A bill to provide protections from workers with respect to their right to select or refrain from selecting representation by a labor organization.

Summary: Employee Rights Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to make it an unlawful labor practice for a labor organization or its agents to interfere with the rights of employees to organize and select representation to collectively bargain.

Adds a requirement that representatives be selected by secret ballot in an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by a majority of the employees in a unit. Defines "majority" for purposes of determining the majority of employees in an election to mean the majority of all employees in the unit, and not the majority of employees voting in the election.

Requires a neutral, private organization, chosen by agreement between an employer and a labor organization that is the exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit, to conduct a secret ballot election by the employees, every three years after the labor organization's initial certification, to determine whether a majority desire to continue to be represented by that labor organization.

Requires the NLRB to decide, before the election of a labor organization as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of all employees of an appropriate unit, whether such unit shall be the employer unit, craft unit, plant unit, or subdivision unit.

Requires the NLRB to give 14 days advance notice before a hearing when it is investigating an election petition if it has reasonable cause to believe that a question of representation affecting commerce exists.

Revises the requirement that the NLRB direct an election by secret ballot, and certify its results, whenever it finds upon the record of such a hearing that a question of representation exists. Adds a requirement that the NLRB also review all post-hearing appeals before finding that such a question exists.

Prohibits an election less than 40 calendar days following the filing of an election petition. Requires an employer to provide the NLRB a list of employee names and home addresses of all eligible voters within 7 days after an NLRB determination of the appropriate unit or following any agreement between the employer and the labor organization regarding eligible voters.

Prohibits an election after the filing of a petition unless and until: (1) a hearing is conducted before a qualified hearing officer on any and all material, factual issues regarding jurisdiction, statutory coverage, appropriate unit, unit inclusion or exclusion, or eligibility of individuals; and (2) the issues are resolved by a regional Director, subject to appeal and review, or by the NLRB.

Declares that election results shall not be final nor any labor organization be certified as a bargaining representative unless the NLRB has ruled on: (1) each pre-election issue not resolved before the election; and (2) the NLRB conducts a hearing and resolves each issue pertaining to the conduct or results of the election.

Makes any labor organization found to have interfered with, restrained, or coerced employees in the exercise of their rights to form or join a labor organization or to refrain from forming or joining (including the filing of a decertification petition) liable for lost wages and unlawfully collected union dues and fees, if any, and an additional amount as liquated damages.

Amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (Landrum-Griffin Act) to permit an election by secret ballot to be conducted through votes cast by electronic ballot cast in the privacy of a voting booth.

Requires every employee in a bargaining unit represented by a labor organization, regardless of membership status, to have the same right as members to vote by secret ballot to ratify a collective bargaining agreement with, or to engage in, a strike or refusal to work of any kind against their employer.

Prohibits the use of an employee's union dues for any purpose not directly related to the labor organization's collective bargaining, unless that employee authorizes such expenditure in writing.

Prohibits a strike without the consent of a majority of all employees affected, determined by a secret ballot vote conducted by a neutral, private organization chosen by agreement between the employer and the labor organization.

Makes it unlawful for a person to use force or violence, or threaten the use of force or violence, to restrain, coerce, or intimidate a person, or attempt to, in order to obtain from any person any right to represent employees, compensation, or other term or condition of employment. Subjects persons who willfully violate such prohibitions to both civil and criminal penalties.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Employee Rights Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT.

    (a) Unfair Labor Practices.--Section 8(b)(1) of the National Labor 
Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(b)(1)) is amended by inserting ``interfere 
with'' before ``restrain''
    (b) Representatives and Elections.--Section 9 of the National Labor 
Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``designated or selected for the 
                purposes of collective bargaining'' and inserting ``for 
                the purposes of collective bargaining selected by 
                secret ballot in an election conducted by the Board,''; 
                and
                    (B) by inserting before the period the following: 
                ``: Provided further, That, for purposes of determining 
                the majority of the employees in a secret ballot 
                election in a unit, the term `majority' shall mean the 
                majority of all the employees in the unit, and not the 
                majority of employees voting in the election''; and
            (2) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the following:
    ``(3) Not later than 36 months after the initial certification of a 
labor organization as the exclusive representative of employees in an 
appropriate bargaining unit, and each 3-year period thereafter, a 
neutral, private organization chosen by agreement between the employer 
and the labor organization involved, after a notice period of not less 
than 35 days, shall conduct a secret ballot election among such 
employees to determine whether a majority desire to continue to be 
represented by such labor organization. The cost to the third party 
that is conducting the election shall be shared equally by the labor 
organization and the employer involved. The election shall be conducted 
without regard to the pendency of any unfair labor practice charge 
against the employer or the labor organization representative and the 
Board shall rule on any objections to the election pursuant to its 
established timeframes for resolving such matters. If a majority of the 
votes cast reject the continuing representation by the labor 
organization, the Board shall withdraw the labor organization's 
certification.''
    (c) Fair Representation in Elections.--Section 9 of the National 
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ``prior to an 
        election'' after ``in each case''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in the flush matter following paragraph 
                (1)(B)--
                            (i) by inserting ``of 14 days in advance'' 
                        after ``appropriate hearing upon due notice'';
                            (ii) by inserting ``, and a review of post-
                        hearing appeals,'' after ``the record of such 
                        hearing''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following: 
                        ``No election shall be conducted less than 40 
                        calendar days following the filing of an 
                        election petition. The employer shall provide 
                        the Board a list of employee names and home 
                        addresses of all eligible voters within 7 days 
                        following the Board's determination of the 
                        appropriate unit or following any agreement 
                        between the employer and the labor organization 
                        regarding the eligible voters.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(6)(A) No election shall take place after the filing of any 
petition unless and until--
            ``(i) a hearing is conducted before a qualified hearing 
        officer in accordance with due process on any and all material, 
        factual issues regarding jurisdiction, statutory coverage, 
        appropriate unit, unit inclusion or exclusion, or eligibility 
        of individuals; and
            ``(ii) the issues are resolved by a Regional Director, 
        subject to appeal and review, or by the Board.
    ``(B) No election results shall be final and no labor organization 
shall be certified as the bargaining representative of the employees in 
an appropriate unit unless and until the Board has ruled on--
            ``(i) each pre-election issue not resolved before the 
        election; and
            ``(ii) the Board conducts a hearing in accordance with due 
        process and resolves each issue pertaining to the conduct or 
        results of the election.''
    (d) Penalties.--Section 10 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 
U.S.C. 160) is amended by inserting after the second sentence following 
the second proviso, the following : ``Any labor organization found to 
have interfered with, restrained, or coerced employees in the exercise 
of their rights under section 7 to form or join a labor organization or 
to refrain therefrom, including the filing of a decertification 
petition, shall be liable for wages lost and union dues or fees 
collected unlawfully, if any, and an additional amount as liquidated 
damages. Any labor organization found to have interfered with, 
restrained, or coerced an employee in connection with the filing of a 
decertification petition shall be prohibited from filing objections to 
an election held pursuant to such petition.''.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE LABOR-MANAGEMENT REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE ACT 
              OF 1959.

    (a) Definition.--Section 3(k) of the Labor-Management Reporting and 
Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 402(k)) is amended by striking 
``ballot, voting machine, or otherwise, but'' and inserting ``paper 
ballot, voting machine, or electronic ballot cast in the privacy of a 
voting booth and''.
    (b) Rights of Members.--Section 101(a)(1) of the Labor-Management 
Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 411(a)(1)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following ``Every employee in a bargaining 
unit represented by a labor organization, regardless of membership 
status in the labor organization, shall have the same right as members 
to vote by secret ballot regarding whether to ratify a collective 
bargaining agreement with, or to engage in, a strike or refusal to work 
of any kind against their employer.''.
    (c) Right Not To Subsidize Union Nonrepresentational Activities.--
Title I of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 
(29 U.S.C. 411 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 106. RIGHT NOT TO SUBSIDIZE UNION NONREPRESENTATIONAL 
              ACTIVITIES.

    ``No employee's union dues, fees, or assessments or other 
contributions shall be used or contributed to any person, organization, 
or entity for any purpose not directly germane to the labor 
organization's collective bargaining or contract administration 
functions unless the member, or nonmember required to make such 
payments as a condition of employment, authorizes such expenditure in 
writing, after a notice period of not less than 35 days. An initial 
authorization provided by an employee under the preceding sentence 
shall expire not later than 1 year after the date on which such 
authorization is signed by the employee. There shall be no automatic 
renewal of an authorization under this section.''.
    (d) Limitations.--Section 101(a) of the Labor-Management Reporting 
and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 411(a)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(6) Limitation.--No strike shall commence without the consent of 
a majority of all employees affected, determined by a secret ballot 
vote conducted by a neutral, private organization chosen by agreement 
between the employer and the labor organization involved. In any case 
in which the employer involved has made an offer for a collective 
bargaining agreement, the employees involved shall be provided with an 
opportunity for a secret ballot vote on such offer prior to any vote 
relating to the commencement of a strike. The cost of any such election 
shall be borne by the labor organization.''.
    (e) Acts of Violence.--Section 610 of the Labor-Management 
Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 530) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``It shall'' and inserting ``(a) It 
        shall''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) It shall be unlawful for any person, through the use of force 
or violence, or threat of the use of force or violence, to restrain, 
coerce, or intimidate, or attempt to restrain, coerce, or intimidate 
any person for the purpose of obtaining from any person any right to 
represent employees or any compensation or other term or condition of 
employment. Any person who willfully violates this subsection shall be 
fined not more than $100,000 or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, 
or both.
    ``(c) The lawfulness of a labor organization's objectives shall not 
remove or exempt from the definition of extortion conduct by the labor 
organization or its agents that otherwise constitutes extortion as 
defined by section 1951(b)(2) of title 18, United States Code, from the 
definition of extortion.''.