Employee Rights Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1855 To provide protections for workers with respect to their right to select or refrain from selecting representation by a labor organization. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 25, 2019 Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee (for himself, Ms. FOXX of North Carolina, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. COMER, Mr. WALKER, Mr. BANKS, Mr. WRIGHT, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. BUDD, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. MCCLIN- TOCK, Mr. BYRNE, and Mr. ROONEY of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To provide protections for workers with respect to their right to select or refrain from selecting representation by a labor organization. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Employee Rights Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE NATIONAL LABOR RELA- 5 TIONS ACT. 6 (a) UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES.—Section 8(b)(1) of 7 the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(b)(1)) 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1855.IH H1855 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1855 IH is amended by inserting ‘‘interfere with’’ before ‘‘re- 1 strain’’. 2 (b) REPRESENTATIVES AND ELECTIONS.—Section 9 3 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) is 4 amended— 5 (1) in subsection (a)— 6 (A) by striking ‘‘designated or selected for 7 the purposes of collective bargaining’’ and in- 8 serting ‘‘for the purposes of collective bar- 9 gaining selected by secret ballot in an election 10 conducted by the Board,’’; and 11 (B) by inserting before the period the fol- 12 lowing: ‘‘: Provided further, That, for purposes 13 of determining the majority of the employees in 14 a secret ballot election in a unit, the term ‘ma- 15 jority’ shall mean the majority of all the em- 16 ployees in the unit, and not the majority of em- 17 ployees voting in the election’’; and 18 (2) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the 19 following: 20 ‘‘(3) Whenever any certified or voluntarily recognized 21 bargaining unit existing on or after the date of enactment 22 of the Employee Rights Act experiences turnover, expan- 23 sion, or alteration by merger of unit represented employ- 24 ees exceeding 50 percent of the bargaining unit on such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1855.IH H1855 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1855 IH date and (A) the unit represented employees are covered 1 by a negotiated and agreed-upon collective agreement in 2 effect between a labor organization representative and an 3 employer, the Board shall conduct a secret paper ballot 4 election among the represented employees in the bar- 5 gaining unit between the 120th day and 110th day prior 6 to the collective agreement’s expiration or prior to the con- 7 clusion of three years, whichever occurs earlier, or (B) 8 there is no negotiated collective agreement then in effect 9 between a labor organization and an employer, the Board 10 shall conduct a secret paper ballot election among the rep- 11 resented employees in the bargaining unit within 30 days. 12 Thereafter, a secret ballot election shall again be con- 13 ducted under the same conditions and procedures when- 14 ever the recognized bargaining unit experiences turnover, 15 expansion, or alteration by merger of unit represented em- 16 ployees exceeding 50 percent of the bargaining unit then 17 in existence at the time of the preceding secret paper bal- 18 lot election. The election shall be conducted without regard 19 to the pendency of any unfair labor practice charge 20 against the employer or the labor organization representa- 21 tive and the Board shall rule on any objections to the elec- 22 tion pursuant to its established timeframes for resolving 23 such matters. If a majority of the votes cast in a valid 24 election reject the continuing representation by the labor 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1855.IH H1855 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1855 IH organization, the Board shall withdraw the labor organiza- 1 tion’s certification, the labor organization shall cease rep- 2 resentation of employees in the bargaining unit, and any 3 obligations to or on behalf of the labor organization in a 4 collectively bargained contract then in effect shall termi- 5 nate.’’. 6 (c) FAIR REPRESENTATION IN ELECTIONS.—Section 7 9 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) 8 is amended— 9 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘prior to an 10 election’’ after ‘‘in each case’’; and 11 (2) in subsection (c)— 12 (A) in the flush matter following para- 13 graph (1)(B)— 14 (i) by inserting ‘‘of 14 days in ad- 15 vance’’ after ‘‘appropriate hearing upon 16 due notice’’; 17 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and a review of 18 post-hearing appeals,’’ after ‘‘the record of 19 such hearing’’; and 20 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 21 lowing: ‘‘The employer shall provide the 22 Board a list consisting only of employee 23 names and home addresses of all eligible 24 voters within 7 days following the Board’s 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1855.IH H1855 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1855 IH determination of the appropriate unit or 1 following any agreement between the em- 2 ployer and the labor organization regard- 3 ing the eligible voters. Any employee may 4 elect to be excluded from such list by noti- 5 fying the employer in writing.’’; and 6 (B) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(6)(A) No election shall take place after the filing 8 of any petition unless and until— 9 ‘‘(i) a hearing is conducted before a qualified 10 hearing officer in accordance with due process on 11 any and all material, factual issues regarding juris- 12 diction, statutory coverage, appropriate unit, unit in- 13 clusion or exclusion, or eligibility of individuals; and 14 ‘‘(ii) the issues are resolved by a Regional Di- 15 rector, subject to appeal and review, or by the 16 Board. 17 ‘‘(B) No election results shall be final and no labor 18 organization shall be certified as the bargaining represent- 19 ative of the employees in an appropriate unit unless and 20 until the Board has ruled on— 21 ‘‘(i) each pre-election issue not resolved before 22 the election; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1855.IH H1855 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1855 IH ‘‘(ii) the Board conducts a hearing in accord- 1 ance with due process and resolves each issue per- 2 taining to the conduct or results of the election.’’. 3 (d) PENALTIES.—Section 10 of the National Labor 4 Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160) is amended by inserting 5 after the second sentence following the second proviso, the 6 following: ‘‘Any labor organization found to have inter- 7 fered with, restrained, or coerced employees in the exercise 8 of their rights under section 7 to form or join a labor orga- 9 nization or to refrain therefrom, including the filing of a 10 decertification petition, shall be liable for wages lost and 11 union dues or fees collected unlawfully, if any, and an ad- 12 ditional amount as liquidated damages. Any labor organi- 13 zation found to have interfered with, restrained, or coerced 14 an employee in connection with the filing of a decertifica- 15 tion petition shall be prohibited from filing objections to 16 an election held pursuant to such petition.’’. 17 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE LABOR-MANAGEMENT RE- 18 PORTING AND DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1959. 19 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 3(k) of the Labor-Man- 20 agement Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 21 402(k)) is amended by striking ‘‘ballot, voting machine, 22 or otherwise, but’’ and inserting ‘‘paper ballot, voting ma- 23 chine, or electronic ballot cast in the privacy of a voting 24 booth and’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1855.IH H1855 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1855 IH (b) RIGHTS OF MEMBERS.—Section 101(a)(1) of the 1 Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 2 (29 U.S.C. 411(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end 3 the following ‘‘Every employee in a bargaining unit rep- 4 resented by a labor organization, regardless of member- 5 ship status in the labor organization, shall have the same 6 right as members to vote by secret ballot regarding wheth- 7 er to ratify a collective bargaining agreement with, or to 8 engage in, a strike or refusal to work of any kind against 9 their employer.’’. 10 (c) RIGHT NOT TO SUBSIDIZE UNION NON- 11 REPRESENTATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—Title I of the Labor- 12 Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 13 U.S.C. 411 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 14 following: 15 ‘‘SEC. 106. RIGHT NOT TO SUBSIDIZE UNION NON- 16 REPRESENTATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 17 ‘‘No employee’s union dues, fees, or assessments or 18 other contributions shall be used or contributed to any 19 person, organization, or entity for any purpose not directly 20 related to the labor organization’s collective bargaining or 21 contract administration functions on behalf of the rep- 22 resented unit employee unless the employee member, or 23 nonmember required to make such payments as a condi- 24 tion of employment, authorizes such expenditure in writ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1855.IH H1855 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1855 IH ing, after a notice period of not less than 35 days. An 1 initial authorization provided by an employee under the 2 preceding sentence shall expire not later than 1 year after 3 the date on which such authorization is signed by the em- 4 ployee. There shall be no automatic renewal of an author- 5 ization under this section.’’. 6 (d) LIMITATIONS.—Section 101(a) of the Labor- 7 Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 8 U.S.C. 411(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 9 lowing: 10 ‘‘(6) LIMITATION.—No strike shall commence with- 11 out the consent of a majority of all represented unit em- 12 ployees affected, determined by a secret ballot vote con- 13 ducted by a neutral, private organization chosen by agree- 14 ment between the employer and the labor organization in- 15 volved. In any case in which the employer involved has 16 made an offer for a collective bargaining agreement, the 17 represented unit employees involved shall be provided the 18 opportunity for a secret ballot vote on such offer prior to 19 any vote relating to the commencement of a strike. The 20 cost of any such election shall be borne by the labor orga- 21 nization.’’. 22 (e) REPORTING BY LABOR ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 23 201(c) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclo- 24 sure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 431(c)) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1855.IH H1855 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1855 IH (1) by inserting ‘‘and the independently verified 1 annual audit report of the labor organization’s fi- 2 nancial condition and operations’’ after ‘‘required to 3 be contained in such report’’; 4 (2) by inserting ‘‘and represented unit nonmem- 5 bers’’ after ‘‘members’’; 6 (3) by inserting ‘‘and represented unit non- 7 member’’ after ‘‘any member’’; 8 (4) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘any books, 9 records,’’; and 10 (5) by inserting ‘‘, and independently verified 11 annual audit report of the labor organization’s fi- 12 nancial condition and operations’’ before ‘‘necessary 13 to verify such report.’’. 14 (f) ACTS OF VIOLENCE.—Section 610 of the Labor- 15 Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 16 U.S.C. 530) is amended— 17 (1) by striking ‘‘It shall’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) It 18 shall’’; and 19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(b) It shall be unlawful for any person, through the 21 use of force or violence, or threat of the use of force or 22 violence, to restrain, coerce, or intimidate, or attempt to 23 restrain, coerce, or intimidate any person for the purpose 24 of obtaining from any person any right to represent em- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1855.IH H1855 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1855 IH ployees or any compensation or other term or condition 1 of employment. Any person who willfully violates this sub- 2 section shall be fined not more than $100,000 or impris- 3 oned for not more than 10 years, or both. 4 ‘‘(c) The lawfulness of a labor organization’s objec- 5 tives shall not remove or exempt from the definition of 6 extortion conduct by the labor organization or its agents 7 that otherwise constitutes extortion as defined by section 8 1951(b)(2) of title 18, United States Code, from the defi- 9 nition of extortion.’’. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1855.IH H1855 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS