State launches hazard pay program
A view from High Pastures Road in Pomfret, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
The applications are adding up quickly after the state of Vermont launched a hazard pay program for frontline workers in several sectors.
After the online portal opened at 9 a.m. Tuesday, 130 applications got rolling over the next 15 minutes, according to Human Services Secretary Mike Smith. The Legislature approved a total of $28 million for the Front-Line Employees Hazard Pay Grant Program, using federal pandemic relief money.
The funding is being awarded on a “first-come, first-serve basis,” Smith told the media on Tuesday. Employers must apply to the new program and then pass the awarded amounts on to eligible employees. Eligible workers must have been working in a job with an elevated risk of exposure of COVID-19 during the period from March 13 through May 15, 2020. Smith said the program focuses on public health, human services and public safety employers.
“While there have been many employees throughout the state of Vermont who did amazing work during this crisis, this program is for specific employers and employees, as defined by the authorizing legislation,” Smith said.
Gov. Phil Scott was questioned about why other workers, such as employees at grocery stores and gas stations, were not included in this program. Although that was part of the original plan, Scott replied, the guidelines of the federal CARES Act focused on the health care sector, and the federal aid wasn’t allowed to cover grocery stores and some other essential services.
“We’re thankful for them going to work every day in those conditions,” Scott said. “They were on the frontlines as well, in the grocery stores and otherwise.”
Further details about the hazard pay program and eligibility requirements are available at the Agency of Human Services’ website, where applications are available.
“We are encouraging employers to apply to make sure these critically important employees receive recognition and the compensation to reflect the work they did keeping Vermonters safe during the crisis,” Smith said.
— Gareth Henderson
