Are You Ready for Major Changes in Employment and Labor Law?

As many Human Resources and Labor Relations experts anticipated, legislation and rules that originated during the Obama Administration have resurfaced with the Biden Administration.  Legislation introduced in Congress February 4, 2021, would substantially change existing employment and labor law.  Are you ready?

The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act will prove to be the most sweeping change to employment and labor law since the introduction of FMLA, ADA and just about any federal statues since the National Labor Relations Act was passed into law.      The PRO Act if passed will impact both unionized and non-union workplaces across the US and every employer should take notice and prepare.

The PRO Act, if passed as proposed, would make more changed to existing law that can be reviewed successfully in a short blog post.  So here is a short list just to introduce you to the most significant changes to the NLRA current in over seven decades.

The PRO Act would... 

• Nullify "Right to Work" legislation in place in 27 states across the US, compelling individual employees to accept union membership or loose employment.
  
•  Substantially limit or restrict the definition of Independent Contractors, which would be especially challenging for many gig-economy businesses and workers.
  
• Reinstate the "micro-unit" organization option for unions.  This would overturn decades of NLRA precedent and open employers up to multiple bargaining units and contracts.
  
• Mandate collective bargaining agreements through arbitration after as little as 90 days of negotiations, substantially hindering both the employer's and the union's ability to negotiate in good faith.
  
• Expand penalties under the NLRA to include fines, "front-pay", attorney fees, double damages, etc., for employers, unions and, most shockingly individuals.
  

This is just a small sampling of the dozens of major implications of passage of the PRO Act.  It is uncertain if the proposed law has the support from Democratic and Republican lawmakers necessary to be sent to President Biden.  Regardless, employers and individual employees should take notice.  Consult you Human Resources team, your legal counsel and consider speaking with you State Representative and Senator now.