II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4363 

To secure the rights of public employees to organize, act concertedly, and 

bargain collectively, which safeguard the public interest and promote 

the free and unobstructed flow of commerce, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 16, 2024 

Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. 

BROWN, Ms. BUTLER, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CASEY, Ms. 

DUCKWORTH, Mr. FETTERMAN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. MURRAY, 

Mr. PADILLA, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. REED, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. 

SCHUMER, Ms. SMITH, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WARREN, 

Mr. WELCH, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To secure the rights of public employees to organize, act 

concertedly, and bargain collectively, which safeguard the 

public interest and promote the free and unobstructed 

flow of commerce, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Service Free5 dom to Negotiate Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE UNIT.—The term ‘‘appro4 priate unit’’ means a group of public employees or 

5 a group of supervisory employees appropriate for 

6 collective bargaining that share a community of in7 terest, as demonstrated by factors including whether 

8 such group— 

9 (A) has a bargaining history or history of 

10 prior organization; and 

11 (B) reflects the desires of the employees 

12 who are seeking or proposing representation by 

13 a labor organization regarding the employees to 

14 be included in such bargaining unit. 

15 (2) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means 

16 the Federal Labor Relations Authority. 

17 (3) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—The term ‘‘col18 lective bargaining’’, used with respect to public em19 ployees, supervisory employees, and public employ20 ers, means the performance of the mutual obligation 

21 of the representative of a public employer and the 

22 exclusive representative of an appropriate unit of 

23 public and supervisory employees of the employer to 

24 meet at reasonable times and to consult and bargain 

25 in a good-faith effort to reach agreement with re26 spect to wages, hours, and other terms and condiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:22 Jun 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4363.IS S4363

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1 tions of employment affecting such employees and to 

2 execute a written document incorporating any collec3 tive bargaining agreement reached, but the obliga4 tion referred to in this paragraph does not compel 

5 either party to agree to a proposal or to make a con6 cession (as described in section 8(d) of the National 

7 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(d))). 

8 (4) CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE.—The term 

9 ‘‘confidential employee’’ means an employee of a 

10 public employer who acts in a confidential capacity 

11 with respect to an individual who formulates or ef12 fectuates management policies in the field of labor13 management relations. 

14 (5) COVERED PERSON.—The term ‘‘covered 

15 person’’ means an individual or a labor organization. 

16 (6) EMERGENCY SERVICES EMPLOYEE.—The 

17 term ‘‘emergency services employee’’ means— 

18 (A) a public employee providing out-of-hos19 pital emergency medical care, including an 

20 emergency medical technician, paramedic, or 

21 first responder; or 

22 (B) a public employee providing other serv23 ices in response to emergencies that have the 

24 potential to cause death or serious bodily in25 jury, including an employee in fire protection 


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1 activities (as defined in section 3(y) of the Fair 

2 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

3 203(y))). 

4 (7) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor 

5 organization’’ means any organization of any kind 

6 that is not under the control directly or indirectly by 

7 a public employer in which such employees partici8 pate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or 

9 in part, of dealing with public employers concerning 

10 grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours 

11 of employment, or conditions of work. 

12 (8) LAW.—The term ‘‘law’’, used with respect 

13 to a State or a political subdivision thereof, includes 

14 the application of the laws of such State or such po15 litical subdivision, including any regulations or ordi16 nances issued by such State or such political subdivi17 sion. 

18 (9) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 

19 ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the meaning given 

20 such term in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime 

21 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 

22 10284). 

23 (10) MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEE.—The term 

24 ‘‘management employee’’ means an individual em25 ployed by a public employer in a position the duties 


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1 and responsibilities of which require the individual to 

2 formulate or determine the policies of the public em3 ployer. 

4 (11) PUBLIC EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘public 

5 employee’’— 

6 (A) means an individual, employed by a 

7 public employer, who in any workweek is en8 gaged in commerce or is employed in an enter9 prise engaged in commerce; 

10 (B) includes an individual who is tempo11 rarily transferred to a supervisory or manage12 ment position; and 

13 (C) does not include— 

14 (i) a supervisory employee; 

15 (ii) a management employee; 

16 (iii) a confidential employee; or 

17 (iv) an elected official. 

18 (12) PUBLIC EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘public 

19 employer’’ means an entity that— 

20 (A) employs not less than 1 individual; 

21 (B) is engaged in commerce; and 

22 (C) is either— 

23 (i) a State or the political subdivision 

24 of a State; or 


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1 (ii) any authority, agency, school dis2 trict, board or other entity controlled and 

3 operated by an entity described in clause 

4 (i). 

5 (13) SUBSTANTIALLY PROVIDES.—The term 

6 ‘‘substantially provides’’, used with respect to the 

7 rights and procedures described in section 3(b), 

8 means providing rights and procedures that are 

9 equivalent to or greater than each of the rights and 

10 procedures described in such section. 

11 (14) SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘su12 pervisory employee’’ means an individual, employed 

13 by a public employer, who in any workweek is en14 gaged in commerce or is employed in an enterprise 

15 engaged in commerce and who— 

16 (A) has the authority in the interest of the 

17 employer, if the exercise of such authority is 

18 not merely routine or clerical in nature but re19 quires the consistent exercise of independent 

20 judgment, to— 

21 (i) hire, promote, reward, transfer, 

22 furlough, lay off, recall, suspend, dis23 cipline, or remove public employees; 

24 (ii) adjust the grievances of public 

25 employees; or 


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1 (iii) effectively recommend any action 

2 described in clause (i) or (ii); and 

3 (B) devotes a majority of time at work to 

4 exercising the authority under subparagraph 

5 (A). 

6 (b) FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938 

7 TERMS.—The terms ‘‘commerce’’, ‘‘employ’’, ‘‘enterprise 

8 engaged in commerce’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings 

9 given such terms in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards 

10 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 

11 (c) STATE LAW.—If any term defined in this section 

12 has a substantially equivalent meaning to a term (or a 

13 substantially equivalent term) under applicable State law 

14 on the date of the enactment of this Act, such term (or 

15 substantially equivalent term) and meaning under such 

16 applicable State law shall apply with respect to the term 

17 defined under this Act with respect to such State. 

18 SEC. 3. FEDERAL MINIMUM STANDARDS. 

19 (a) DETERMINATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act (except as 

22 provided in paragraph (4)(C)), the Authority shall 

23 make a determination for each State as to whether 

24 the laws of such State substantially provide for each 

25 of the rights and procedures under subsection (b) 


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1 and not later than 30 days after the enactment of 

2 this Act, the Authority shall establish procedures for 

3 the implementation of this section. 

4 (2) CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONAL OPIN5 IONS.—In making the determination under para6 graph (1), the Authority shall consider the opinions 

7 of affected public employees, supervisory employees, 

8 labor organizations, and public employers. In the 

9 case where the Authority is notified by an affected 

10 public employer and labor organization that both 

11 parties agree that the law applicable to such em12 ployer and labor organization substantially provides 

13 for the rights and procedures described in subsection 

14 (b), the Authority shall give such agreement weight 

15 to the maximum extent practicable in making the 

16 Authority’s determination under paragraph (1). 

17 (3) LIMITED CRITERIA.—In making the deter18 mination described in paragraph (1), the Authority 

19 may only consider the criteria described in sub20 section (b). 

21 (4) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—A determination made 

23 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain in ef24 fect unless and until the Authority issues a subVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:22 Jun 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4363.IS S4363

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1 sequent determination, in accordance with the 

2 procedures set forth in subparagraph (B). 

3 (B) REQUEST.—A public employee, super4 visory employee, public employer, or a labor or5 ganization may submit to the Authority a writ6 ten request for a subsequent determination with 

7 respect to whether a material change of State 

8 law has occurred. 

9 (C) ISSUANCE.—If satisfied that a mate10 rial change in State law has occurred, the Au11 thority shall issue a subsequent determination 

12 described under paragraph (1) not later than 

13 30 days after receipt of such request. 

14 (5) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any covered person or 

15 public employer aggrieved by a determination of the 

16 Authority under this paragraph (1) may, during the 

17 60-day period beginning on the date on which the 

18 determination was made, petition any United States 

19 Court of Appeals in the circuit in which the covered 

20 person or public employer resides or transacts busi21 ness or in the Court of Appeals for the District of 

22 Columbia Circuit, for judicial review. In any judicial 

23 review of a determination made by the Authority de24 scribed in paragraph (1), the procedures contained 


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1 in subsections (c) and (d) of section 7123 of title 5, 

2 United States Code, shall be followed. 

3 (6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—In making the 

4 determination described in paragraph (1), the Au5 thority shall, as relevant, consider any requirement 

6 imposed by a consent decree entered into by the De7 partment of Justice before, on, or after the date of 

8 enactment of this Act as substantially providing for 

9 the rights and procedures under subsection (b). 

10 (b) FEDERAL MINIMUM STANDARD.—The collective 

11 bargaining rights and procedures under this subsection 

12 are as follows: 

13 (1) A right of public employees and supervisory 

14 employees— 

15 (A) to self-organization; 

16 (B) to form, join, or assist a labor organi17 zation or to refrain from any such activity; 

18 (C) to bargain collectively through rep19 resentatives of their own choosing; and 

20 (D) to engage in other concerted activities 

21 for the purpose of collective bargaining or other 

22 mutual aid (including the filing of joint, class, 

23 or collective legal claims) or protection. 

24 (2) A requirement for public employers to— 


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1 (A) recognize the labor organization of its 

2 public employees and supervisory employees 

3 (freely chosen in an election by a majority of 

4 such employees voting in the appropriate unit 

5 or chosen by voluntary recognition if that meth6 od is permitted under State law) without re7 quiring an election to recertify or decertify a 

8 labor organization that is already recognized as 

9 the representative of such employees unless not 

10 less than 30 percent of such employees in the 

11 bargaining unit freely sign a petition to decer12 tify such labor organization— 

13 (i) not earlier than the date that is 1 

14 year after the date of the election (or after 

15 a voluntary recognition if permitted under 

16 State law) of the representative; 

17 (ii) not earlier than 1 year after the 

18 expiration of a valid collective bargaining 

19 agreement; 

20 (iii) not during the term of a valid col21 lective bargaining agreement (except as 

22 permissible under clause (iv)); or 

23 (iv) during the 30-day period begin24 ning on the date that is 90 days before the 

25 end of a valid existing contract; 


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1 (B) collectively bargain with such recog2 nized labor organization; and 

3 (C) commit any agreements with such rec4 ognized labor organization to writing in a con5 tract or memorandum of understanding. 

6 (3) An interest impasse resolution mechanism, 

7 such as fact-finding, mediation, arbitration, or com8 parable procedures that culminate in binding resolu9 tion. 

10 (4) Payroll deduction of labor organization fees 

11 for any duly chosen representative of a public em12 ployee or supervisory employee pursuant to the 

13 terms of an agreement between the labor organiza14 tion and such public or supervisory employee, which 

15 shall remain in effect until revoked by such employee 

16 in accordance with its terms. 

17 (5) The prohibition of practices that interfere 

18 with, restrain, or coerce public or supervisory em19 ployees in the exercise of rights guaranteed in para20 graph (1) or regulations issued thereunder. 

21 (6) The enforcement of all relevant rights and 

22 procedures provided by State law and enumerated in 

23 this subsection. 

24 (7) The enforcement of all rights and proce25 dures provided by any written contract or memoVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:22 Jun 27, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4363.IS S4363

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1 randum of understanding between a labor organiza2 tion and a public employer, through— 

3 (A) a State agency, if the State so chooses; 

4 (B) at the election of an aggrieved party, 

5 the State courts, if so permitted under State 

6 law; or 

7 (C) a grievance resolution procedure culmi8 nating in binding arbitration negotiated in such 

9 contract or memorandum. 

10 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH RIGHTS AND PROCE11 DURES.—If the Authority determines under subsection 

12 (a)(1) that the laws of a State substantially provide each 

13 of the rights and procedures described in subsection (b), 

14 then subsection (d) shall not apply and this Act shall not 

15 preempt the laws of such State. 

16 (d) FAILURE TO SUBSTANTIALLY PROVIDE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Authority determines 

18 under subsection (a)(1) that the laws of a State do 

19 not substantially provide for each of the rights and 

20 procedures described in subsection (b), then such 

21 State shall be subject to the rules and activities of 

22 the Authority under section 4 beginning on the later 

23 of— 

24 (A) the date that is 2 years after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act; 


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1 (B) the date that is the last day of the 

2 first regular session of the legislature of the 

3 State that begins after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act; or 

5 (C) in the case of a State receiving a sub6 sequent determination described under sub7 section (a)(4), the date that is the last day of 

8 the first regular session of the legislature of the 

9 State that begins after the date the Authority 

10 made the determination. 

11 (2) PARTIAL FAILURE.—If the Authority deter12 mines under subsection (a)(1) that a State does not 

13 substantially provide for each of the rights and pro14 cedures described in subsection (b) because the 

15 State fails to substantially provide for all of such 

16 rights and procedures with respect to any public or 

17 supervisory employees, the Authority shall identify— 

18 (A) the categories of public or supervisory 

19 employees of such State that shall be subject to 

20 the rules and activities of the Authority under 

21 section 4, pursuant to section 7(b)(4), begin22 ning on the applicable date under paragraph 

23 (1); 

24 (B) the categories of public employees and 

25 supervisory employees of such State that shall 


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1 not be subject to the rules and activities of the 

2 Authority under section 4; 

3 (C) the categories of rights and procedures 

4 described in subsection (b) for which the State 

5 does not substantially provide for certain public 

6 employees and supervisory employees; and 

7 (D) the categories of rights and procedures 

8 described in such subsection for which the State 

9 substantially provides for all employees. 

10 SEC. 4. MINIMUM STANDARDS ADMINISTERED BY THE FED11 ERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Authority shall issue 

14 rules and take such actions that the Authority determines 

15 appropriate to establish and administer collective bar16 gaining rights and procedures that substantially provide 

17 for the minimum standards described in section 3(b) for 

18 States described in section 3(d). 

19 (b) ROLE OF THE FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AU20 THORITY.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 

22 (a), the Authority shall— 

23 (A) provide for the rights and procedures 

24 described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of sec25 tion 3(b); 


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1 (B) supervise or conduct elections to deter2 mine whether a labor organization has been 

3 chosen as an exclusive representative by a ma4 jority of the public employees and supervisory 

5 employees voting in such election in an appro6 priate unit; 

7 (C) determine the appropriateness of units 

8 for labor organization representation; 

9 (D) conduct hearings and resolve com10 plaints concerning violations of this Act or any 

11 rule or order issued by the Authority pursuant 

12 to this Act; 

13 (E) resolve exceptions to the awards of ar14 bitrators that violate or exceed the scope of 

15 public policy of this Act; and 

16 (F) take such other actions as are nec17 essary and appropriate to effectively administer 

18 this Act, including issuing subpoenas requiring 

19 the attendance and testimony of witnesses and 

20 the production of documentary or other evi21 dence from any place in the United States, ad22 ministering oaths, taking or ordering the taking 

23 of depositions, ordering responses to written in24 terrogatories, and receiving and examining wit25 nesses. 


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1 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—In providing for 

2 the rights and procedures under paragraph (1)(A), 

3 nothing in this Act shall be construed as super4 seding, or creating or imposing any requirement in 

5 conflict with, any consent decree entered into by the 

6 Department of Justice before, on, or after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act. 

8 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Authority may issue an 

10 order directing compliance by any covered person or 

11 public employer found to be in violation of this sec12 tion, and may petition any United States Court of 

13 Appeals with jurisdiction over the parties, or the 

14 United States Court of Appeals for the District of 

15 Columbia Circuit, to enforce any such final orders 

16 issued pursuant to this section or pursuant to rules 

17 issued under this section, and for appropriate tem18 porary relief or a restraining order. Any covered per19 son or public employer aggrieved by an order issued 

20 by the Authority under this section may, during the 

21 60-day period beginning on the date on which the 

22 order was issued petition any United States Court of 

23 Appeals in the circuit which the covered person or 

24 public employer resides or transacts business or in 

25 the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 


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1 Circuit, for judicial review. Any petition or appeal 

2 under this section shall be conducted in accordance 

3 with subsections (c) and (d) of section 7123 of title 

4 5, United States Code. 

5 (2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

6 (A) FILING A CIVIL ACTION.—Unless the 

7 Authority has filed an order of enforcement as 

8 provided in paragraph (1), any party may, after 

9 the 180-day period following the filing of a 

10 charge with the Authority pursuant to the rules 

11 of the Authority under this section, file a civil 

12 action against any named State administrator 

13 in an appropriate district court of the United 

14 States to enjoin such administrator to enforce 

15 compliance— 

16 (i) with this Act or the rules issued by 

17 the Authority under this section; or 

18 (ii) to enforce compliance with any 

19 order issued by the Authority. 

20 (B) TIMING.—Any civil action brought 

21 under subparagraph (A) shall be brought not 

22 later than the earlier of— 

23 (i) the date that is 180 days after the 

24 expiration of the 180-day period in sub25 paragraph (A); or 


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1 (ii) the date that is 180 days after the 

2 date that the Authority dismisses a charge 

3 described in subparagraph (A). 

4 (C) NOTICE.—The party shall serve notice 

5 of the Federal lawsuit to the Authority. 

6 (D) JURISDICTION AND ATTORNEYS’ 

7 FEES.—A district court shall have jurisdiction 

8 over the civil action filed under subparagraph 

9 (A) without regard to the amount in con10 troversy or the citizenship of the parties and 

11 may award reasonable attorneys’ fees. 

12 SEC. 5. LOCKOUTS AND EMPLOYEE STRIKES PROHIBITED 

13 WHEN EMERGENCY OR PUBLIC SAFETY SERV14 ICES IMPERILED. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), any em16 ployer, emergency services employee, or law enforcement 

17 officer, subject to the rules and activities of the Authority 

18 under section 4, may not engage in a lockout, strike, or 

19 any other organized job action of which a reasonably prob20 able result is a measurable disruption of the delivery of 

21 emergency or public safety services. No labor organization 

22 may cause or attempt to cause a violation of this sub23 section. 

24 (b) NO PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section shall 

25 be construed to preempt any law of any State or political 


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1 subdivision of any State with respect to strikes by emer2 gency services employees or law enforcement officers. 

3 SEC. 6. EXISTING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND 

4 AGREEMENTS. 

5 The enactment of this Act shall not invalidate any 

6 certification, recognition, result of an election, collective 

7 bargaining agreement, or memorandum of understanding 

8 that— 

9 (1) has been issued, approved, or ratified by 

10 any public employee relations board or commission, 

11 or by any State or political subdivision or an agent 

12 or management official of such State or political 

13 subdivision; and 

14 (2) is in effect on the day before the date of en15 actment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 7. EXCEPTIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall not make a 

18 determination under section 3(a)(1) that the laws of a 

19 State do not substantially provide for the rights and proce20 dures under section 3(b) on the basis that relevant State 

21 laws— 

22 (1) permit a public or supervisory employee to 

23 appear on the employee’s own behalf with respect to 

24 the relationship of the public employee with the pub25 lic employer involved; 


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1 (2) do not cover public or supervisory employees 

2 of the State militia or national guard; 

3 (3) do not apply to a political subdivision of a 

4 State if— 

5 (A) such political subdivision has a popu6 lation of fewer than 5,000 people or employs 

7 fewer than 25 public employees; and 

8 (B) the State in which such political sub9 division is located notifies the Authority that 

10 such subdivision is exempt from such laws be11 fore the date on which the Authority makes the 

12 determination; or 

13 (4) do not require bargaining with respect to 

14 pension or retirement income benefits. 

15 (b) COMPLIANCE.— 

16 (1) ACTIONS OF STATES.—Nothing in this Act 

17 shall be construed to require a State to rescind or 

18 preempt the laws of any political subdivision of the 

19 State if such laws substantially provide for the 

20 rights and procedures described in section 3(b). 

21 (2) ACTIONS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUM22 BIA.—Nothing in this Act or in the rules issued 

23 under this Act shall be construed— 

24 (A) to require the District of Columbia to 

25 rescind— 


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1 (i) section 501 of the District of Co2 lumbia Government Comprehensive Merit 

3 Personnel Act of 1978 (1–605.01, D.C. 

4 Official Code), establishing the Public Em5 ployee Relations Board of the District of 

6 Columbia; or 

7 (ii) section 502 of such Act (1– 

8 605.02, D.C. Official Code), establishing 

9 the power of the Board; 

10 (B) to preempt the laws described in sub11 paragraph (A); or 

12 (C) to limit or alter the powers of the gov13 ernment of the District of Columbia pursuant 

14 to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act 

15 (Public Law 93–198; 87 Stat. 774). 

16 (3) ACTIONS OF THE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

17 this Act shall be construed to preempt— 

18 (A) the laws of any State or political sub19 division of a State that substantially provide for 

20 the rights and procedures described in section 

21 3(b); 

22 (B) the laws of any State or political sub23 division of a State that substantially provide for 

24 the rights and procedures described in section 

25 3(b), solely because such laws provide that a 


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1 contract or memorandum of understanding be2 tween a public employer and a labor organiza3 tion must be presented to a legislative body as 

4 part of the process for approving such contract 

5 or memorandum of understanding; or 

6 (C) the laws of any State or political sub7 division of a State that permit or require a pub8 lic employer to recognize a labor organization 

9 on the basis of signed authorizations executed 

10 by employees designating the labor organization 

11 as their representative. 

12 (4) LIMITED ENFORCEMENT POWER.—In the 

13 case of a law described in section 3(d)(2), the Au14 thority shall only exercise the authority under sec15 tion 4 with respect to the categories of public or su16 pervisory employees for whom State law does not 

17 substantially provide the rights and procedures de18 scribed in section 3(b). 

19 SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY. 

20 If any provision of this Act or the application thereof 

21 to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remain22 der of this Act, or the application of that provision to per23 sons or circumstances other than those as to which it is 

24 held invalid, is not affected thereby. 


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1 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

3 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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