SACRAMENTO —
California lawmakers are considering legislation that would require hospitals, clinics and skilled nursing facilities to pay medical professionals $10,000 in “hero pay” for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But some employers and business groups have bristled at the $7-billion price tag, calling the bill “dangerous and costly.”
Assembly Bill 650 by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Rolling Hills Estates) would award bonuses in four equal payments of $2,500 during 2022, with smaller bonuses for those who work part time. The pay would be spread out in hopes that the cash would entice healthcare workers to remain in their jobs, said the bill’s main proponent, the Service Employees International Union California, a labor union whose membership includes healthcare workers.