Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 491.
Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act - (Sec. 2) Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to require that no investigative hearing take place until at least 14 days after the filing of an election petition regarding collective bargaining representation when the NLRB has reasonable cause to believe that the petition raises a question of representation affecting commerce. Requires such hearings to be non-adversarial, and the hearing officer, in collaboration with the parties, to identify any relevant and material pre-election issues.
Requires the NLRB, in cases where it finds that a question of representation exists, to: (1) direct an election by secret ballot as soon as practicable but not before 35 calendar days after the filing of the election petition, and (2) certify election results only after it has ruled on each pre-election issue not resolved before the election and any additional issue pertaining to the conduct or results of that election.
(Sec. 3) Revises requirements for determination by the NLRB of an appropriate bargaining unit before an election of collective bargaining representation. (In effect reverses the NLRB's August 26, 2011, decision in Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation of Mobile and its June 22, 2011, rulemaking regarding proposed changes to procedures involving the election of collective bargaining representation.)
Replaces the current restriction in the meaning of collective bargaining unit to employer unit, craft unit, plant unit, or subdivision. Requires the NLRB, instead, to determine a unit as appropriate for collective bargaining if it consists of employees that share a sufficient community of interest. Specifies factors the NLRB must consider when making such determinations.
Prohibits exclusion of employees from the unit unless the group's interest are sufficiently distinct from those of other employees to warrant the establishment of a separate unit.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House with amendment(s)" stage on December 9, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 9, 2014: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 491.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
John Kline (R-MN) introduced it on March 27, 2014, and 37 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 37 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 27, 2014, 4550 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4293 days ago, on December 9, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers