[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 841 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 841
To decrease the cost of hiring, and increase the take-home pay of,
Puerto Rican workers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 18, 2021
Mr. Rubio introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To decrease the cost of hiring, and increase the take-home pay of,
Puerto Rican workers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Economic Mobility for Productive
Livelihoods and Expanding Opportunity Act of 2021'' or the ``EMPLEO
Act''.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE REQUIREMENT FOR ELIGIBLE PUERTO RICO
EMPLOYEES.
Section 6(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
206(a)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (4) as
paragraphs (3) through (5), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) if such employee is an eligible Puerto Rico employee,
as defined in section 6431(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, who receives a qualified wage subsidy payment under
section 6431 of such Code from a participating employer, $5.00
an hour (as determined without regard to the qualified wage
subsidy payment);''.
SEC. 3. WAGE SUBSIDY FOR PUERTO RICO WORKERS.
(a) In General.--Subchapter B of chapter 65 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 6431. WAGE SUBSIDY FOR PUERTO RICO WORKERS.
``(a) In General.--In the case of a participating employer which
makes qualified wage subsidy payments to eligible Puerto Rico
employees, such participating employer shall be treated for purposes of
this title as having paid to the Secretary, on the date any such
qualified wage subsidy payment is paid, payroll taxes in an amount
equal to such wage subsidy payment.
``(b) Participating Employer.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the term
`participating employer' means an employer which--
``(A) elects the application of this section,
``(B) makes qualified wage subsidy payments to all
eligible Puerto Rico employees of such employer,
``(C) provides to each eligible Puerto Rico
employee (in such form and manner as the Secretary
shall by regulations prescribe) information about the
amount of qualified wage subsidy payments paid to such
employee at the time such payments are made, and
``(D) in the case of an employer which elects to
receive an advance payment under subsection (g),
provides to the Secretary the information described in
paragraph (2) not later than 30 days before the
beginning of the applicable period.
``(2) Information required.--The information required under
this paragraph is the following:
``(A) An estimate of the number of workers who will
be employed by the participating employer for the
applicable period.
``(B) An estimate of the payroll taxes (determined
without regard to any increase in tax under section
3111 by reason of subsection (g)(2)) that will be paid
by the participating employer with respect to all
employees for such applicable period.
``(C) An estimate of the number of eligible Puerto
Rico employees who will be employed by the
participating employer for such applicable period and
the hourly rate of pay for each such employee
(determined without regard to any qualified wage
subsidy payment).
``(D) An estimate of the aggregate amount of
qualified wage subsidy payments that will be paid by
such employer to eligible Puerto Rico employees for
such applicable period.
``(3) Failure to make subsidy payments.--For purposes of
this title (including penalties), the failure by any employer
which makes an election under paragraph (1)(A) to make any
qualified wage subsidy payment at the time provided therefor
shall be treated as the failure at such time to deduct and
withhold under section 3102 an amount equal to the amount of
such qualified wage subsidy payment.
``(c) Eligible Puerto Rico Employee.--For purposes of this section,
the term `eligible Puerto Rico employee' means, with respect to any
calendar year, any individual who--
``(1) is a citizen of the United States,
``(2) has a social security number issued to the individual
by the Social Security Administration, and
``(3) certifies, in such form and manner as provided by the
Secretary, to the employer that such individual is a resident
of Puerto Rico and intends to remain a resident of Puerto Rico
for not less than the next 6 months.
``(d) Qualified Wage Subsidy Payment.--For purposes of this
section--
``(1) In general.--The term `qualified wage subsidy
payment' means, with respect to any eligible Puerto Rico
employee for any period, a payment equal to 50 percent of the
excess (if any) of--
``(A) the median hourly wage for Puerto Rico, over
``(B) the hourly wage paid to the eligible Puerto
Rico employee.
``(2) Median hourly wage for puerto rico.--For purposes of
paragraph (1)(A), the median hourly wage for Puerto Rico is--
``(A) $10 for calendar years 2022 and 2023, and
``(B) for any calendar year beginning after 2023,
the amount determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
based on the most recent data available as of 30 days
before the start of such calendar year.
``(3) Determination of hourly wage.--For purposes of
paragraph (1)(B)--
``(A) In general.--The hourly wage of any employee
shall be determined without regard to any qualified
wage subsidy payment under this section.
``(B) Period.--Each hour at which an eligible
Puerto Rico employee performs services for a different
rate of pay shall be treated as a separate period.
``(C) Salaried employees.--In the case of a
salaried employee, the hourly wage for such employee
for any period shall be determined by dividing the
annual rate of pay for such period by 2,080.
``(e) Payroll Taxes.--For purposes of this section, the term
`payroll taxes' means--
``(1) amounts required to be deducted for the payroll
period under section 3102 (relating to FICA employee taxes),
and
``(2) amounts of the taxes imposed for the payroll period
under section 3111 (relating to FICA employer taxes).
``(f) Other Definitions and Special Rules.--For purposes of this
section--
``(1) Applicable period.--For purposes of this section, the
term `applicable period' means--
``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), a
calendar quarter, and
``(B) in the case of any employer which files
returns for payroll taxes less frequently than
quarterly, such period as determined by the Secretary
under regulations.
``(2) Wage subsidy payments in excess of payroll tax
liability.--To the extent that the amount treated as paid under
subsection (a) exceeds the amount of such person's liability
for payroll taxes, the Secretary shall credit and refund such
excess in the same manner as if it were an overpayment of such
taxes.
``(g) Advanced Payments for Certain Participating Employers.--
``(1) In general.--In the case of a participating employer
which elects the application of this subsection, the Secretary
shall pay to such participating employer, not later than the
first day of the applicable period, an amount equal to the
excess of--
``(A) the aggregate amount of qualified wage
subsidy payments for such applicable period (as
determined based on estimates submitted under
subsection (b)(2)), exceeds
``(B) the aggregate amount of payroll taxes
(determined without regard to any increase in tax under
section 3111 by reason of paragraph (2) and based on
estimates submitted under subsection (b)(2)) for such
applicable period.
``(2) Treatment of payments.--For purposes of this title,
the amount of taxes imposed under section 3111 on any
participating employer for any calendar quarter shall be
increased by an amount equal to any payment made under
paragraph (1) with respect to such calendar quarter.''.
(b) Social Security Trust Funds Held Harmless.--In determining the
amount of any amount transferred or appropriated to any fund under the
Social Security Act, section 6431 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
shall not be taken into account.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for subchapter B
of chapter 65 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding
at the end the following new item:
``Sec. 6431. Wage subsidy for Puerto Rico workers.''.
(d) Other Provisions.--
(1) Reporting of wage subsidy information.--Section 6051(a)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking
``and'' at the end of paragraph (16), by striking the period at
the end of paragraph (17) and inserting ``, and'', and by
inserting after paragraph (17) the following new paragraph:
``(18) in the case of an eligible Puerto Rico employee (as
defined in section 6431), the amount of any qualified wage
subsidy payment paid to such employee.''.
(2) Penalty for failure to provide information to
employees.--Section 6652 of such Code is amended by adding at
the end the following new subsection:
``(q) Failure To Report Wage Subsidy Information to Employees.--In
the case of a failure to provide the information required under section
6431(b)(1)(C) at the time required for providing such information,
there shall be paid (upon notice and demand by the Secretary and in the
same manner as tax) by the person failing to provide such information,
an amount equal to $50 for each such failure. In the case of any
failure due to negligence or intentional disregard, the preceding
sentence shall be applied by substituting `$100' for `$50'.''.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to wages paid after December 31, 2021.
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