Mitt Romney proposes hazard pay raise of up to $12 for essential employees

Sen. Mitt Romney unveiled a plan that would give some workers hazard pay during the coronavirus pandemic.

Romney’s Patriot Pay plan released on Friday would give hazard pay up to $12 an hour in addition to regular wages to essential employees. The raise would last through July and would be paid for by the federal government and employers through a payroll tax credit.

Hazard pay is more pay for dangerous work or duties that could cause “extreme physical discomfort and distress,” according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The raise would apply to workers designated essential by the Department of Labor and Congress, including grocery store and health care workers, according to a press release from Romney’s office.

“Health care professionals, grocery store workers, food processors, and many others — the unsung patriots on the frontline of this pandemic — every day risk their safety for the health and well-being of our country, and they deserve our unwavering support,” Romney said in the press release. “Patriot Pay is a way for us to reward our essential workers as they continue to keep Americans safe, healthy, and fed.”

Senate Democrats also proposed giving essential workers hazard pay through a proposal last month. The plan would give a “$25,000 premium pay increase for essential workers, equivalent to a raise of $13 per hour from the start of the public health emergency” through December. They would also get back pay dating back to Jan. 27, 2020.

This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Mitt Romney proposes hazard pay raise of up to $12 for essential employees."