,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cggc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #bj1 #bjbj,mr4 ,braun 7for himself1 ,mrs4 ,loeffler1 ,mr4 ,scott of ,south ,carolina1 and ,mr4 ,cassidy7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to promote the general health and well-being of individuals accessing work through digital marketplace companies1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,helping ,gig ,economy ,workers ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,digital marketplace company safe harbor 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,,covid-#ai emergency period ,the term ,,covid-#ai emergency period means the period beginning ,march #ae1 #bjbj1 and ending on the later of-- 7,a7 ,june #cj1 #bjba2 or 7,b7 the date of expiration of the public health emergency declared by the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services under section #cai of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d7 on ,january #ca1 #bjbj1 with respect to ,,covid-#ai4 7#b7 ,digital marketplace company ,the term digital marketplace company means a business entity affecting commerce that-- 7,a7 maintains an online-enabled application or platform to facilitate the exchange of goods or services by users of the online-enabled application or platform2 7,b7 licenses access to an online-enabled application or platform to facilitate the exchange of goods or services2 and 7,c7 does not require a licensee using the online-enabled application or platform to generate business to accept any specific job request as a condition of maintaining access to the entity's online-enabled application or platform4 7#c7 ,individual accessing work through a digital marketplace company ,the term individual accessing work through a digital marketplace company means an individual who-- 7,a7 is provided with the option to accept or reject job requests through an online-enabled application or platform maintained by a digital marketplace company2 and 7,b7 provides services to digital platform consumers upon connection through a digital network maintained by the digital marketplace company in exchange for compensation or payment of a fee4 7b7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 in order to promote the general health and well-being of individuals accessing work through digital marketplace companies and to facilitate financial assistance during public health emergencies1 actions described in subsection 7c7 taken by a digital marketplace company during the ,,covid-#ai emergency period shall not be used under any ,federal1 ,state1 or local law1 ordinance1 or regulation as evidence for the purposes of-- 7#a7 determining whether an individual accessing work through the digital marketplace company is an employee or independent contractor2 or 7#b7 determining whether the digital marketplace company is the joint employer of an individual who is providing services on behalf of another company4 7c7 ,protected actions ,the actions described in this subsection are-- 7#a7 providing financial assistance to individuals who previously accessed work through the digital marketplace company but are unable to work because of health or safety concerns2 7#b7 directly providing benefits that are related to the health or safety of individuals accessing work through the digital marketplace company2 7#c7 providing training or information related to the health or safety of such individuals or the public2 7#d7 providing medical or cleaning supplies to such individuals2 7#e7 performing health checks on such individuals2 7#f7 providing medical testing to such individuals2 and 7#g7 taking any action1 including those required or suggested by any ,federal1 ,state1 or local law1 ordinance1 order1 or directive of any type1 that is intended to protect public health and safety4