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Republicans are hoping to sell President Joe Biden on an alternative Covid-19 relief plan less than a third of the size of his $1.9 trillion proposal. A group of Senate Republicans is meeting with Biden to kick off fresh bipartisan negotiations on the next coronavirus relief bill, our Burgess Everett reports — even as Democratic leaders say they intend to push through their massive relief package to Biden’s desk via budget reconciliation, which would be filibuster-proof and wouldn’t require a single GOP vote.

The Senate Republicans outlined their $600 billion counterproposal in a letter to Biden on Sunday, which they said would include $160 billion for vaccines, testing, treatment and personal protective equipment.

“The proposal will also extend unemployment benefits that expire in March, match Biden’s request for nutrition assistance and send a new round of payments to ‘those families who need assistance the most, including their dependent children and adults,” according to Burgess.

KEEP AN EYE OUT: GOP senators plan to release more details of their plan today.

CITIZENSHIP AS PART OF THE DEAL? House leadership is also facing pressure from within the Democratic caucus to offer a pathway to citizenship for undocumented essential workers, Dreamers and temporary protected status recipients in the upcoming aid package, our Sabrina Rodriguez reports.

A group of 100 lawmakers on Saturday argued in a letter that the protections are “not just a necessity for economic recovery, it is an issue of economic and racial justice for communities that have been the most vulnerable to the crisis and left out in previous relief packages.”

HOW IT WOULD WORK: The pathway to citizenship would apply to about 5 million undocumented immigrants who are essential workers, according to Sabrina.

THE BIG PICTURE: Biden has issued a spate of executive orders since his inauguration, covering everything from the pandemic to systemic racism. But economists say what the country needs the most is an influx of cash, our Megan Cassella writes. For that, Biden will be entirely dependent on Congress.

RELATED DRAMA: “'We need to work together': Manchin blasts Harris' TV hit on Covid relief,” from our Maria Carrasco

BIDEN ON A $15 MINIMUM WAGE: “Biden, Democrats hit gas on push for $15 minimum wage,” from The Associated Press’ Kevin Freking

GOOD MORNING. It’s Monday, Feb. 1, and this is Morning Shift, your tipsheet on employment and immigration news. Send tips, exclusives and suggestions to [email protected] and [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @Eleanor_Mueller and @RebeccaARainey.

WALSH GOES TO WASHINGTON: Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Biden’s nominee for Labor secretary, is scheduled to have a confirmation hearing this week. The Senate HELP Committee hearing will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday.

A FLOOR FIGHT IN THE MAKING? “Walsh’s ties to unions while holding public office, federal extortion charges against a pair of his aides, and a questionable financial arrangement with his girlfriend’s consulting firm all provide ammunition for conservative groups looking to damage his chances of getting confirmed,” Bloomberg Law’s Ian Kullgren writes. “Some GOP-aligned groups believe him to be one of Biden’s most dubious nominees.”

MAYORKAS’ CONFIRMATION EXPECTED TUESDAY: Biden’s pick to helm the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, will face a confirmation vote on Tuesday. Mayorkas will likely be confirmed, and if so, he will be the first immigrant and Latino to lead the department.

SNOW DELAY: The vote was originally scheduled for today, but the winter storm in the Capitol region delayed travel for some senators, according to Fox News’ Chad Pergram.

MUST-READ: “Biden wants to undo Trump's family separation legacy. It won't be easy,” from Sabrina

DEMOCRATS DRAFT COVID-19 UI TAX BILL: Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are aiming to introduce legislation tomorrow that would allow workers to write off the first $10,200 of their unemployment benefits from their 2020 tax bill.

Background: The Internal Revenue Service reminded Americans last year that “by law, unemployment compensation is taxable and must be reported on a 2020 federal income tax return,” including the new emergency benefits created under the March CARES Act.

TIME IS TICKING: The lawmakers are hoping to move quickly on the bill, since the tax season ends on April 15, a Hill staffer tells MS.

BIDEN DOL ENDS PAID PROGRAM: The Labor Department on Friday announced that it has ended the Trump administration’s Payroll Audit Independent Determination program, “effective immediately.” The program, launched in 2018, was long criticized by Democrats, who argued that it allowed bad actors to get away with wage violations and barred workers from taking any private action against them.

“Workers are entitled to every penny they have earned,” Wage and Hour Division Principal Deputy Administrator Jessica Looman said in a statement. The Biden DOL added that the program “deprived workers of their rights and put employers that play by the rules at a disadvantage.”

The program protected businesses from enforcement action and litigation, so long as they first enlist DOL to remedy their minimum wage and overtime violations. The Trump administration said the program helped workers get the wages they’re owed faster and spared them from having to pay legal fees — and touted that it collected over $7 million in backpay for more than 11,000 workers.

Cheryl Stanton, who oversaw the Wage and Hour Division during the Trump administration, said by eliminating the program “the Biden Administration put trial lawyers’ interests over workers’ benefits.”

TRUMP’S DPA MEATPACKING ORDER STILL IN PLACE: Despite Biden’s calls on the campaign trail for tougher worker safety enforcement during the pandemic, he has so far left one Trump-era executive action in place that advocates have argued allows unsafe meat producers to remain open, your host reports.

Background: President Donald Trump in April ordered meat-processing plants to continue operating, declaring them critical infrastructure under the Defense Production Act. Several meat companies have cited the executive order in court to challenge lawsuits over Covid-related worker illnesses and deaths.

Growing pressure: One union spokesperson also told POLITICO that labor groups are working with the administration on "a wide range of priorities on COVID safety and protections for meatpacking workers," including reversing the Trump executive order.

During a press call Friday, leaders at the federal government’s safety watchdog acknowledged they had heard concerns about the executive order remaining in place, but cautioned that the public may read too much into it.

The order “does not prohibit the shutdown of meatpacking plants. As many of you know, several were shut down even after that order was issued by local public health departments,” said Ann Rosenthal, a senior adviser at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “Revoking the executive order is obviously outside our ability at OSHA.”

NEW SAFETY GUIDELINES: On Friday, OSHA updated its guidance for employers on how to protect workers from the coronavirus, which Biden administration officials say is stricter than recommendations provided under the Trump-led OSHA. OSHA officials also say they are working to step up enforcement of worker safety in general since taking over from the Trump administration, and are looking to speed up the citation process and hire more inspectors in particular.

A MAJOR BUT: The new guidance is still optional.

Brace for more changes, though. Officials at OSHA say the guidance is “one step” in the process of responding to an executive order issued last month by Biden, which instructed the agency to issue more stringent Covid-19 workplace safety guidance and to consider whether a mandatory emergency temporary safety standard is necessary.

FIRST IN SHIFT — COAL STATE LAWMAKERS DEMAND MINER PROTECTIONS: Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Durbin and other lawmakers are planning to introduce a bill today that would require DOL to issue emergency rules ordering mining companies to protect their workers from Covid-19 exposure and provide protective equipment.

WHAT ABOUT OSHA? While Biden and Democratic lawmakers are pushing for OSHA to also issue emergency Covid-19 workplace safety rules, the Mine Safety and Health Administration has jurisdiction over miners’ safety, and must issue its own standard.

BEHIND THE SCENES AT AMAZON UNION DRIVE: Employees say e-commerce giant Amazon is “holding frequent meetings” at its Alabama warehouse to counter the union drive there, Sebastian Herrera reports for The Wall Street Journal. “It also hired a law firm that specializes in countering organizing efforts and set up a website asserting that employees already receive the benefits and pay for which a union would bargain and should vote no to avoid the cost of dues.” Workers at the warehouse are slated to start voting this month whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.

RIGHT-TO-WORK STATE: If workers vote in favor of the union, because of the state’s “right to work” rules, “workers wouldn’t be required to join the union or pay dues, potentially making it harder to expand membership,” Herrera explains. Some workers “said they weren’t supportive because they didn’t believe union representation would substantially improve their conditions.”

TENSIONS OVER SCHOOL REOPENINGS ACROSS THE COUNTRY:

— “D.C. public schools planned to reopen Monday but weather will keep classes virtual, mayor says,” from The Washington Post

— “School district and union talks fall apart as Lightfoot pushes reopening to Tuesday,” from The Chicago Tribune

— “Essential workers get lost in the vaccine scrum as states prioritize the elderly,” from The Washington Post

— “United sends 14,000 furlough warnings; unions seek $15B new U.S. aid for airlines,” from Reuters

— “CBS hires Proskauer Rose to investigate alleged misconduct by CBS TV stations heads,” from The Los Angeles Times

— “Biden moves to give low-income families more money to buy food,” from POLITICO

— “Baltimore City unions report workers underpaid or unpaid; Council President Mosby calls for investigative hearing,” from The Baltimore Sun

— “‘We do a lot of work’: Texas' low-wage workers hope for more as Biden, Congress push minimum wage hike,” from The Texas Tribune

— “Most U.S. citizens report a campaign contacted them in 2020, but Latinos and Asians less likely to say so,” from Pew Research Center

— “Some Health-Care Workers Are Still Saying No to a Covid-19 Vaccine,” from The Wall Street Journal

THAT’S ALL FOR MORNING SHIFT!