,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gaag ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #d1 #bjbj,mrs4 ,watson ,coleman 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,carson of ,indiana1 ,mr4 ,engel1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 ,ms4 ,barragn1 ,mrs4 ,beatty1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 ,mr4 ,green of ,texas1 ,mrs4 ,hayes1 ,mr4 ,richmond1 ,mr4 ,thompson of ,mississippi1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 and ,ms4 ,ocasio-,cortez7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to require employers to pay essential pay to health care employees during public health emergencies1 and to provide a tax credit for the cost of such pay4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,essential ,pay for ,essential ,workers ,act4 #b4 ,mandatory essential pay for health care employees during public health emergencies 7a7 ,employer requirement ,during an emergency period1 an employer of an essential employee shall pay the employee at a rate equal to the sum of the regular rate of pay of the employee and #ae4 7b7 ,enforcement ,a violation of subsection 7a7 shall be deemed a violation of section #g of the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #bjf7 and unpaid amounts shall be treated as unpaid overtime compensation for the purposes of sections #ae and #af of such ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #bae and #baf74 7c7 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,,flsa terms ,the terms employer and employ have the meanings given the terms in section #c of the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #bjc74 7#b7 ,essential ,the term essential employee means an employee identified as an essential critical infrastructure worker in the memorandum entitled1 ,advisory ,memorandum on ,identification of ,essential ,critical ,infrastructure ,workers ,during ,,covid-#ai ,response issued by the ,director of the ,cybersecurity and ,infrastructure ,agency on ,march #bh1 #bjbj1 or a successor memorandum4 7#c7 ,emergency period ,the term emergency period has the meaning given such term in section #aace7;g7 of the ,social ,security ,act4 7#d7 ,regular rate ,the term regular rate has the meaning given the term in section #g of the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #bjg74 #c4 ,payroll credit for certain mandatory essential pay 7a7 ,in general ,in the case of an employer1 there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by section #caaa7;a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf for each calendar quarter an amount equal to #ajj percent of the qualified essential pay wages paid by such employer with respect to such calendar quarter4 7b7 ,limitations and refundability 7#a7 ,credit limited to certain employment taxes ,the credit allowed by subsection 7a7 with respect to any calendar quarter shall not exceed the tax imposed by section #caaa7;a7 of such ,code for such calendar quarter 7reduced by any other credits allowed against such tax for such quarter7 on the wages paid with respect to the employment of all employees of the employer4 7#b7 ,refundability of excess credit 7,a7 ,in general ,if the amount of the credit under subsection 7a7 exceeds the limitation of paragraph 7#a7 for any calendar quarter1 such excess shall be treated as an overpayment that shall be refunded under sections #fdjb7;a7 and #fdac7;b7 of such ,code4 7,b7 ,treatment of payments ,for purposes of section #acbd of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 any amounts due to an employer under this paragraph shall be treated in the same manner as a refund due from a credit provision referred to in subsection 7b77#b7 of such section4 7c7 ,qualified essential pay wages ,for purposes of this section1 the term qualified essential pay wages means wages 7as defined in section #caba7;a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf7 paid by an employer which are required to be paid by reason of section #b4 7d7 ,special rules 7#a7 ,denial of double benefit ,for purposes of chapter #a of such ,code1 the gross income of the employer1 for the taxable year which includes the last day of any calendar quarter with respect to which a credit is allowed under this section1 shall be increased by the amount of such credit4 7#b7 ,election not to have section apply ,this section shall not apply with respect to any employer for any calendar quarter if such employer elects 7at such time and in such manner as the ,secretary of the ,treasury 7or the ,secretary's delegate7 may prescribe7 not to have this section apply4 7#c7 ,certain terms ,any term used in this section which is also used in chapter #ba of such ,code shall have the same meaning as when used in such chapter4 7e7 ,regulations ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury 7or the ,secretary's delegate7 shall prescribe such regulations or other guidance as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section1 including-- 7#a7 regulations or other guidance to prevent the avoidance of the purposes of the limitations under this section2 7#b7 regulations or other guidance to minimize compliance and record-keeping burdens under this section2 7#c7 regulations or other guidance providing for waiver of penalties for failure to deposit amounts in anticipation of the allowance of the credit allowed under this section2 7#d7 regulations or other guidance for recapturing the benefit of credits determined under this section in cases where there is a subsequent adjustment to the credit determined under subsection 7a72 and 7#e7 regulations or other guidance to ensure that the wages taken into account under this section conform with the wages required under section #b4 7f7 ,transfers to ,federal ,old-,age and ,survivors ,insurance ,trust ,fund ,there are hereby appropriated to the ,federal ,old-,age and ,survivors ,insurance ,trust ,fund and the ,federal ,disability ,insurance ,trust ,fund established under section #bja of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dja7 amounts equal to the reduction in revenues to the ,treasury by reason of this section 7without regard to this subsection74 ,amounts appropriated by the preceding sentence shall be transferred from the general fund at such times and in such manner as to replicate to the extent possible the transfers which would have occurred to such ,trust ,fund had this section not been enacted4