Labor, Employment, Immigration Devlopments

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Labor, Employment, and Immigration Developments Randel K. Johnson Vice President, Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits U.S. Chamber of Commerce

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Labor,Employment,andImmigration Developments RandelK.Johnson VicePresident,Labor,Immigration,andEmployeeBenefits U.S.ChamberofCommerce •GeraldMcEntee,President,AmericanFederationofState,CountyandMunicipal Employees:“2008isadefiningelection,markingouropportunitynotjusttoelect RepresentativesintheHouse,theSenate,anewPresident,butalsoa chancetomakechangetopoliticallandscapeinthiscountryfordecades tocome…We’regoingforthetrifeca:theHouse,theSenate,andthe WhiteHouse.” 2 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 5.0

Transcript of Labor, Employment, Immigration Devlopments

Page 1: Labor, Employment, Immigration Devlopments

Labor, Employment, and ImmigrationDevelopments

Randel K. Johnson

Vice President, Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

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What are Union Leaders Saying?

•John Sweeney, President, AFL-CIO: “Whatever happened to the promise of abetter America? What happened was that the Bush administration—with the supportof Senator McCain – broke that promise, undermined our values and turned oureconomy into a threshing machine for big business.”

•John Sweeney, President, AFL-CIO: “It is important to know that we are united inour determination to turning around America. And by united, I mean all of us, theAFL-CIO, the NEA, Change to Win 17 million members, 38 million potential voters inunion households.”

•Andy Stern, President, SEIU: “Any Democrat—or Republican—who said they weregoing to support us on health care or free choice and turns against us is going topaint a target on their backs. We’re not going to just win this election and hopeBarack Obama does well. People want something to happen.”

•Gerald McEntee, President, American Federation of State, County and MunicipalEmployees: “2008 is a defining election, marking our opportunity not just to electRepresentatives in the House, the Senate, a new President, but also achance to make change to political landscape in this country for decadesto come…We’re going for the trifeca: the House, the Senate, and theWhite House.”

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Union Membership 1948 – 2006As A Percentage of the Private Sector

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

1948 1958 1968 1978 1988 1998 2005

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Political Spending

• According to the Center for Responsive Politics, in the past two elections, in2004, and in 2006, unions spent a combined $561 million, up from the $381million spent on the previous two campaigns. In addition, unions spent $70.3million on getting out the vote efforts in 2004 and 2006, up from $28.8 millionin the two previous election cycles.

• During the 2008 election cycle, the AFL-CIO has declared that they will spend anestimated $200 million, including $53 million devoted to grass-roots mobilizationand the Change to Win Federation (a consortium of unions including the ServiceEmployees International Union) has stated that they will spend $100 million.

• The AFL-CIO plans to mobilize more than 13 million union voters in 24 prioritystates on behalf of Senator Obama (D-IL), as well as to help elect U.S. senatorsand representatives and state and local candidates who support workingfamilies’ issues.

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Sample of Employment Legislation Introduced-110th Congress

• The Employee Free Choice Act

• The “RESPECT” Act

• Repeal Section 14 (b) of the Labor-Management Relations Act

• The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007/ The Fair Pay Restoration Act

• The ADA Restoration Act of 2007/The ADA Amendments Act of 2008

• The Forewarn Act of 2007/ The Early Warning and Health Care for Workers Affected byGlobalization Act

• The Healthy Families Act

• The Working Families Flexibility Act

• Family and Medical Leave Act Expansion/The Family Friendly Workplace Act

• The Paycheck Fairness Act

• The Protecting America’s Worker Act

• The Nurse and Patient Safety & Protection Act of 2007 (ergonomics reg.)

• The Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act

• The Supplemental Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act

• The Combustible Dust and Fire Prevention Act of 2008

• The Private Whistleblower Streamlining Act of 2007

• The Patriot Employers Act

• The Honest Leadership and Accountability in Contracting Act of 2007

• The Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act of 2007

• The Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2007

• The Civil Rights Act of 2008

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The “Employee Free Choice Act”(H.R. 800/S.1041)

The bill introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) would:

• Allow unions to be recognized if a majority of employees in a bargaining unitsigned authorization cards, thus eliminating the right of the employer to callfor a secret ballot election.

• Force contract negotiations into government-imposed binding arbitration ifthe employer fails to agree on a contract with a newly formed union within120 days.

• Impose stiffer penalties on employers, but not on unions, for violations.

Status: On March 1, 2007, the House passed the bill by a vote of 241-185. On June

26, 2007, the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the bill by a vote of 51-48.

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Union Organizing: Current Law

Paid unionorganizers

collectsignatures

NLRBreviewssigned

cards andscheduleselection

NLRBconductssecret-ballot

elections

NLRBcountsballots,majority

rules

Ifmajorityvote fora union,

then . . .

Employermust

recognizeunion as legalrepresentativeand bargain

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“Employee Free Choice Act”

Paid unionorganizers

collectsignatures

NLRBreviewssigned

cards andscheduleselection

NLRBconductssecret-ballot

elections

NLRBcountsballots,majority

rules

Ifmajorityvote fora union,

then . . .

Employermust

recognizeunion as legalrepresentativeand bargain

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Current Law: Collective Bargaining

• Bargaining in good faith required

• Each party free to determine whether proposals are acceptable

• Broad NLRB authority to remedy bad-faith bargaining

• Union leverage includes strikes

• Workers typically can vote on the contract

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“Employee Free Choice Act”

• Mandatory government interest arbitration of first contracts

– Unreasonably short time periods

• Mediation after 90 days

• Arbitration after 30 days mediation

– Government sets contract terms

• Employer and union need not agree

• Workers need not agree (no contract vote)

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EFCA Increases Damages on Employers, butnot on Unions

Treble Damages Back Pay

Back pay shall be awarded and fees for two times the back pay amount shall be awardedas liquidated damages when an employer has discriminated against an employee inviolation of § 8(a)(3) (hiring/firing because of union activity) when employees wereseeking representation or during the period after a labor organization was recognizeduntil the final contract.

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EFCA Increases Damages on Employers, butnot on Unions--II

Civil Penalties

An employer who willfully and repeatedly commits any unfair labor practice within themeaning of § 8(a)(1) (interfering with organizing) or (3) (hiring or firing) whileemployees are seeking representation by a labor organization or during the period afterrecognition until the final contract is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $20,000 for

each violation.

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EFCA Increases Damages on Employers, butnot on Unions--III

Injunctive Relief

Where it is charged that an employer discharged an employee in violation of §8(a)(3)(hiring or firing for union activity) or threatened to discharge an employee or otherwisethreatened an employee in violation of §8(a)(1) (interfering with organizing) or engagedin any other unfair labor practice within the meaning of §8(a)(1) while employees wereseeking representation by a labor organization or during the period after recognitionuntil the final contract, the NLRB must seek an injunction.

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Court Decisions on Employee Free Choice• “Workers sometimes sign union authorization cards not because they intend to vote

for the union in the election but to avoid offending the person who asks them to sign,often a fellow worker, or simply to get the person off their back.” NLRB v. Village IX,Inc., 723 F.2d 1360, 1371 (7th Cir. 1983)

• “On the contrary, both the Board and courts have long recognized that the freedom ofchoice guaranteed employees by Section 7 is better realized by a secret election thana card check majority.” Dana Corp., 351 NLRB No. 28 (2007)

• “It would be difficult to imagine a more unreliable method of ascertaining the realwishes of employees than a ‘card check’ unless it were an employer’s request for anopen show of hands. The one is no more reliable than the other...Overwhelmingmajorities of cards may indicate the probable outcome of an election, but it is no morethan an indication, and close card majorities prove nothing.” NLRB v. S.S. LoganPacking Co., 386 F.2d 562, 565 (4th Cir. 1967)

• “The National Labor Relations Act establishes an electoral apparatus to beadministered by the Board because formal elections with secret ballots

best express employees’ free choice.” Transportation Maintenance Services

v. NLRB, 275 F.3d 112, 114 (D.C. Cir. 2002)

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Polling

• Every worker should have the right to a federally supervised secret ballot electionwhen deciding whether or not to organize a union

– Agree:87%

– Disagree: 9%

• Every worker should have the right to a federally supervised secret ballot electionwhen deciding whether or not to organize a union

– Agree:90%

– Disagree: 7%

• There is a bill in Congress that would replace a federally supervised secret ballotelection with a process that requires a majority of workers to simply sign a card toauthorize organizing a union and the workers signatures would be made public totheir employer, the union organizers, and their co-workers…

– Support:14%

– Oppose: 79%

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Polling (Cont.)

• Would you be more or less likely to vote for a Member of Congress who voted infavor of taking away a worker’s right to have a federally supervised secret ballotelection to decide whether to organize a union?

– More likely: 8%

– Less likely: 70%

• Would you be more or less likely to vote for a Member of Congress who voted infavor of taking away a worker’s right to have a federally supervised secret ballotelection to decide whether to organize a union? (Union Households Only)

– More likely: 8%

– Less likely: 75%

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EFCA- Remarks by George McGovern

In an editorial published in the Wall Street Journal on August 8, 2008, former

senator and presidential candidate George McGovern wrote:

• “As a longtime friend of labor unions, I must raise my voice against pendinglegislation I see as a disturbing undemocratic overreach not in the interest ofeither management or labor. That legislation is called the Employee Free ChoiceAct, and I am sad to say it runs counter to ideals that were once at the core ofthe labor movement…Under EFCA, workers would lose the freedom to expresstheir will in private, the right to make a decision without anyone peering overtheir shoulder, free from fear of reprisal.”

• “I worry that there has been too little discussion about EFCA’s trueramifications, and I think much of the congressional support is based on adesire to give our friends among union leaders what they want. But part ofbeing a good steward of democracy means telling our friends ‘no’ when theypress for a course that in the long run may weaken labor and disrupt a tried andtrusted method for conducting honest elections.”

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What the Editorial Boards are Saying about EFCA

• “Unions once supported the secret ballot for organization elections. They wereright then and are wrong now.” (The Los Angeles Times, 03/01/07)

• “The unions aren’t asking for fair play here. They want to corner the market onbullying.” (St. Petersburg Times, 02/28/07)

• “A secret-ballot election allows the employee to make an uncoerced choice, andit should be reserved.” (Chicago Tribune, 03/06/07)

• “By the way, the bill would preserve secret-ballot elections when a union is tobe decertified. How’s that for fairness?” (The Oklahoman, 02/20/07)

• “In fact, the Employee Free Choice Act’s ‘card check’ would do more than put anend to secret ballot for workers. It would in some sense disenfranchise manypeople in their workplace’s decision to unionize.”

(The Oregonian, 09/24/08)

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AFL-CIO EFCA Campaign

• The AFL-CIO Executive Council has adopted a plan to recruit 10 percent of themember of its affiliates (approximately 1 million unit members), to sign cards, e-mails, and faxes urging the 111th Congress and the next President to enact theEmployee Free Choice Act into law.

• A policy statement adopted by the Council stated that during the 2008 elections,affiliated unions will come to the assistance of incumbents who have supportedthe legislation; champion congressional challengers who demonstrate theircommitment to passage of the Act, and conduct a public educational campaignin all 50 states.

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SEIU’s “Justice for All” Campaign

• The SEIU has adopted the “Justice for All” campaign, which calls for theexpenditure of some $150 million and mobilization of tens of thousands ofmembers before, during, and after the national elections this fall to elect “pro-worker” politicians and to hold them accountable.

• SEIU’s political program calls for electing a “pro-worker” president and enoughmembers of the Senate to have 60 or more votes in order to pass key legislativemeasures such as universal health care, and the Employee Free Choice Act.

• The plan calls for 3 percent of local union members to be member volunteers in2008 and 2009, increasing that percentage to 6 percent in 2010 and 2011, and10 percent in 2012. The plan also sets a goal of having 0.5 percent of localunion members as member political organizers this election cycle and increasingit to 2 percent by 2012.

• As part of the plan, the union will commit at least $10 million after

the election to ensure that politicians who receive SEIU’s support do

not renege on their campaign promises made to the union.

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Other Union Activities-EFCA

• On February 6, 2008, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) stated at a United AutoWorkers legislative conference that the bill is being blocked by Republicanlawmakers, and declared: “We’re going to bring it back again and again, untilwe prevail. And I guarantee this: we get a Democrat in the White House and theEmployee Free Choice Act will be the law of the land.”

• On March 26, 2008, four unions-the Communications Workers of America, theInternational Federation of Professionals and Technical Engineers, the UnitedAuto Workers and the United Steelworkers announced that they would form anew strategic alliance with the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act as oneof their top priorities. In a joint statement, the unions said passage of theEmployee Free Choice Act “is within our reach.”

• On April 8, 2008, at the legislative-political conference of the CommunicationWorkers of America, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) stated that if electedPresident, she would call on Congress to pass the legislation within the first 100days. Similarly, Presidential candidate Sen. Obama (D-IL) predicted

that “we’re going to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.”

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Chamber Grassroots

The Chamber launched the largest grassroots campaign ever arguing against

passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Specifically, the Chamber:

• Sent 20,832 e-mails and letters

• Placed 4,116 petition signatures

• Made 5,739 phone calls

• Aired radio advertisements opposing the Employee Free Choice Act in 51Congressional Districts (targeting 29 Democrats and 22 Republicans).

In addition:

• Ads were placed on websites including the Drudge Report, Fox News, Red State,and Town Hall.

• There were 37,248 total contacts with the Hill-this represents a grassrootsefforts 7 times larger than any previous grassroots campaign.

• Through the Federation program, mobilized 55 Chambers (20,329 members).

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Coalition (CDW) Print Ad

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US Chamber-Radio Ad

Pre-vote supporter, Rep. Baron Hill

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The “RESPECT Act”(H.R. 1644/S. 969)

The bill introduced by Reps. Rob Andrews (D-NJ), Don Young (R-AK) and Sen.

Dodd (D-CT) would:

• Amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by deleting the words,“assign” and “responsibility to direct” from the NLRA’s definition ofsupervisor.

• Reverse a series of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decisions, knownas the Oakwood cases, that clarified the definition of which employees are“supervisors” and therefore exempt from collective bargaining laws.

• Require that, to be classified as a supervisor, an employee must spend themajority of his or her work time performing supervisory duties.

Status: H.R. 1644 passed the House Education and Labor Committee, on a 26-20

party line vote. The bill is currently awaiting action before the House.

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H.R. 6477-Repeal of Right to Work Law

The bill sponsored by Rep. Sherman (D-CA) would:

• Prohibit states from enacting “right to work” laws- Repeal Section 14 (b) of theLabor-Management Relations Act.

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The “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007”/ The“Fair Pay Restoration Act”

(H.R. 2831/S. 1843)

The House bill introduced by Rep. Miller (D-CA) and the Senate bill introduced by

Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) would:

• Amend Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination inEmployment Act, the American With Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Actto impose a new “paycheck rule.”

• Effectively eliminate the statute of limitations period.

• Expand the class of people who could sue by allowing anyone who was“affected” by the alleged improper action to sue.

• Apply to both intentional discrimination, and disparate impact claims.

Status: On July 31, 2007, the House passed H.R. 2831 by a vote of

225-199. On April 23, 2008, the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the bill

by a vote of 56-42.

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The “ADA Restoration Act of 2007”(H.R. 3195/S.1881)

The bill sponsored by Reps. Hoyer (D-MD), Sensenbrenner (R-WI), and Senators

Harkin (D-IA) and Specter (R-PA) would:

• Broaden the scope of the American With Disabilities Act (ADA) by eliminatingthe requirement that an impairment substantially limit a major life activity.

• Expand coverage to those who have impairments that are correctable, whenmitigating measures are taken into account.

• Shift the burden to employers to prove individuals are not qualified to perform ajob.

• Attempt to require courts to broadly construe its provisions and provideexcessive deference to the EEOC.

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The “ADA Amendments Act of 2008”(H.R. 3195/S.3406)

The bill sponsored by Reps. Hoyer (D-MD),and Sensenbrenner (R-WI) would:

• Retain the requirement that an individual’s impairment substantially limits a major lifeactivity in order to be considered a disability and an individual must demonstrate thathe or she is qualified for the position.

• Overturn Supreme Court decisions to provide that people with disabilities not losetheir coverage under the ADA simply because their condition is treatable withmedication or can be addressed with the help of assistive technology. Eyeglasseswould not be considered a mitigating measure.

• Include a “Regarded As” prong as part of the definition of disability which coverssituations where an employee is discriminated against because of his or her actual orperceived impairment. Minor conditions lasting less than six months would notcovered under this prong.

• Accommodations do not need to be made to someone who is disabled

because he or she is “regarded as” disabled.

Status: On September 25, 2008, President Bush signed the bill into law.

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Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification(WARN) Act Expansion

The “Forewarn Act of 2007” (S.1792), introduced by Sen. Brown (D-OH)/ “EarlyWarning and Health Care for Workers Affected by Globalization Act” (H.R.3796), introduced by Rep. Miller (D-CA)

• Both bills would lower the threshold so that more small businesses are covered,change the definition of “mass layoff” and plant closing”, increase the noticeperiod from 60 to 90 days, double existing damages, and provide forgovernment enforcement. In addition, the House bill includes a significantexpansion of COBRA coverage to those eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance.

Status: On October 31, 2007, the House included most of the provisions of the

Committee-passed WARN Act expansion in legislation expanding Trade Adjustment

Assistance. The bill passed by a vote of 264-157.

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The “Healthy Families Act”(H.R. 1542/S.910)

The bill introduced by Rep. DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) would:

• Require employers with 15 or more employees who work 30 or more hours aweek to provide seven paid sick days to care for themselves and their family’smedical needs, and pro-rated coverage for part-time employees.

• Create a right of private action for employees (or their representatives) to suetheir employer.

• Require employers to provide this leave in addition to their current paid sickleave policies.

• Create a benefit that could be used for an employee’s sickness or sickness ofchild, parent, family member or anyone “whose close association with theemployee is the equivalent of a family relationship.”

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The “Working Families Flexibility Act”(H.R. 4301/S.2419)

The bill introduced by Rep. Maloney (D-NY) and Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) would:

• Provide that when an employer denies an employee’s request regarding achange in working conditions, the employee may pursue a series of meetings,Department of Labor inquiries, Administrative Law Judge hearings, andultimately, federal court challenges.

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Family and Medical Leave Act Expansion

Democrats in Congress would like to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act by:

• Lowering the threshold for the size of companies covered from 50 or moreemployees to 25 or more employees, and making part-time employees eligiblefor leave.

• Providing for eight weeks of paid family and medical leave to private and federalemployees who take time off for reasons permitted by the Act.

• Adding domestic violence as an additional category of leave, and allowingemployees covered by the FMLA and federal civil service law to take additionalleave for parental activities related to their children’s educational orextracurricular activities.

• Creating a grant program to support income replacement to either new

parents or eligible individuals responding to family care giving needs.

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The “Family-Friendly Workplace Act” (H.R. 6025)

The bill sponsored by Representative McMorris Rodgers (R-WA):

• Would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to permit the use of “comp time” inthe private sector.

• Would give employers the option of offering employees the choice of paid timeoff for overtime hours worked hours worked if the employee prefers to takecompensatory time instead of overtime-pay. This comp-time could be used forcare-taking or any other purpose, including vacation.

• Specifies that an employee may withdraw from a compensatory time agreementwith the employer at any time, and participation in a “comp time” programrather than receipt of cash wages can not be made a condition of employment.In addition, an employee may request, in writing, at any time, to be paid cashwages for accrued, unused compensatory time.

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The “Paycheck Fairness Act”(H.R. 1338/S. 766)

The House-passed bill would:

• Permit unlimited punitive and compensatory damages to be awarded, and makeit easier to bring class action suits.

• Significantly limit defenses to Equal Pay Act claims.

• Make it a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit employees fromsharing salary information.

• Re-impose the discredited Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs(OFCCP) Equal Opportunity survey and force the OFCCP to use dubiousstatistical methods in investigating systemic compensation discrimination.

Status: On July 31, 2008, the House passed the bill by a vote of

247-178. Senator Clinton (D-NY) has proposed a similar bill in the

Senate.

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The “Protecting America’s Worker Act”(H.R. 2049/S. 1244)

The bill introduced by Senators Kennedy (D-MA), Murray (D-WA) and Reps. George

Miller (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) would:

• Increase both civil and criminal penalties: The minimum civil penalty for a willfulviolation currently set at $5,000 would increase to $7,000 and the maximum civilpenalty of $70,000 would be raised to $100,000. In addition, the bill would create anew penalty structure where civil penalties would range from a minimum of $50,000to a maximum of $250,000 for a worker’s death caused by a willful violation.

• Remove the requirement for a workplace death to occur before criminal penalties canattach, and provide for felony charges for an employer’s repeated and willfulviolations that result in a worker’s death or serious injury. Upon conviction, criminalpenalties currently set at a minimum of six months would increase to ten years for afirst offense, and from a minimum of one year to twenty years for any repeatedoffenses, if a worker dies as the result of willful safety and health violations, and newfelony charges of a minimum sentence of five years for a first conviction and

at least ten years for any repeated offenses, would be imposed if an

employer’s willful violation results in serious bodily injury to an employee.

• Create a right of workplace accident victims to be heard during the investigation.

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“Nurse and Patient Safety & Protection Act of2007”

(H.R. 378)

The bill introduced by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) would:

• Direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a newergonomics regulation that would eliminate manual lifting of patients by nursesand other health care providers involved in handling patients, and require theuse of mechanical devices. The only exception to this requirement would be anational emergency.

• Create a private right of action allowing employees to sue their employer if theyhave been “discharged, discriminated, or retaliated against” for asserting rightsdescribed in the bill.

• Allow an employee to refuse an assignment if they believe that the employer

has not complied with the standard required in the bill.

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Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) Bills

These OSHA bills would all discard the normal rulemaking process:

• The “Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act” (H.R. 2693) would requireOSHA to issue an interim final standard governing exposure to diacetyl (artificialbutter flavoring often used in microwave popcorn) and a final rule, which wouldinclude a Permissible Exposure Limit, notwithstanding the current absence ofsufficient data to establish such a limit. On September 26, 2007, the Housepassed H.R. 2693 by a vote of 260-154.

• The “Supplemental Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act”(H.R. 2768) would require the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) toissue as Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) National Institute for OccupationalSafety and Health (NIOSH) Recommended Exposure Limits (RELs) for chemicalsand other hazards to miners with no ability for those companies affected tocomment or review. On January 16, 2008, the House passed H.R. 2768 by avote of 214-199.

• The “Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Prevention Act of 2008”

(H.R. 5522) would require OSHA to issue an interim final standard oncombustible dust within 90 days of enactment, followed by a final standardwithin 18 months. On April 30, 2008, the House passed H.R. 5522 by a vote of247-165.

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The “Private Whistleblower Streamlining Act of2007”

(H.R. 4047)

The bill introduced by Reps. Woolsey (D-CA) and Milller (D-CA) would:

• Extend whistleblower protections for employees who report violations ofnumerous laws, including any federal law, rule or regulation, or the state orlocal implementation of a federal law governing working conditions and benefits.

• Provide preliminary re-instatement to employees who are fired.

• Permit unlimited compensatory and punitive damages.

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The “Patriot Employers Act” (S.1945 )

The bill sponsored by Senator Durbin (D-IL) would:

• Designate certain companies as “patriot employers” and make them eligible for preferentialtax treatment.

These “Patriot Employers” would, among other things:

• “Pay at least 60 percent of each employee’s health care premiums.”

• Have a position of “neutrality in employee organizing drives.”

• “Maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in the United States relative to thenumber of full-time workers outside the United States.”

• Pay a salary, to each employee “not less than an amount equal to the federal poverty level”and

• Provide a pension plan.

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Blacklisting Legislation

• Sen. Dorgan (D-ND) has included a blacklisting provision in S. 606, the

“Honest Leadership and Accountability in Contracting Act of 2007”,

which would consider a contractor’s record unsatisfactory if the

contractor has a pattern of failing to comply with tax, labor, and employment,environmental, antitrust, and consumer protection laws.

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The “Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act”(H.R. 493/S. 358)

The bill introduced by Rep. Slaughter (D-NY) and Sen. Snowe (R-ME):

• Would bar employers and insurance companies from discriminating based ongenetic information and it would also set up a new regime governing privacy ofmedical information.

• Would change how employers use and process health care information.

• Could lead to unfounded litigation with punitive and compensatory damages.

• Does not recognize the challenge employers face in complying with thepatchwork of state laws on medical information and genetic nondiscrimination.

Status: On May 21, 2008, President Bush signed the bill into law.