116th CONGRESS 2d Session |
To amend the Coronavirus Economic Stabilization Act of 2020 to place certain requirements on corporations receiving Federal aid related to COVID–19.
May 12, 2020
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez (for herself and Ms. Waters) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
To amend the Coronavirus Economic Stabilization Act of 2020 to place certain requirements on corporations receiving Federal aid related to COVID–19.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Corporate Accountability Act”.
SEC. 2. Requirements on all corporations receiving Federal aid related to COVID–19.
(a) In general.—The CARES Act (Public Law 116–136) is amended by inserting after section 4029 the following:
“SEC. 4030. Requirements on all corporations receiving Federal aid related to COVID–19.
“(a) In general.—Any corporation that receives Federal aid related to COVID–19 shall, during the covered period, comply with the following:
“(1) PAID LEAVE FOR WORKERS.—The corporation shall provide at least 14 days of fully-paid leave to all workers.
“(A) IN GENERAL.—The corporation shall pay each employee (including full-time, part-time, and tipped employees) of the corporation a wage of not less than $15 an hour, beginning not later than January 1, 2021.
“(B) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Congress that each corporation described under subparagraph (A)—
“(i) should meet the minimum wage requirements described under subparagraph (A) before January 1, 2021, if the corporation is able; and
“(ii) should ensure that other companies with respect to which the corporation contracts also pay their employees the minimum wage described under subparagraph (A).
“(3) LIMITATION ON CEO AND EXECUTIVE PAY.—The corporation may not have a CEO to median worker pay ratio of greater than 50 to 1 and no officer or employee of the corporation may received higher compensation than the chief executive officer (or any equivalent position).
“(b) Enforcement; rulemaking.—The Securities and Exchange Commission shall have the authority to enforce this section and may issue such rules as may be necessary to carry out this section.
“(c) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) CEO TO MEDIAN WORKER PAY RATIO.—With respect to an corporation, the term ‘CEO to median worker pay ratio’ means the ratio of—
“(A) the annual total compensation, including salary, equity, and any other form of compensation of the chief executive officer (or any equivalent position) of the corporation; and
“(B) the median of the annual total compensation of all employees of the corporation, except the chief executive officer (or any equivalent position) of the corporation.
“(2) COVERED PERIOD.—With respect to a receipt of Federal aid related to COVID–19, the term ‘covered period’ means the period—
“(A) beginning on the date such Federal aid is first received; and
“(B) ending after the 1-year period beginning on the later of—
“(i) the termination date of the emergency declared by the President on March 13, 2020, under section 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)) with respect to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19); or
“(ii) the date on which all such Federal aid has been repaid.
“(3) FEDERAL AID.—The term ‘Federal aid’ means any emergency lending provided under section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act or any Federal financial support in the form of a grant, loan, or loan guarantee.”.
(b) Clerical amendment.—The table of contents in section 2 of the CARES Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 4029 the following:
“Sec. 4030. Requirements on all corporations receiving Federal aid related to COVID–19.”.