Van Hollen leads push for more hazard pay, protection for federal workers and contractors

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., is leading an effort to implement more hazard pay for federal employees and contractors working on the front lines or in public-facing jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic. In a letter to the acting directors of the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management, Van Hollen, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and 17 other senators — mostly Democrats — urge the agencies to expand a 25% increase in basic pay for all federal employees working in “essential,…