CARES ACT Funds for Hazard Pay

What is happening? Local governments are utilizing CARES Act fund to provide hazard pay for service during the pandemic for government employees and “gratitude grants” for grocery workers.

• in Cairo, Georgia is giving $1,500 to public safety employees and $1,000 to municipal workers for a total of $178,000
• Thomas County GA is setting aside $6 million and calculating bonuses based on the formula
• Hagerstown, Maryland, is awarding $5,000 bonuses to full-time city employees
• in Alabama, Birmingham and Mobile each plan on giving $5,000 to full-time and $2,500 to part-time staff
• Oxnard, CA is using ARPA funding to give $1,000 bonuses to eligible grocery workers
•  Florida and Minnesota have approved premium pay for workers statewide

Why is this important? Journal of the American Medical Association says workers like sanitation workers, farm workers and grocery store employees are 25% low income and 13% high risk households.

How will this be important? Treasury Department guidance says that premium pay includes “government employees and private sector workers such as nursing home staff and home care workers, and workers at farms, food production facilities, grocery stores and restaurants.”

Route Fifty | Governments Doling Out Bonuses for Public Employees, ‘Gratitude Grants’ for Grocery Workers