protective equipment in the event of a stay-at-home order.
Del. Hala S. Ayala, D-Woodbridge, said she introduced House Bill 2015 to help protect and further compensate employees required to work during a shelter-in-place or stay-at-home order.
The measure required that employers authorized to remain open must pay 1.5 times the regular rate of pay for hours worked during a stay-at-home or shelter-in-place order. Employers who failed to comply with the bill would be subject to civil penalties not exceeding $1,000 for each violation. A substitute for the bill defined essential employees as health care, home care, airport, transit driver and essential retail workers. The substitute excluded restaurant workers.
