,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ch ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,january #e1 #bjag,mr4 ,rubio introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to decrease the cost of hiring1 and increase the take-home pay of1 ,puerto ,rican workers4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,economic ,mobility for ,productive ,livelihoods and ,expanding ,opportunity ,act of #bjag or the ,,empleo ,act4 #b4 ,federal minimum wage requirement for eligible ,puerto ,rico employees ,section #f7;a7 of the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #bjf7;a77 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating paragraphs 7#b7 through 7#d7 as paragraphs 7#c7 through 7#e71 respectively2 and 7#b7 by inserting after paragraph 7#a7 the following3 7#b7 if such employee is an eligible ,puerto ,rico employee1 as defined in section #fdcc7;c7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 who receives a qualified wage subsidy payment under section #fdcc of such ,code from a participating employer1 #e4jj an hour 7as determined without regard to the qualified wage subsidy payment72 4 #c4 ,wage subsidy for ,puerto ,rico workers 7a7 ,in general ,subchapter ,b of chapter #fe of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #fdcc4 ,wage subsidy for ,puerto ,rico workers 7a7 ,in general ,in the case of a participating employer which makes qualified wage subsidy payments to eligible ,puerto ,rico employees1 such participating employer shall be treated for purposes of this title as having paid to the ,secretary1 on the date any such qualified wage subsidy payment is paid1 payroll taxes in an amount equal to such wage subsidy payment4 7b7 ,participating employer 7#a7 ,in general ,for purposes of this section1 the term participating employer means an employer which-- 7,a7 elects the application of this section1 7,b7 makes qualified wage subsidy payments to all eligible ,puerto ,rico employees of such employer1 7,c7 provides to each eligible ,puerto ,rico employee 7in such form and manner as the ,secretary shall by regulations prescribe7 information about the amount of qualified wage subsidy payments paid to such employee at the time such payments are made1 and 7,d7 in the case of an employer which elects to receive an advance payment under subsection 7g71 provides to the ,secretary the information described in paragraph 7#b7 not later than #cj days before the beginning of the applicable period4 7#b7 ,information required ,the information required under this paragraph is the following3 7,a7 ,an estimate of the number of workers who will be employed by the participating employer for the applicable period4 7,b7 ,an estimate of the payroll taxes 7determined without regard to any increase in tax under section #caaa by reason of subsection 7g77#b77 that will be paid by the participating employer with respect to all employees for such applicable period4 7,c7 ,an estimate of the number of eligible ,puerto ,rico employees who will be employed by the participating employer for such applicable period and the hourly rate of pay for each such employee 7determined without regard to any qualified wage subsidy payment74 7,d7 ,an estimate of the aggregate amount of qualified wage subsidy payments that will be paid by such employer to eligible ,puerto ,rico employees for such applicable period4 7#c7 ,failure to make subsidy payments ,for purposes of this title 7including penalties71 the failure by any employer which makes an election under paragraph 7#a77;,a7 to make any qualified wage subsidy payment at the time provided therefor shall be treated as the failure at such time to deduct and withhold under section #cajb an amount equal to the amount of such qualified wage subsidy payment4 7c7 ,eligible ,puerto ,rico employee ,for purposes of this section1 the term eligible ,puerto ,rico employee means1 with respect to any calendar year1 any individual who-- 7#a7 is a citizen of the ,united ,states1 7#b7 has a social security number issued to the individual by the ,social ,security ,administration1 and 7#c7 certifies1 in such form and manner as provided by the ,secretary1 to the employer that such individual is a resident of ,puerto ,rico and intends to remain a resident of ,puerto ,rico for not less than the next #f months4 7d7 ,qualified wage subsidy payment ,for purposes of this section-- 7#a7 ,in general ,the term qualified wage subsidy payment means1 with respect to any eligible ,puerto ,rico employee for any period1 a payment equal to #ej percent of the excess 7if any7 of-- 7,a7 the median hourly wage for ,puerto ,rico1 over 7,b7 the hourly wage paid to the eligible ,puerto ,rico employee4 7#b7 ,median hourly wage for ,puerto ,rico ,for purposes of paragraph 7#a77;,a71 the median hourly wage for ,puerto ,rico is-- 7,a7 #aj for calendar years #bjah and #bjai1 and 7,b7 for any calendar year beginning after #bjai1 the amount determined by the ,bureau of ,labor ,statistics based on the most recent data available as of #cj days before the start of such calendar year4 7#c7 ,determination of hourly wage ,for purposes of paragraph 7#a77;,b7-- 7,a7 ,in general ,the hourly wage of any employee shall be determined without regard to any qualified wage subsidy payment under this section4 7,b7 ,period ,each hour at which an eligible ,puerto ,rico employee performs services for a different rate of pay shall be treated as a separate period4 7,c7 ,salaried employees ,in the case of a salaried employee1 the hourly wage for such employee for any period shall be determined by dividing the annual rate of pay for such period by #b1jhj4 7e7 ,payroll taxes ,for purposes of this section1 the term payroll taxes means-- 7#a7 amounts required to be deducted for the payroll period under section #cajb 7relating to ,,fica employee taxes71 and 7#b7 amounts of the taxes imposed for the payroll period under section #caaa 7relating to ,,fica employer taxes74 7f7 ,other definitions and special rules ,for purposes of this section-- 7#a7 ,applicable period ,for purposes of this section1 the term applicable period means-- 7,a7 except as provided in subparagraph 7,b71 a calendar quarter1 and 7,b7 in the case of any employer which files returns for payroll taxes less frequently than quarterly1 such period as determined by the ,secretary under regulations4 7#b7 ,wage subsidy payments in excess of payroll tax liability ,to the extent that the amount treated as paid under subsection 7a7 exceeds the amount of such person's liability for payroll taxes1 the ,secretary shall credit and refund such excess in the same manner as if it were an overpayment of such taxes4 7g7 ,advanced payments for certain participating employers 7#a7 ,in general ,in the case of a participating employer which elects the application of this subsection1 the ,secretary shall pay to such participating employer1 not later than the first day of the applicable period1 an amount equal to the excess of-- 7,a7 the aggregate amount of qualified wage subsidy payments for such applicable period 7as determined based on estimates submitted under subsection 7b77#b771 exceeds 7,b7 the aggregate amount of payroll taxes 7determined without regard to any increase in tax under section #caaa by reason of paragraph 7#b7 and based on estimates submitted under subsection 7b77#b77 for such applicable period4 7#b7 ,treatment of payments ,for purposes of this title1 the amount of taxes imposed under section #caaa on any participating employer for any calendar quarter shall be increased by an amount equal to any payment made under paragraph 7#a7 with respect to such calendar quarter4 4 7b7 ,social security trust funds held harmless ,in determining the amount of any amount transferred or appropriated to any fund under the ,social ,security ,act1 section #fdcc of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf shall not be taken into account4 7c7 ,conforming amendments 7#a7 ,section #acbd7;b77#b7 of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking or #fdca and inserting #fdca1 or #fdcc4 7#b7 ,the table of sections for subchapter ,b of chapter #fe of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new item3 ,sec4 #fdcc4 ,wage subsidy for ,puerto ,rico workers4 4 7d7 ,other provisions 7#a7 ,reporting of wage subsidy information ,section #fjea7;a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by striking and at the end of paragraph 7#ac71 by striking the period at the end of paragraph 7#ad7 and inserting 1 and1 and by inserting after paragraph 7#ad7 the following new paragraph3 7#ae7 in the case of an eligible ,puerto ,rico employee 7as defined in section #fdcc71 the amount of any qualified wage subsidy payment paid to such employee4 4 7#b7 ,penalty for failure to provide information to employees ,section #ffeb of such ,code is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7o7 ,failure ,to report wage subsidy information to employees ,in the case of a failure to provide the information required under section #fdcc7;b77#a77;,c7 at the time required for providing such information1 there shall be paid 7upon notice and demand by the ,secretary and in the same manner as tax7 by the person failing to provide such information1 an amount equal to #ej for each such failure4 ,in the case of any failure due to negligence or intentional disregard1 the preceding sentence shall be applied by substituting #ajj for #ej4 4 7e7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply to wages paid after ,december #ca1 #bjag4