CA Assembly declines to vote on bill that would have awarded ‘hero pay’ to health care workers

Hospital workers attend a candlelight vigil outside Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center for a nurse who died of the coronavirus.(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Jun 4, 2021 / 08:02 AM PDT

Updated: Jun 4, 2021 / 08:02 AM PDT

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California Assembly members declined Thursday to vote on a bill that would have awarded “hero pay” to healthcare workers who helped steer the state through the pandemic, effectively killing the $7-billion effort for the year.

Assembly Bill 650 by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Rolling Hills Estates) would have required hospitals, clinics and skilled nursing facilities to pay medical professionals $10,000, with smaller bonuses for those who work part time.

The payments would have been made in four installments over the course of 2022 in hopes 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.

The bill was fiercely opposed by hospitals and other employers due to the estimated $7-billion price tag.

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