‘Patriot Pay’: Mitt Romney Proposes $12/Hour Bonus for U.S. Essential Workers Through July – By Benjamin Fearnow (Newsweek) / May 2 2020
Utah Senator Mitt Romney proposed a $12-an-hour bonus for coronavirus pandemic essential workers–ranging from hospital employees to grocery store staff–dubbing the added compensation for their health risk as “Patriot Pay.”
Romney on Friday proposed the temporary bonus for U.S. essential workers who make less than $90,000 annually, saying three-quarters of the $12 hourly bonus would be paid by the federal government and the remaining one-quarter would be paid by their respective employers. The plan is funded through a refundable payroll tax credit, which employers must opt into and maxes out at $1,440 per month and per employee for May, June and July. Full-time workers would receive up to a $1,920 monthly bonus, 75 percent of which would be refunded to their employer.
The Republican senator noted Friday that part of his proposal is aimed at making sure essential workers are being paid as much, if not more, than people at home who are receiving unemployment benefits. Essential workers who make more than $50,000 a year are eligible under Romney’s “Patriot Pay” plan, with staggered reductions in available tax credits extending up to people who make as much as $90,000 annually.
“I think this is a matter of fundamental fairness,” Romney said during a virtual Zoom press briefing Friday.
Continue to article: https://www.newsweek.com/patriot-pay-mitt-romney-proposes-12-hour-bonus-us-essential-workers-through-july-1501611
