The FLSA provides many beneficial labor standards, including minimum wage and overtime compensation. These critical protections continue to apply during the pandemic. The questions below address some common questions about applying the FLSA’s requirements during the pandemic.
Please note that federal and state laws may differ and operate independently; therefore, you might want to contact your state labor office to determine whether there are any state laws that address your workplace rights during the pandemic.
Please see Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Questions and Answers for questions specific to the application of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and paid leave.
Key reminder: If you have been laid off and have not received your last paycheck on time, please contact the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division or your state labor office. For information about assistance to continue your employment-based health plan coverage under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, please visit DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration’s FAQs.
Key reminder: If your business has a shortage of workers and is looking for “volunteers” to help, please know that the FLSA has stringent requirements with respect to using volunteers. In general, covered, nonexempt workers working for private, for-profit employers have to be paid at least the federal minimum wage and cannot volunteer their services. Check with DOL for the rules governing the circumstances where volunteering in the public, and private non-profit, sectors may be allowed.
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed tremendous strain on our nation’s healthcare system and frontline essential workers. To compensate these workers for the risks of working through the public health emergency the government implemented temporary hazard pay programs. In this article we’ll examine how hazard pay works and who is eligible for additional compensation during the pandemic.
Overview of Hazard Pay
Hazard pay, also known as hazardous duty pay, provides additional compensation to employees performing hazardous duties that could result in injury or death It is typically a percentage increase over the employee’s standard hourly wage.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, hazard pay recognizes the increased risk that frontline healthcare workers and other essential employees face being directly exposed to the virus. It provides monetary compensation for the danger and mental distress these workers are undertaking.
Federal Hazard Pay Programs
On the federal level, XX employees may qualify for hazard pay of up to XX% of base pay. Under guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), agencies can approve hazard pay for work that requires frequent and direct exposure to COVID-19 patients.
Eligible occupations include but are not limited to:
- Physicians, nurses, and other patient care providers
- Laboratory technicians handling COVID-19 specimens
- Mortuary staff preparing remains of COVID fatalities
- Janitorial staff cleaning areas inhabited by COVID-positive individuals
Awards above XX% require additional approval Agencies determine specific eligibility criteria and hazard pay percentages for their workforce Funding comes from the Disaster Relief Fund allocated to agencies.
Provider Relief Fund for Healthcare Workers
In addition to agency-based hazard pay, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) distributed billions in grant funding to reimburse healthcare providers for expenses and lost revenue attributable to COVID-19 through the Provider Relief Fund.
As of XX/XX/XXXX, over $XX billion has been paid out to doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities. These grants help offset the costs providers have incurred related to testing, treatment, and prevention during the pandemic.
State and Local Hazard Pay
Beyond federal programs, many state and local governments have implemented COVID-19 hazard pay for essential public employees. For example, in XX State, Governor XX signed legislation providing hazard pay of up to $XX/hour for state health and correctional facility staff.
Several major cities including XX, XX, and XX also authorized temporary XX-XX% raises for municipal workers with high virus exposure like police, firefighters, and transit employees. States and localities have funded hazard pay through various federal relief packages and budget reallocations.
Hazard Pay for Private Sector Workers
In the private sector, hazard pay is discretionary and varies by employer. Some major grocery chains like XX and XX provided “hero bonuses” of $XX-$XX per hour for store and warehouse workers. Retailers like XX paid temporary $XX per hour raises for their employees.
Beyond one-time bonuses, several major retailers and restaurant chains offered permanent hourly wage increases of $XX-$XX citing the continuing risk frontline workers face from COVID-19 and its variants.
Fair Labor Standards Act Provisions
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), private sector hazard pay must be included when calculating an employee’s regular rate of pay for overtime purposes. So if a grocery worker receives a $XX per hour hazard pay bonus, overtime rates must be based on their underlying hourly wage plus the hazard pay rate.
FLSA provisions ensure essential workers are fully compensated at proper overtime rates even when receiving temporary hazard pay on top of regular wages. This protects employees from employers artificially suppressing overtime pay by excluding hazard pay.
Payment Protection for Hazard Pay Workers
Employers paying hazard pay are prohibited from forcing employees to use paid sick leave or other accrued time off instead of receiving hazard pay owed. For example, if a nurse has a confirmed COVID-19 exposure, the employer must continue paying promised hazard pay and cannot require tapping into sick leave.
This ensures essential workers can access hazard pay as additional compensation on top of normal wages. It prevents employers from denying rightfully earned hazard pay by redirecting compensation to paid time off.
Hazard Pay Duration
Most federal, state, and private sector hazard pay programs were temporary for specified periods in 2020 and 2021 corresponding to COVID-19 surges. However, a few jurisdictions like XX County have legislation stipulating ongoing hazard pay for the duration of the declared public health emergency.
With COVID-19 transitioning to an endemic virus, fewer public and private employers are continuing temporary pandemic hazard pay in 2022. However, some unions and worker advocate groups are lobbying to extend hazard pay while risks remain elevated for frontline workers.
Hazard Pay Challenges
Despite good intentions, hazard pay rollout has faced challenges. For federal workers, agencies lacked centralized guidance on eligibility and implementation. State and local programs varied widely in amount and scope across jurisdictions. In the private sector, hazard pay was sporadic and inconsistently applied.
Critics argued hazard pay created unnecessary administrative burdens and salary compression issues. As pandemic risks recede, eliminating temporary adjustments helps return pay structures to normal. However, there are still calls to make hazard pay permanent for some public-facing occupations.
Benefits to Workers and Communities
While imperfect, COVID-19 hazard pay provided essential compensation for healthcare, grocery, sanitation, and other frontline workers risking their lives through the pandemic. It enabled these vital workers to continue serving their communities despite heightened dangers.
Hazard pay recognized and rewarded the sacrifices and contributions of these everyday heroes who kept our society functioning through an unprecedented crisis. Their role supporting, healing, and protecting the public in a time of need is deserving of hazard pay’s additional compensation.
Looking Ahead
It remains to be seen if hazard pay will return should COVID-19 see future resurgences or public health threats emerge. What is clear is that our nation’s essential workers carry a tremendous burden that often goes unrecognized.
The COVID-19 pandemic thrust these workers into an unexpected battle for which no one was prepared. Hazard pay rightly acknowledges that when these crises occur, our frontline responders are the ones who rush in to confront the danger head-on. Their service warrants appreciation and appropriate compensation for the risks they undertake in service to society.
1 Can I be required to perform work outside of my job description?
Yes, the FLSA does not limit the types of work employees aged 18 and older may be required to perform. However, there are restrictions on what work employees under the age of 18 can do. This is true whether or not the work asked of the employee is listed in the employees job description.
As part of pre-influenza, pandemic, or other public health emergency planning, employers might want to consult their human resource specialists if they expect to assign employees work outside of their job description during a pandemic or other public health emergency. Employers might also wish to consult bargaining unit representatives if they have a union contract.
2 I am teleworking during the COVID-19 pandemic. My employer allows employees flexible hours during the normal workday to take care of personal and family obligations, such as caring for my children while school is closed. If I begin work, take several hours in the middle of the workday to care for my children, and then return to work, what is the proper way to count my compensable hours? (revised 04/26/2021)
Under the FLSA, employers generally must pay employees only for the hours they actually work, whether at home or at the employer’s office. Periods during which an employee is completely relieved from duty and which are long enough to enable the employee to use the time effectively for her own purposes are considered “off duty” time and are not hours worked. This principle applies whether you and your employer agree in advance on the schedule or if your employer allows you flexibility to choose the hours that you will take off to care for your children. Your employer therefore does not need to count the hours in the middle of the workday that you use to care for your children as hours worked.
Home health care workers can get $1,500 COVID-19 hazard pay
FAQ
What qualifies as hazard pay?
Among the types of work that qualify for a hazard pay differential are work in rough and remote terrain, traveling in dangerous conditions, removing snow or ice, water search and rescue operations, dangerously getting on or off of boats, working at high elevations, and being exposed to dangerous conditions.
How much is federal hazard pay?
Hazardous duty pay may not be more than 25 percent of the employee’s rate of basic pay. It’s not added to the worker’s base pay when figuring out overtime, holiday pay, Sunday premium pay, or the amount of deductions for retirement, the Thrift Savings Plan, and life insurance.
