Coronavirus

Premium Pause? Approximately 100 Fire and Emergency Medical Services Personnel Haven't Received Pandemic Bonus

When President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law on March 11, 2021, it included over half a billion dollars in funding for the U.S. Virgin Islands. Roughly $40 million of that sum was dedicated to a program called Premium Pay, which sought to recognize the efforts of certain essential employees in the public and private sectors who had to serve the community during two lockdown periods declared by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. in 2020.  By January 2022, the territory was in receipt of the majority of its $547 million allocation, and disbursement of Premium Pay checks was slated to begin in February. An income ceiling was announced - “If you make more than $70,000 you cannot qualify to receive any Premium Pay at all,” Director of the VI Office of Management and Budget Jenifer O’Neal, told Senator Kenneth Gittens, during a January 2022 hearing of the Senate Committee on Disaster Recovery and Infrastructure.  A few weeks later, Governor Bryan clarified to the Consortium...