Coalition Letter Urges President-Elect Biden to Support a Healthy Workplace Tax Credit

An ISSA-led coalition of more than 40 groups representing millions of employees and many millions more customers has urged U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden and his transition team to support the inclusion of a “healthy workplace” tax credit in the next federal stimulus package to protect the safety of workers, customers, and the public.

“Businesses and nonprofits are struggling to keep their doors open and have spent and will continue to spend an enormous amount to ensure workplaces are as safe and healthy for workers and customers as possible,” said ISSA Director of Government Affairs John Nothdurft. “A healthy workplace tax credit is a targeted, commonsense, and bipartisan supported measure to help ensure to the safety of workers, customers, and the public.”

In a letter to the President-Elect, the groups stated that there is “already bipartisan and bicameral support to create such a tax credit. In addition to the Healthy Workplaces Tax Credit Act (S. 4214 and H.R. 7615), there are other similar bills with bipartisan support in the House of Representatives and Senate. All of these proposals recognize the enormous, unexpected costs of creating and maintaining healthy spaces for workers and customers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The signatories requested President-Elect Biden consider the following recommendations as “you evaluate and hopefully include a reopening tax credit in the next stimulus bill.”

According to the coalition, qualified expenses should include:

1. Cleaning and workplace safety-related costs, including cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilizing-related products; equipment; delivery/dispensing devices and systems; signage; and technology platforms or services related to preventing the spread of COVID–19
2. Training, consulting, standards, certifications, auditing/quality control, monitoring, and guidelines or other similar information related to COVID–19
3. Personal protective equipment (PPE)
4. Technology used for limiting or tracing and tracking physical contact between customers and employees in the United States and improving workplace safety and hygiene
5. Other expenditures associated with maintaining a healthy physical workplace such as reconfigurations, including those necessary to comply with federal, state, and local guidelines, as well as industry best practices.

According to a National Safety Council survey, employers have spent an average of US$5,208 per employee on these types of workplace safety practices.

ISSA is working diligently to support the full spectrum of the cleaning industry, in the U.S. and worldwide, during the COVID-19 pandemic, including providing a variety of government affairs resources. Please consider supporting the ISSA Advocacy Fund in any amount to help us continue to spearhead support for a healthy workplace tax credit in the next federal stimulus package. For questions regarding ISSA advocacy, including liability protection legislation, please contact John Nothdurft, ISSA Director of Government Affairs.