In his March 1, 2022 State of the Union Address, President Biden briefly touched upon a handful of employment reforms he is urging Congress to pass. This article is intended to help employers understand five of President Biden's remarks, summarize what those remarks referenced, and describe the status of potential legislation relating to them.
Let's pass the PRO Act
President Biden reiterated his support for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (the PRO Act). If enacted in its current form, the PRO Act would implement sweeping changes to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) intended to strengthen workers' rights to unionize and bargain collectively, including imposition of penalties against employers and executives who retaliate against workers who attempt to collectively bargain, broadening the definition of workers who qualify as "employees" under the NLRA according to the stringent "ABC Test" (currently used in California), and requiring mediation and arbitration in first contract negotiations if no agreement is reached in 90 days, just to list a few. Venable's overview of those provisions can be found here.
Status of Legislation: Following passage in the House of Representatives in March 2021, the PRO Act has remained stalled in the Senate.
Let's pass the Paycheck Fairness Act
President Biden urged Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which is aimed at closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA). The Fair Labor Standards Act already includes...
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