We support Representatives Fitzpatrick and Golden’s bipartisan bill because protecting workers’ rights and ensuring government efficiency should go hand in hand. Stripping collective bargaining rights under the guise of improving performance is a misguided approach that threatens workplace stability and morale.
The Protect America’s Workforce Act takes a smarter path —preserving bargaining rights where they don’t compromise national security and recognizing their role in promoting accountability and effective governance.
Our nation’s security should never come at the cost of silencing the workers who help uphold it. This legislation strikes the right balance, proving that fairness and efficiency are not at odds but essential to a strong and stable workforce.
This bill expands the coverage of requirements governing workplace safety and health to include protection for federal, state, and local government employees. However, the bill does not cover working conditions otherwise covered by federal requirements for mine safety and health.
The bill revises requirements governing worker protection, including by:
- Expanding protections for whistle-blowers, such as protections for employees who refuse to perform work because they reasonably believe the work would result in serious injury or illness and for employees who aid inspections;
- Directing employers to furnish a hazard-free place of employment to all individuals performing work, not just employees;
- Directing employers to report work-related deaths or certain injuries, illnesses, or hospitalizations;
- Requiring the Department of Labor to investigate fatalities or significant incidents in the workplace;
- Establishing rights for victims, or representatives of victims, with respect to inspections or investigations of work-related bodily injuries or deaths;
- Setting the permitted period for employers to correct serious, willful, or repeated violations while citations for the violations are being contested;
- Increasing civil and criminal penalties for certain violations;
- Expanding enforcement requirements relating to state occupational safety and health plans;
- Expanding requirements for workplace health hazard evaluations by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; and
- Requiring Labor to provide training programs concerning employee rights and employer responsibilities.
In addition to Golden, a Democrat, and Fitzpatrick, a Republican, the bill was sponsored by Democratic Reps. Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02) and Debbie Dingell (MI-06), and Republican Reps. Nick LaLota (NY-01), Mike Turner (OH-10) and Mike Lawler (NY-17).
Click here to read the bill.
