Hazard Pay Plans Poised to Outlast Virus With Bipartisan Push

Hazard pay wouldn’t have crossed the minds of grocery store workers before the coronavirus came along.

No laws require hazard pay for private workers, and only one union contract negotiated in the past 12 months even mentions it, according to an analysis of collective bargaining agreements in Bloomberg Law’s database.

But now some retail workers and medical professionals want hazard pay to become a matter of law for workers deemed essential during pandemics, and the call is gaining bipartisan support. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) is among Democrats who last week called for legislation that would allow for “ ...