Pandemic Pay for Essential Workers Varies Across States

One-third of U.S. states have used federal COVID-19 relief aid to reward essential workers, including custodians, who reported to their jobs in-person during the coronavirus pandemic. However, not all essential workers benefited, with essential worker bonus pay varying greatly across the states, the Associated Press (AP) reports.

Some workers received thousands of dollars in hazard pay while others with similar jobs in other states received nothing, such as essential workers in Hawaii and Oregon where state legislators failed to enact bonus programs.

Custodians, nurses, and retail workers in Vermont received US$2,000. Prison guards in Missouri received an extra $250. Teachers in Georgia and Florida received $1,000. Florida first responders also received $1,000. Minnesota plans to distribute $250 million to essential workers until later this year.

States have until the end of 2024 to decide how to spend the latest federal aid. However, some advocates worry that essential workers will not receive hazard pay since society is reopening.

“The longer you delay doing it, the less it’s going to be on the top of minds of voters and those policymakers,” said Molly Kinder, a fellow at the nonprofit Brookings Institution who tracks pandemic hazard pay policies.

Most states used the COVID-19 hazard pay from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed by former President Donald Trump to pay workers. For example, Louisiana spent more than $38 million last year to give $250 payments to more than 152,000 frontline workers, including custodians, earning less than $50,000 annually.

Over 600 businesses such as cleaning companies in Pennsylvania, received more than $50 million in federal aid to provide a temporary $3 hourly boost to employees earning less than $20 an hour.

South Dakota limited hazard pay to state workers and only when they were “potentially exposed to COVID-19.”

In some states the hazard pay programs exceeded initial expectations. For instance, the original budget for Missouri was $24 million in federal aid to provide an extra $250 to state employees working in close contact at prisons, mental health facilities, and veterans nursing homes. However, Missouri ended up paying more than $73 million in hazard stipends to more than 18,000 employees. These payments ended on June 30 and the state has no plans to resume them.

“Without a doubt, it was worth it. Some people did some incredible jobs in this state to stay the course and to stay in the line of duty,” said Missouri Governor Mike Parson.

Vermont allotted $28 million of federal funds to pay $2,000 to health care workers and later added $22 million to expand the hazard pay program to other essential workers including custodians. When these funds were gone, Vermont added $10 million more to cover all eligible applicants.

“The primary goal was to say thank you to those frontline workers, but it had that nice benefit as well of getting the money into the economy,” said Mike Pieciak, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation.