Restoring Worker Power Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7638 To establish certain employment protections for temporary workers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 16, 2020 Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Mr. CLEAVER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Re- form, the Judiciary, Veterans’ Affairs, Armed Services, Energy and Com- merce, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish certain employment protections for temporary workers, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Restoring Worker 4 Power Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7638.IH H7638 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7638 IH (1) CONVERSION FEE.—The term ‘‘conversion 1 fee’’ means a fee charged by a temporary staffing 2 agency to a host employer for hiring or directly em- 3 ploying a temporary worker for whom a contract for 4 work was effected by the temporary agency. 5 (2) HOST EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘host em- 6 ployer’’ means any person that contracts with a tem- 7 porary staffing agency to obtain temporary workers. 8 (3) NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENT.—The term 9 ‘‘non-competition agreement’’ means an agreement 10 between an employer and an employee or temporary 11 worker or otherwise arising out of an existing or an- 12 ticipated employment relationship under which the 13 employee, temporary worker, or expected employee 14 agrees that he or she will not engage in certain spec- 15 ified activities that are competitive with such em- 16 ployer during employment relationship or after the 17 employment relationship has ended. 18 (4) PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT.— 19 The term ‘‘predispute arbitration agreement’’ means 20 any agreement to arbitrate a dispute that had not 21 yet arisen at the time of the making of the agree- 22 ment. 23 (5) SAME OR SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR WORK.— 24 The term ‘‘same or substantially similar work’’, used 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7638.IH H7638 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7638 IH to compare the work of one individual to the work 1 of another individual, means that the work of each 2 individual— 3 (A) requires equivalent skill, effort, respon- 4 sibility, and authority; and 5 (B) is performed in similar conditions. 6 (6) TEMPORARY STAFFING AGENCY.—The term 7 ‘‘temporary staffing agency’’ means any entity en- 8 gaged in supplying temporary workers to perform 9 work, for a fee, for a host employer pursuant to an 10 agreement between the staffing agency and the host 11 employer. 12 (7) TEMPORARY WORK ASSIGNMENT.—The 13 term ‘‘temporary work assignment’’ means work ar- 14 ranged by a temporary staffing agency for the ben- 15 efit of a host employer and performed by a tem- 16 porary worker. 17 (8) TEMPORARY WORKER.—The term ‘‘tem- 18 porary worker’’ means any individual supplied by a 19 temporary staffing agency to perform work for one 20 or more host employers for any amount of time, re- 21 gardless of whether such individual is an employee 22 or independent contractor with respect to such tem- 23 porary staffing agency. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7638.IH H7638 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7638 IH SEC. 3. PROTECTIONS FOR TEMPORARY WORKERS. 1 (a) NOTICE OF WORK TO BE PERFORMED.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 48 hours be- 3 fore the date on which such temporary worker be- 4 gins a temporary work assignment for a host em- 5 ployer on behalf of the temporary staffing agency, a 6 temporary staffing agency shall provide notice in, 7 the temporary worker’s primary language, in accord- 8 ance with paragraph (2) to a temporary worker. 9 (2) NOTICE.—Notice under paragraph (1) shall 10 include— 11 (A) a description of the temporary work 12 assignment to be performed by the temporary 13 worker; 14 (B) the work hours and rate of wages for 15 such assignment; 16 (C) the name, worksite address, and con- 17 tact information of the host employer; 18 (D) any requirements unique to the tem- 19 porary work assignment that the temporary 20 worker will have to meet to perform the assign- 21 ment, including required clothing, equipment, 22 training, or licensing; 23 (E) any fees or charges to workers that 24 may be deducted from the pay of such tem- 25 porary worker including for transportation, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7638.IH H7638 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7638 IH meals, check cashing, clothing, tools, or safety 1 equipment; and 2 (F) the rate at which the temporary staff- 3 ing agency charges the host employer for the 4 labor or services of such temporary worker. 5 (b) PAYCHECK TRANSPARENCY.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date on 7 which a temporary staffing agency pays a temporary 8 worker, the temporary staffing agency shall provide 9 such temporary worker a statement of wages in ac- 10 cordance with paragraph (2). 11 (2) STATEMENT OF WAGES.—A statement of 12 wages under paragraph (1) shall include, with re- 13 spect to the work for which the temporary staffing 14 agency is paying the temporary worker— 15 (A) an itemized statement of wages, in- 16 cluding the wage rate and the number of hours 17 worked for each host employer, and each deduc- 18 tion from such wages and the reason for such 19 deduction; and 20 (B) the hourly rate at which each host em- 21 ployer pays the temporary staffing agency for 22 the labor or services of such temporary worker. 23 (c) DRUG TESTING AND BACKGROUND CHECKS.—A 24 temporary staffing agency may not require a temporary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7638.IH H7638 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7638 IH worker to pay for a drug test or background check that 1 is required for the performance of a temporary work as- 2 signment or deduct the cost of such drug test or back- 3 ground check from the pay of such temporary worker and 4 affording the temporary worker the opportunity to decline 5 such assignment. 6 (d) TRAVEL TIME.—A temporary staffing agency 7 shall pay a temporary laborer, with respect to a temporary 8 labor assignment at a wage rate that is equal to the con- 9 tracted hourly wage rate for the temporary labor assign- 10 ment for the time during which the temporary laborer is 11 required to commute between— 12 (1) the temporary staffing agency and the work 13 site of the host employer; and 14 (2) work sites of one or more host employers. 15 (e) RIGHT TO REFUSE STRIKEBREAKING ASSIGN- 16 MENTS.—No temporary staffing agency may assign a tem- 17 porary worker a temporary work assignment with a host 18 employer whose employees are, on the date of assignment, 19 engaged in a strike, a lockout, or other work stoppage of 20 any kind without notifying the temporary work of this fact 21 and affording the temporary worker the opportunity to de- 22 cline such assignment. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7638.IH H7638 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7638 IH (f) LIABILITY.—Any temporary staffing agency who 1 violates this section shall be liable to any temporary work- 2 er for damages equal to the sum of— 3 (1) lost wages of the temporary worker; 4 (2) liquidated damages, equal to the amount 5 that is 2 times the amount described in paragraph 6 (1); and 7 (3) an amount equal to— 8 (A) $100 for each of the first 10 violations 9 of this section with respect to an temporary 10 worker; and 11 (B) $250 for each such violation there- 12 after. 13 SEC. 4. EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK. 14 (a) EQUAL PAY.—A temporary staff agency or host 15 employer, whichever is responsible for payment of the tem- 16 porary worker, shall pay the temporary worker at a rate 17 that is not less than the same average starting wage rate 18 of a permanent employee of the host employer who per- 19 forms the same or substantially similar work as the tem- 20 porary worker. 21 (b) PROHIBITION.—No temporary staffing agency or 22 host employer may lower the wage of any individual in 23 order to comply with this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7638.IH H7638 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7638 IH (c) PENALTY.—Any temporary staffing agency that 1 violates this section with respect to a temporary worker 2 shall be liable to such temporary worker for an amount 3 equal to the sum of— 4 (1) the amount that equal to the difference be- 5 tween— 6 (A) the amount that such temporary work- 7 er was entitled to under subsection (a) during 8 the period with respect to which the violation 9 occurred; and 10 (B) the amount that such temporary work- 11 er was paid for such period; and 12 (2)(A) $100 for the first 10 violations of this 13 section with respect to such temporary worker; or 14 (B) $250 for each such violation thereafter. 15 (d) COMMUNICATION REQUIREMENT.—The tem- 16 porary staffing agency and host employer shall commu- 17 nicate as necessary in order to implement this section. 18 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON FORCED ARBITRATION. 19 Notwithstanding any provision of title 9 of the United 20 States Code, no predispute arbitration agreement shall be 21 valid or enforceable with respect to an employment dispute 22 between a temporary worker and a temporary staffing 23 agency or a host employer. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7638.IH H7638 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7638 IH SEC. 6. SAFETY AND HEALTH PROVISIONS. 1 (a) TRAINING; DOCUMENTATION; HAZARD ANAL- 2 YSIS.—Not later than 24 hours before the date on which 3 a temporary worker begins a temporary work assignment 4 for a host employer on behalf of a temporary staffing 5 agency, the temporary staffing agency shall provide— 6 (1) to the temporary worker— 7 (A) general safety training and training 8 with respect to the job-specific hazards based 9 upon the job hazards analysis under subpara- 10 graph (B)(ii) if such agency possesses or should 11 possess such expertise; 12 (B) a document, signed by the temporary 13 staffing agency and the host employer, con- 14 taining— 15 (i) description of the safety and health 16 responsibilities of each the temporary staff- 17 ing agency and the host employer, with re- 18 spect to protecting the safety and health of 19 the temporary worker, including— 20 (I) the party responsible for pro- 21 viding and maintaining protective 22 equipment; 23 (II) the process by which the 24 temporary worker should report an in- 25 jury; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7638.IH H7638 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7638 IH (III) the party responsible for 1 providing first aid and medical treat- 2 ment to injured workers; and 3 (IV) the name, address, and 4 phone number of the workers’ com- 5 pensation insurance carrier that pro- 6 vides coverage to the temporary work- 7 er; and 8 (ii) the results of a job hazard anal- 9 ysis, conducted by the host employer; 10 (2) to the host employer a document containing 11 a description of the training and competencies of the 12 temporary worker that are related to the temporary 13 work assignment. 14 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF HOST EMPLOYERS.—Each 15 host employer shall do the following: 16 (1) Not later than 48 hours before a temporary 17 worker begins a temporary work assignment with 18 the host employer, perform a job hazard analysis for 19 each job that the temporary worker may foreseeably 20 perform which shall include a review of— 21 (A) all foreseeable hazards to the tem- 22 porary worker; 23 (B) the safety equipment required to pre- 24 vent injury or illness; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7638.IH H7638 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7638 IH (C) the training required to prevent injury 1 or illness; and 2 (D) the results of the job hazard analysis 3 under subsection (b)(1). 4 (2) Not later than 48 hours after a temporary 5 worker begins a temporary work assignment for the 6 host employer, provide the same mandatory training 7 health and safety training to temporary workers as 8 an employee of the host employer performing the 9 same or substantially similar work. 10 (3) Include temporary workers in all health and 11 safety meetings, evaluations, and distributions for 12 information pertaining to health and safety as made 13 available to employees of the employer during the 14 period of the temporary work assignment. 15 (4) Inform the temporary staffing agency of 16 any job-related injuries or illnesses sustained by the 17 temporary worker not later than 24 hours after such 18 injury or illness is made known to the host employer. 19 SEC. 7. PERMANENT WORK OPPORTUNITIES. 20 (a) PROHIBITION ON NON-COMPETE AGREE- 21 MENTS.—No temporary staffing agency shall enter into, 22 enforce, or threaten to enforce a non-competition agree- 23 ment for a temporary worker with a temporary worker or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Aug 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7638.IH H7638 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7638 IH any third party that limits the temporary worker’s ability 1 to seek other job opportunities. 2 (b) PROHIBITION ON CONVERSION FEES.—No tem- 3 porary staffing agency may charge a conversion fee with 4 respect to a temporary worker if such temporary worker, 5 before being hired by the host employer, worked for such 6 host employer for a period of 60 days or more. 7 SEC. 8. TEMPORARY STAFFING AGENCY RECORDKEEPING. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon assigning a temporary 9 worker to a host employer for a temporary work assign- 10 ment, a temporary staffing agency shall keep the following 11 records relating to such assignment: 12 (1) HOST EMPLOYER INFORMATION.— 13 (A) The name, address, and telephone 14 number of the host employer. 15 (B) The specific location of each worksite 16 to which the temporary workers were sent. 17 (C) The date of [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]