Tell Your Lawmaker to Protect Federal Workers!
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to threaten our communities and put government workers at risk, AFGE is calling on Congress to support key workplace protections and benefits for all federal workers.
Call your lawmaker and tell them to support AFGE's top SEVEN provisions to keep workers safe.
AFGE is pushing our elected officials to include the following provisions in the next coronavirus legislation:
- Labor-Management Relations: AFGE urges Congress to restore labor-management relations and communication as agencies work to quickly implement new policies and workplace procedures during this health care crisis.
- Hazardous Duty Pay: AFGE urges Congress to provide hazardous duty pay differentials and environmental differential pay to federal employees who are required to report to work and risk exposure to COVID-19 through the performance of their duties.
- Personal Protective Equipment: AFGE urges Congress to ensure that agencies have adequate resources and funding to provide all employees with adequate personal protective equipment to protect workers when reporting for duty.
- Presumption of Workplace Illness: AFGE urges Congress to amend the Federal Employee Compensation Act (FECA), the law that governs workers’ compensation for federal employees, to provide an automatic presumption of workplace illness for employees who contract COVID-19 through the performance of their duties.
- Weather and Safety Leave: AFGE urges Congress to provide weather and safety leave to all employees who are not able to perform their duties remotely and who cannot travel to their duty station because of health and safety risks as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
- Telework: AFGE urges Congress to require all agencies to expand telework to all employees who can perform their duties remotely to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
- Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program Enrollment Opportunity: AFGE urges Congress to amend current law to allow for a public health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic to be considered as a “qualifying life event,” giving federal employees who are not currently enrolled in a FEHBP health plan the opportunity to purchase health care coverage, and allow current enrollees to make changes to their existing plans.
The health and safety of workers on the frontlines can't wait.
Call your member of Congress TODAY and tell them to include these provisions in the next coronavirus legislation.
Also, please visit www.townhallproject.com to view when your member of Congress is conducting a constituent town hall call, webinar or other virtual event. These are important opportunities to participate and discuss what you are experiencing at your workplace and make these asks of them for the next phase of the COVID-19 stimulus.