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The White House is exploring a push for a coronavirus-related paid leave program akin to that enacted in an earlier round of pandemic relief, three people familiar with the conversations said Thursday. It would be much more narrowly tailored than the 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for all workers Biden proposed in his original social spending package, Build Back Better. When opposition from moderates crumbled efforts to pass the legislation, hopes for that program — or even a dramatically scaled-down version — collapsed. (Mueller, 1/27)

Both Republican and Democratic governors are pushing this year for higher pay—and in some cases, more training—for teachers, police officers, health care workers and other professionals who’ve proved essential during the coronavirus pandemic. They’re framing their proposals both as a “thank you” to frontline workers and as an effort to recruit and retain them during a tight labor market. And because of a booming economy and federal COVID-19 relief aid, governors have plenty of money to spend. “Right now we don’t have to choose—we are able to be fiscally responsible while making record investments in our people and in our future,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, said during his budget address this month. (Quinton, 1/27)

Novant Health is giving full-time workers an extra week of paid vacation, or the cash equivalent, as a reward for working through the last three years of the pandemic. It follows a trend of salary increases, bonuses and incentives to retain workers by hospitals across the country, but might not get at the heart of why some health professionals are leaving. "Like any other health system, we're faced with the same talent shortages that that exist," said Carman Canales, senior vice president and chief people officer at Novant. "We want to pay as much attention to keeping our existing talent here, as much as we're paying attention to inviting others to join us." (Gillespie, 1/27)

Healthcare workers at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, California who have tested positive for COVID-19 or who have been exposed to the virus will no longer be asked to return to work immediately while asymptomatic. In a deal with SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, the Prime Healthcare-operated hospital reversed a policy this week under which asymptomatic employees could be asked to go back to work without observing quarantine or isolation periods or receiving a negative COVID-19 test. Instead, the hospital will follow the CDC's most recent guidelines, which recommend that healthcare workers who are asymptomatic can return to work after five days of isolation, a Prime Healthcare spokesperson said. (Christ, 1/27)

New Mexico didn’t have enough nurses even before the pandemic and nursing advocates renewed their push Thursday for lawmakers to boost funding to increase capacity at nursing schools around the state to remedy a situation made worse by the coronavirus pandemic. Legislative analysts have estimated that New Mexico needs more than 6,200 nurses to meet demand. (Bryan, 1/27)