Congressman Steven Horsford Supports Paycheck Guarantee for Nevada’s Workers

Washington, D.C. -- Today, Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) announced his support for the Paycheck Guarantee Act to end mass layoffs, keep workers in their jobs and connected to their health care and other benefits, prevent employers of all sizes from being forced to close permanently, and ensure that the economy is ready to restart when the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

"In my home state, we've already seen more than 400,000 workers suffering from job loss in the face of this pandemic. This legislation, which provides a federal paycheck guarantee, would quickly deliver relief to those workers and their families, and prevent any more layoffs or furloughs from the spread of the coronavirus," Congressman Horsford said. "With this legislation, workers in Nevada would not be forced to apply for unemployment insurance through DETR, which is already stretched thin from skyrocketing demand. Businesses that would otherwise be forced to shutter can stay open and primed to reopen when it is deemed safe to do so. This legislation is not only crucial to keeping American families fed and sheltered during this crisis, it is absolutely vital to keep our economy alive."

The Paycheck Guarantee Act would provide grants to employers of all sizes to quickly deliver paychecks to workers and provide additional support to businesses for maintenance costs. It would also ensure that employers have time to regain their footing once social distancing protocols are lifted.

The Paycheck Guarantee Act includes strong protections from fraud and abuse, and converts any overpayments into low or no-interest loans, repayable by the employer. The Paycheck Guarantee Act would put the brakes on economic decline, enabling a speedier recovery and reducing the ultimate costs of the crisis to taxpayers. The scale of this crisis far exceeds anything we have seen in our lifetimes, and our response must be commensurate.

The Paycheck Guarantee Act would:

• Cover 100% of wages for workers earning salaries up to $100,000 to ensure that employers keep workers paid and out of the unemployment line
• Keep workers enrolled in employer-sponsored benefits, including health care
• Encourage employers to rehire recently laid-off or furloughed workers by covering payroll retroactively to the start of the crisis
• Cover essential business expenses like rent, to ensure that businesses don't shutter completely and can re-open when the pandemic ends
• Get support to workers and employers as quickly as possible, using existing payroll tax infrastructure to facilitate delivery of payments
• Keep workers attached to the labor market and businesses ready to reopen, speeding up the economic recovery.

The Paycheck Guarantee Act also includes strong protections from fraud and abuse and converts any overpayments into low or no-interest loans, repayable by the employer. A one-page summary is available here.

The bill is endorsed by the following national organizations: American Federation of Teachers; Americans for Financial Reform; Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO; Center for American Progress; Center for Economic Policy Research; Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) / CPD Action; Climate Justice Alliance; Community Change Action; Economic Policy Institute; Indivisible; Main Street Alliance; National Domestic Workers Alliance; National Education Association (NEA); People's Action; SEIU; Strong Economy for All Coalition; and UNITE HERE.