Two Democratic lawmakers rolled out a bill Wednesday to increase the penalties for companies that fire workers in violation of labor laws.
The legislation, introduced by Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia would triple the back pay that workers get and add fines on top of that. It would also make it easier for workers to be reinstated.
“This law would crack down on employers who break the law when workers exercise their basic right to collective action,” Murray said at an event Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Murray and Scott were joined at the event by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. The bill was dubbed the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy (WAGE) Act.
Supporters argued the legislation is necessary because current law makes it too easy for managers to get rid of employees engaged in union organizing, which is a “protected activity” under the National Labor Relations Act. Even when employers are found in violation of the law, the penalty is not enough to prevent them from doing it again.
“The firm’s worst-case scenario is only to pay partial backpay years later — even less if the [National Labor Relations Board] settles the case, as it usually does. Many firms evade even that,” said Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the liberal Economic Policy Institute.
The legislation would make labor organizing much easier. The labor act allows a worker who did little on the job but identified himself as a union supporter to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, the federal labor law enforcement agency, saying that organizing efforts were the real reason for the firing. Unions sometimes have members apply for jobs at a company with the intention of organizing other workers, a practice called “salting.” Murray and Scott’s bill would increase the costs for companies fighting such efforts.
The bill is unlikely to pass Congress or be debated much, since the Republican leadership in the House and Senate is certain to oppose it.
This was the second time this year Murray and Scott introduced a “wage” bill. In April, they introduced the Raise the Wage Act, which would increase the federal minimum wage, currently $7.25 an hour, to $12.
