Employers who have a PPP loan may be concerned that reduced schedules or staff payroll may not expend all the funds requested in the 8 week period that will determine the amount of your loan forgiveness. These employers may also have reduced staff because some workers voluntarily opted out of coming to work. To let your working staff know how much you appreciate them for coming to work under conditions that may affect their health, employers can consider hazard pay. This will also help expend payroll costs that count toward loan forgiveness. The DOL doesn’t have any guidance on hazard pay, so here’s a helpful article to learn more.
What is hazard pay, and when are employees eligible to receive it? Does your employer have to give you hazard pay when you are working in dangerous conditions? There are no federal regulations providing for hazard pay other than that it must be included in an employee’s pay rate when overtime pay is calculated.
What is Hazard Pay?
Hazard pay means additional pay for performing hazardous duty or work involving physical hardship.
Employers may choose to give hazard pay to workers whose jobs involve extreme physical discomfort or distress—especially if protective devices won’t entirely mitigate the danger or hardship involved.
When Are You Eligible for Hazard Pay?
Hazard pay compensates an employee for duty that could result in serious injury or death. Generally, this payment is in addition to regular hourly wages or a salary. There is no law requiring employers to pay hazard pay: both the amount of the pay and the conditions under which it is paid are determined by the employer.
Some companies are raising hourly wages for employees who are working during the coronavirus pandemic. Check with your manager or human resources department if you have questions on your compensation.
How Much Extra Pay Do You Get?
Typically, hazard pay is an increased hourly pay rate. It is often applied as a premium: for example, an employer might agree to pay a 10% premium when an employee works under hazardous conditions. For those hours, the employee would earn 10% more money than their normal hourly wage. Alternatively, hazard pay may be issued at a flat rate, e.g., $250 per month. Continue Reading
