Punching In: Democrats Want to Supercharge Employer Penalties

Monday morning musings for workplace watchers

Democrats Push Higher Fines for Employers | States Raise Alarms Over Silicosis

Programming note: This is the last edition of Punching In for 2025. We will return in 2026 with more labor and employment law news.

Parker Purifoy: A group of influential House Democrats want to dramatically increase penalties for companies that break federal employment laws, saying current rules fall short in protecting workers.

The Congressional Labor Caucus recently introduced the Labor Enforcement to Securely Protect Workers Act, which would significantly increase monetary fines for violations of child labor, wage and hour, health and safety, and farmworker protection laws.

It would also introduce new penalties for violations of the National Labor Relations Act. The fines could reach $50,000 for every unfair labor practice that includes discriminating against a worker for their union position or opinions, firing an employee over their organizing activities, permanently replacing striking workers, or any other violation that results in discharge or “serious economic harm” to an employee.

It’s unlikely the bill will gain traction while Republicans retain control over Congress but it represents a wishlist for Democrats to boost union power and worker rights if they regain the majority after next year’s midterm elections.

“Every American should be fairly compensated and be able to return home safely at the end of the day,” said Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. “Unfortunately, shortcomings in our labor laws enable unethical employers to exploit workers, endanger children, and suppress the right to organize—with little accountability.”

Fines would double for repeat offenders within the past five years. The National Labor Relations Board is currently not allowed to levy monetary penalties against violators of the law and attempts to ramp up compensatory damages have been rebuffed by appellate courts.

The proposed changes are similar to those raised by the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which was first introduced in 2019 but died in the Senate.

Lawmakers have introduced several pieces of legislation that would institute deadlines for newly-unionized companies to bargain with their workers, and require the NLRB to be bound by appellate court rulings.

The LETS Protect Workers Act is endorsed by several unions including the Service Employees International Union, the United Steelworkers, and the United Auto Workers.

Under the legislation, child labor violations could result in fines of up to $150,000 per worker and up to $700,000 when that violation results in the death or serious injury to a child. Wage and hour penalties would rise to $25,000 or $50,000 if it’s a repeat violation.

Worker safety fines would also more than quadruple under the proposed text of the bill and would go towards funding black lung benefits for workers.

Rep. Bobby Scott speaks at a rally in Washington, DC

Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Legal Defense Fund

Tre’Vaughn Howard: An uptick in cases of the lung disease silicosis from engineered stone will push states to more-strongly enforce new requirements for employers to protect workers against exposure to dangerous dust, legal observers say.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health recently urged employers in the stone countertop fabrication industry to protect workers from silica dust exposure, after confirming its first case of silicosis and noting more unconfirmed cases likely exist in the state.

Notably, California earlier this year adopted an emergency standard covering manufacturers that cut and grind man-made engineered stone and natural stone, aiming to protect workers from inhaling toxic silica dust. Those particles can accumulate in the lungs and cause inflammation and scarring that lead to silicosis, a potentially fatal lung disease that makes it impossible for victims to breathe.

“We are seeing it being tackled from several angles—California Department of Public Health, Cal/OSHA, and state legislature, but enforcement continues to be the ultimate challenge,” said Rachel Conn, chair of Conn Maciel Carey’s California Practice.

California has only been able to inspect 120 facilities, Conn noted. Cal/OSHA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on its enforcement.

The state made its emergency standard permanent earlier this year over concerns of increased cases of silicosis around engineered stone—predominantly among Hispanic immigrant workers—and a lack of compliance with existing regulation.

Engineered stone is made of finely ground rock bound together by resin, and has a higher silica content than quarried stone such as granite.

California’s rule expanded requirements for worker training, monitoring and reporting, and the written exposure control plan that includes medical surveillance of workers’ health.

The first case of silicosis was identified in Texas in 2014, and other states have reported hundreds of cases and dozens of deaths particularly in California, according to MDPH. The long latency period between silica exposure and the development of silicosis adds to the challenges public officials face in tracking and addressing ways to combat the fatal disease.

Australia implemented the first ban on the use, supply, and manufacturing of engineered stone because its silica content is so high that it’s inherently hazardous, according to Gregory Wagner, who led efforts against silicosis during his time as deputy assistant secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration in the Obama administration.

Employers should have adequate ventilation and dust collection, and should wet down the countertops in order to prevent dust from going in the air, Wagner noted.

“My expectation is that most employers who are working with this really aren’t aware of it, they don’t want their workers to get sick, but this is what could happen,” said Wagner.

While the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration has a specific standard for respirable crystalline silica, the agency in recent years has sought to improve its targeting methods for manufacturing facilities by looking across the supply chain.

OSHA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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