Bankruptcy Fairness and Employee Benefits Protection Act of 2014
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Bankruptcy Fairness and Employee Benefits Protection Act of 2014 - Amends federal bankruptcy law to require the debtor in possession, prior to filing an application seeking rejection of a collective bargaining agreement, to propose only those minimum modifications to employee and retiree benefits and protections (including health insurance) that are necessary to prevent liquidation of the debtor.
Requires a proposal which modifies employee or retired employee health insurance benefits to modify also the health insurance benefits of the debtor's officers and directors so that their benefits are not more generous than those of debtor's employees.
Requires a proposal which modifies other employee benefits, including wages and pension benefits, also to modify such benefits of the debtor's officers and directors by an amount that, at a minimum, is equal to the percentage by which the employees' benefits are modified.
Conditions court approval of an application for rejection of a collective bargaining agreement upon a finding that the debtor has established by clear and convincing evidence that modification of employee benefits and protections is the minimum modification necessary to prevent the debtor's liquidation.
Declares that rejection of a collective bargaining agreement constitutes a breach of the agreement that entitles debtor's employees to a claim for damages.
Grants any retirees whose benefits are modified by a court according to certain procedures a claim equal to the value of benefits lost as a result of the modification.
Requires a debtor to pay cash to a retired employee making a claim in an amount equal to the two-year cost of premiums for: (1) continuation coverage; or (2) a comparable health insurance plan offered through a health care exchange established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Authorizes the court to require the debtor to pay such retiree claim in an amount equal to the cost of premiums for continuation of coverage, or for such a health insurance plan, for more than two years.
Prohibits allowance or payment of a bonus payment to an insider of the debtor, including an incentive-based bonus payment.
The summary continues for 8 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on June 3, 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 June 3, 2014: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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?
JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV) introduced it on June 3, 2014, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
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 June 3, 2014, 4482 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4482 days ago, on June 3, 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers