Punching In: Senate HELP Chair Cassidy Floats Labor Law Overhaul

Monday morning musings for workplace watchers

New Labor Legislation | Jobless Aid Interruptions

Ian Kullgren: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) released Monday morning a sweeping package of bills that would fundamentally change the last eight decades of US labor law. In an interview in his office Friday, the HELP Committee chairman told reporters he’s aiming for a balanced set of reforms that both parties would agree to—though that’s a long way away.

But before that piece of the puzzle is discussed, here’s what the legislation would do:

Under the NLRB Stability Act, the board would be bound to court precedent, ending partisan flip-flopping and limiting its autonomy.

The Workers RESULTS Act would:

• Require secret ballot elections, eliminating card-check elections.
• Require two-thirds of workplace support to hold an election, compared to the current 30%.
• Make it so that decertification campaigns couldn’t happen until after a first contract is reached. Currently, decertification campaigns can start a year after a union victory. The bill would remove the incentive for employers to stall negotiations, Cassidy said.
• Expand the decertification window from 30 to 90 days once every two years.

The Fairness in Filing Act would require parties bringing unfair labor practice charges to present evidence of wrongdoing at the outset, a change aimed at discouraging baseless claims.

The Union Members’ Right to Know Act would require unions to inform members of political spending, and workers would have to opt-in to non-representational spending.

Other GOP labor bills would make it an unfair labor practice to hire undocumented immigrants, protect workers’ personal data, and prevent harassment on picket lines.

So what does it mean? While there are some pro-union changes, most of the provisions would benefit management. Cassidy will have his work cut out for him if he wants Democratic support.

On the Republican side, the legislation could bridge the divide between traditional, anti-union Republicans and a populist, pro-worker wing—including JD Vance and Josh Hawley—that’s increasingly aligning itself with organized labor.

Cassidy told reporters he knows he needs Democrats for the plan to be viable, and is confident he can bring both sides together.

“You can tell I’ve been to marriage counseling,” he quipped as he discussed the left’s point of view.

“The chairman of the committee is someone who can amalgamate different points of view into a single position which can be acceptable to everybody,” he added later.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) is introducing a slew of labor bills to revamp organizing, elections, and the NLRB.

Photographer: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Parker Purifoy: Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer hinted last week that unemployment benefits might be impacted by the ongoing government shutdown.

“If people stop receiving their unemployment insurance, that will be another detrimental impact to the American workforce,” she said Nov. 4 during a press conference with House GOP leadership.

A DOL official also told Bloomberg Law that many states would begin running out of their federal dollars for UI programs within the next two weeks because the department hasn’t been able to disperse new funding since the shutdown began on Oct. 1.

But does that mean claimants will be denied unemployment checks in the near future? UI experts say it’s unlikely.

The money for unemployment claims originates from taxes collected from companies and is held in trust funds, said Andy Stettner, former director of unemployment insurance modernization in the Biden administration.

The federal government contributes funds that pay for administrative costs, like staff and equipment, said Stettner, now director of economy and jobs at the Century Foundation.

Stettner added he wasn’t aware of any states’ UI programs that are in crisis. Spokespeople for California, Nevada, and Oregon said their UI systems are not currently being impacted by the shutdown.

“States are strained, but people are more reacting like ‘Wait, why is the Secretary of Labor saying people aren’t going to get their benefits? We’re not at that stage yet,’” he said. “If this shutdown doesn’t get resolved for the next two months, we’ll be in that. But we’re not there yet.”

Without federal cash, states could be forced to reallocate rainy-day funds or make employees work without pay, similar to some federal employees during the shutdown.

“They’re going to move hell and high water to pay UI benefits on time,” Stettner said.

But as the shutdown goes on, the strain will continue to grow and certain states could be more vulnerable than others, said Joe Schmitt, a management-side attorney with Nilan Johnson Lewis PA.

Maryland and the District of Columbia could run into trouble because of their high populations of federal employees, most of whom are eligible to collect unemployment during the shutdown.

Programs in states with high unemployment rates or fewer dollars in their government coffers—like Texas and California—could also begin feeling the impact of a lack of federal funding, he said.

In a letter sent out to states at the end of October, the DOL encouraged officials to tap into other sources of funding to cover the administrative costs of their programs during the shutdown, including funds gathered by the states from late payment penalties or interest levied against companies which is usually set aside in a separate trust.

We’re punching out. Daily Labor Report subscribers please check in for updates during the week, and feel free to reach out to us.