15 U.S.C. § 9093 — Procedures for providing payroll support

Page 2550 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 9091 Act, and also as part of the Consolidated Appropria- tions Act, 2021, and not as part of the CARES Act which in part comprises this chapter. § 9091. Definitions Unless otherwise specified, the definitions in section 40102(a) of title 49 shall apply to this part, except that in this part— (1) the term ‘‘catering functions’’ means preparation, assembly, or both, of food, bev- erages, provisions and related supplies for de- livery, and the delivery of such items, directly to aircraft or to a location on or near airport property for subsequent delivery to aircraft; (2) the term ‘‘contractor’’ means— (A) a person that performs, under contract with a passenger air carrier conducting oper- ations under part 121 of title 14, Code of Fed- eral Regulations— (i) catering functions; or (ii) functions on the property of an air- port that are directly related to the air transportation of persons, property, or mail, including, but not limited to, the loading and unloading of property on air- craft, assistance to passengers under part 382 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, security, airport ticketing and check-in functions, ground-handling of aircraft, or aircraft cleaning and sanitization func- tions and waste removal; or (B) a subcontractor that performs such functions; (3) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an indi- vidual, other than a corporate officer, who is employed by an air carrier or a contractor; (4) the term ‘‘recall’’ means the dispatch of a notice by a passenger air carrier or a con- tractor, via mail, courier, or electronic mail, to an involuntarily furloughed employee noti- fying the employee that— (A) the employee must, within a specified period of time, elect either— (i) to return to employment or bypass re- turn to employment, in accordance with an applicable collective bargaining agree- ment or, in the absence of a collective bar- gaining agreement, company policy; or (ii) to permanently separate from em- ployment with the passenger air carrier or contractor; and (B) failure to respond within such time pe- riod specified shall be considered an election under subparagraph (A)(ii); (5) the term ‘‘returning employee’’ means an involuntarily furloughed employee who has elected to return to employment pursuant to a recall notice; and (6) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- retary of the Treasury. (Pub. L. 116–260, div. N, title IV, § 401, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2052.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This part, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this subtitle’’, meaning subtitle A (§§ 401–412) of title IV of div. N of Pub. L. 116–260, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2052, which enacted this part and amended sections 9041, 9071, and 9074 of this title. For complete classifica- tion of subtitle A to the Code, see Tables. CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, and also as part of the Consolidated Appropria- tions Act, 2021, and not as part of the CARES Act which in part comprises this chapter. § 9092. Pandemic relief for aviation workers (a) Financial assistance for employee wages, sal- aries, and benefits Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to preserve aviation jobs and compensate air carrier industry workers, the Secretary shall provide financial assistance that shall exclu- sively be used for the continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries, and benefits to— (1) passenger air carriers, in an aggregate amount up to $15,000,000,000; and (2) contractors, in an aggregate amount up to $1,000,000,000. (b) Administrative expenses Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may use funds made available under section 9072(b) of this title for costs and administrative expenses associated with pro- viding financial assistance under this part. (Pub. L. 116–260, div. N, title IV, § 402, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2053.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This part, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the origi- nal ‘‘this subtitle’’, meaning subtitle A (§§ 401–412) of title IV of div. N of Pub. L. 116–260, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2052, which enacted this part and amended sec- tions 9041, 9071, and 9074 of this title. For complete clas- sification of subtitle A to the Code, see Tables. CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, and also as part of the Consolidated Appropria- tions Act, 2021, and not as part of the CARES Act which in part comprises this chapter. § 9093. Procedures for providing payroll support (a) Awardable amounts The Secretary shall provide financial assist- ance under this part— (1) to a passenger air carrier required to file reports pursuant to part 241 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, as of March 27, 2020, in an amount equal to— (A) the amount such air carrier was ap- proved to receive (without taking into ac- count any pro rata reduction) under section 9073 of this title; or (B) at the request of such air carrier, or in the event such air carrier did not receive as- sistance under section 9073 of this title, the amount of the salaries and benefits reported by the air carrier to the Department of Transportation pursuant to such part 241, for the period from October 1, 2019, through March 31, 2020; (2) to a passenger air carrier that was not re- quired to transmit reports under such part 241, as of March 27, 2020, in an amount equal to— Page 2551 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 9094 (A) the amount such air carrier was ap- proved to receive (without taking into ac- count any pro rata reduction) under section 9073 of this title, plus an additional 15 per- cent of such amount; (B) at the request of such air carrier, pro- vided such air carrier received assistance under section 9073 of this title, the sum of— (i) the amount that such air carrier cer- tifies, using sworn financial statements or other appropriate data, as the amount of total salaries and related fringe benefits that such air carrier incurred and would be required to be reported to the Department of Transportation pursuant to such part 241, if such air carrier was required to transmit such information during the pe- riod from April 1, 2019, through September 30, 2019; and (ii) an additional amount equal to the difference between the amount certified under clause (i) and the amount the air carrier received under section 9073 of this title; or (C) in the event such air carrier did not re- ceive assistance under section 9073 of this title, an amount that such an air carrier cer- tifies, using sworn financial statements or other appropriate data, as the amount of total salaries and related fringe benefits that such air carrier incurred and would be required to be reported to the Department of Transportation pursuant to such part 241, if such air carrier was required to transmit such information during the period from Oc- tober 1, 2019, through March 31, 2020; and (3) to a contractor in an amount equal to— (A) the amount such contractor was ap- proved to receive (without taking into ac- count any pro rata reduction) under section 9073 of this title; or (B) in the event such contractor did not re- ceive assistance under section 9073 of this title, an amount that the contractor cer- tifies, using sworn financial statements or other appropriate data, as the amount of wages, salaries, benefits, and other com- pensation that such contractor paid the em- ployees of such contractor during the period from October 1, 2019, through March 31, 2020. (b) Deadlines and procedures (1) In general (A) Forms; terms and conditions Financial assistance provided to a pas- senger air carrier or contractor under this part shall— (i) be, to the maximum extent prac- ticable, in the same form and on the same terms and conditions (including require- ments for audits and the clawback of any financial assistance provided upon failure by a passenger air carrier or contractor to honor the assurances specified in section 9094 of this title), as agreed to by the Sec- retary and the recipient for assistance re- ceived under section 9073 of this title, ex- cept if inconsistent with this part; or (ii) in the event such a passenger air car- rier or a contractor did not receive assist- ance under section 9073 of this title, be, to the maximum extent practicable, in the same form and on the same terms and con- ditions (including requirements for audits and the clawback of any financial assist- ance provided upon failure by a passenger air carrier or contractor to honor the as- surances specified in section 9094 of this title), as agreed to by the Secretary and similarly situated recipients of assistance under section 9073 of this title. (B) Procedures The Secretary shall, to the maximum ex- tent practicable, publish streamlined and ex- pedited procedures not later than 5 days after December 27, 2020, for passenger air carriers and contractors to submit requests for financial assistance under this part. (2) Deadline for immediate payroll assistance Not later than 10 days after December 27, 2020, the Secretary shall make initial pay- ments to passenger air carriers and contrac- tors that submit requests for financial assist- ance approved by the Secretary. (3) Subsequent payments The Secretary shall determine an appro- priate method for the timely distribution of payments to passenger air carriers and con- tractors with approved requests for financial assistance from any funds remaining available after providing initial financial assistance payments under paragraph (2). (c) Pro rata reductions The Secretary shall have the authority to re- duce, on a pro rata basis, the amounts due to passenger air carriers and contractors under subsection (a) in order to address any shortfall in assistance that would otherwise be provided under such subsection. (d) Audits The Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury shall audit certifications made under subsection (a). (Pub. L. 116–260, div. N, title IV, § 403, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2053.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This part, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b)(1), was in the original ‘‘this subtitle’’, meaning subtitle A (§§ 401–412) of title IV of div. N of Pub. L. 116–260, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2052, which enacted this part and amended sections 9041, 9071, and 9074 of this title. For complete classification of subtitle A to the Code, see Tables. CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, and also as part of the Consolidated Appropria- tions Act, 2021, and not as part of the CARES Act which in part comprises this chapter. § 9094. Required assurances (a) In general To be eligible for financial assistance under this part, a passenger air carrier or a contractor