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- The Commerce Department just released its guidelines to apply for funding for semiconductor projects.
- Firms that want a shot at the $39 billion have to show that workers will have access to childcare.
- It's an example of the Biden administration slipping its priorities into legislation under its purview.
If you want some of the $39 billion the Biden administration is doling out for CHIPS Act semiconductor funding, you'll have to offer your workers childcare.
On Tuesday, the Department of Commerce laid out its application guidelines for firms hoping to get a piece of the funding pie. Some of those requirements for firms showcase how Biden administration priorities on childcare and equity are shaping some large-scale investments, even as Democrats haven't passed more sweeping legislation on those priorities.
Any firms applying for over $150 million in direct funding for projects under the CHIPS Act, which aims to boost investment in the US semiconductor industry, have to present a plan for ensuring workers at the facility, along with the workers constructing it, have access to childcare. Currently, childcare is unaffordable almost everywhere in the country.
Those plans should show that childcare is affordable, high-quality, and easy for workers to access — the guidelines stipulate that the care "be within reach for low- and medium-income households," in a convenient location with hours that align with workers' needs, the assurance that workers won't have to miss work over unanticipated childcare needs, and a "safe and healthy environment that families can trust."
The Commerce Department also acknowledges that childcare isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, and says plans should address things like a need for extended hours, or how they'll grapple with any supply or demand issues.
"Here's the truth: CHIPS won't be successful unless we expand the labor force. We can't do that without affordable child care," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo wrote on Twitter. "That's why we're requiring companies that receive funding to tell us how they plan to provide affordable child care for workers."
It's an example of the Biden administration slipping legislative priorities into the arenas they have a say over. Federal plans to make childcare affordable and easily accessible, along with guraranteed paid leave, have been stymied by conservative Democrats, but the provisions tucked away in the CHIPS distribution could set the stage for more companies opting or being swayed to offer childcare on their own.
It may also mean that other projects or businesses in areas where funding is allocated might have to step up and offer their own childcare to compete for workers — again making it more available. As Insider's Avery Hartmans reported, offering affordable childcare is one solid way for firms to attract young workers in a tight labor market. With labor shortages still roiling the construction industry, which will need over 500,000 more workers this year, the guarantee of childcare on federal projects could help lure in sidelined workers.
"Women are not able to answer the help wanted ad if they don't have steady, affordable childcare, because they know they can't be reliable, productive employees," Raimondo previously told Insider. "So they're not applying for these jobs."
Workers on the projects will also have to be paid at the prevailing wage, ensuring that firms aren't underbidding by paying less, and keeping pay comparable to other projects they might work on.
The guidelines also stipulate that firms can't use funding from CHIPS for dividends or stock buybacks, which is when companies buy back shares of their own stock to help make it more valuable. Critics of the practice often point to firms prioritizing their own market value over spending that money on salaries or workers. The administration seems to be taking the same skeptical view, with the guidelines saying they'll weigh whether applicants will stop or limit buybacks as part of the consideration process.