I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8426 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 16, 2024 

Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. 

POCAN, Mr. NORCROSS, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. ALLRED, Mr. BACON, Mr. 

BEYER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CARSON, 

Mr. CASAR, Mrs. CHAVEZ-DEREMER, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. 

CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, 

Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DELUZIO, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. 

GARAMENDI, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California, 

Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. 

HOULAHAN, Mr. HOYER, Ms. HOYLE of Oregon, Mr. IVEY, Mr. KILDEE, 

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LANDSMAN, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. 

LAWLER, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGARVEY, 

Mr. MOLINARO, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. MRVAN, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. NADLER, 

Ms. NORTON, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. PEREZ, Mr. PETERS, Mr. 

PHILLIPS, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. PORTER, Ms. ROSS, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. 

SARBANES, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. 

SHERRILL, Ms. SLOTKIN, Ms. STANSBURY, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. 

SWALWELL, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. TONKO, Mr. TORRES of 

New York, Mr. TRONE, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILD, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. FROST, Mr. PASCRELL, and Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To secure the rights of public employees to organize, act 


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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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act: 

8 (1) APPROPRIATE UNIT.—The term ‘‘appro9 priate unit’’ means a group of public employees or 

10 a group of supervisory employees appropriate for 

11 collective bargaining that share a community of in12 terest, as demonstrated by factors including whether 

13 such group— 

14 (A) has a bargaining history or history of 

15 prior organization; and 

16 (B) reflects the desires of the employees 

17 who are seeking or proposing representation by 

18 a labor organization regarding the employees to 

19 be included in such bargaining unit. 

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

21 the Federal Labor Relations Authority. 

22 (3) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—The term ‘‘col23 lective bargaining’’, used with respect to public emVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Jun 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8426.IH H8426

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1 ployees, supervisory employees, and public employ2 ers, means the performance of the mutual obligation 

3 of the representative of a public employer and the 

4 exclusive representative of an appropriate unit of 

5 public and supervisory employees of the employer to 

6 meet at reasonable times and to consult and bargain 

7 in a good-faith effort to reach agreement with re8 spect to wages, hours, and other terms and condi9 tions of employment affecting such employees and to 

10 execute a written document incorporating any collec11 tive bargaining agreement reached, but the obliga12 tion referred to in this paragraph does not compel 

13 either party to agree to a proposal or to make a con14 cession (as described in section 8(d) of the National 

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

16 (4) CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE.—The term 

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

18 public employer who acts in a confidential capacity 

19 with respect to an individual who formulates or ef20 fectuates management policies in the field of labor21 management relations. 

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

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

24 (6) EMERGENCY SERVICES EMPLOYEE.—The 

25 term ‘‘emergency services employee’’ means— 


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1 (A) a public employee providing out-of-hos2 pital emergency medical care, including an 

3 emergency medical technician, paramedic, or 

4 first responder; or 

5 (B) a public employee providing other serv6 ices in response to emergencies that have the 

7 potential to cause death or serious bodily in8 jury, including an employee in fire protection 

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

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

11 203(y))). 

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

13 organization’’ means any organization of any kind 

14 that is not under the control directly or indirectly by 

15 a public employer in which such employees partici16 pate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or 

17 in part, of dealing with public employers concerning 

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

19 of employment, or conditions of work. 

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

21 to a State or a political subdivision thereof, includes 

22 the application of the laws of such State or such po23 litical subdivision, including any regulations or ordi24 nances issued by such State or such political subdivi25 sion. 


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1 (9) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 

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

3 such term in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime 

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

5 10284). 

6 (10) MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEE.—The term 

7 ‘‘management employee’’ means an individual em8 ployed by a public employer in a position the duties 

9 and responsibilities of which require the individual to 

10 formulate or determine the policies of the public em11 ployer. 

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

13 employee’’— 

14 (A) means an individual, employed by a 

15 public employer, who in any workweek is en16 gaged in commerce or is employed in an enter17 prise engaged in commerce; 

18 (B) includes an individual who is tempo19 rarily transferred to a supervisory or manage20 ment position; and 

21 (C) does not include— 

22 (i) a supervisory employee; 

23 (ii) a management employee; 

24 (iii) a confidential employee; or 

25 (iv) an elected official. 


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

2 employer’’ means an entity that— 

3 (A) employs not less than 1 individual; 

4 (B) is engaged in commerce; and 

5 (C) is either— 

6 (i) a State or the political subdivision 

7 of a State; or 

8 (ii) any authority, agency, school dis9 trict, board or other entity controlled and 

10 operated by an entity described in clause 

11 (i). 

12 (13) SUBSTANTIALLY PROVIDES.—The term 

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

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

15 means providing rights and procedures that are 

16 equivalent to or greater than each of the rights and 

17 procedures described in such section. 

18 (14) SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘su19 pervisory employee’’ means an individual, employed 

20 by a public employer, who in any workweek is en21 gaged in commerce or is employed in an enterprise 

22 engaged in commerce and who— 

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

24 employer, if the exercise of such authority is 

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1 quires the consistent exercise of independent 

2 judgment, to— 

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

4 furlough, lay off, recall, suspend, dis5 cipline, or remove public employees; 

6 (ii) adjust the grievances of public 

7 employees; or 

8 (iii) effectively recommend any action 

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

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

11 exercising the authority under subparagraph 

12 (A). 

13 (b) FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938 

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

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

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

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

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

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

20 substantially equivalent term) under applicable State law 

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

22 substantially equivalent term) and meaning under such 

23 applicable State law shall apply with respect to the term 

24 defined under this Act with respect to such State. 


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1 SEC. 3. FEDERAL MINIMUM STANDARDS. 

2 (a) DETERMINATION.— 

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

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

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

6 make a determination for each State as to whether 

7 the laws of such State substantially provide for each 

8 of the rights and procedures under subsection (b) 

9 and not later than 30 days after the enactment of 

10 this Act, the Authority shall establish procedures for 

11 the implementation of this section. 

12 (2) CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONAL OPIN13 IONS.—In making the determination under para14 graph (1), the Authority shall consider the opinions 

15 of affected public employees, supervisory employees, 

16 labor organizations, and public employers. In the 

17 case where the Authority is notified by an affected 

18 public employer and labor organization that both 

19 parties agree that the law applicable to such em20 ployer and labor organization substantially provides 

21 for the rights and procedures described in subsection 

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

23 to the maximum extent practicable in making the 

24 Authority’s determination under paragraph (1). 

25 (3) LIMITED CRITERIA.—In making the deter26 mination described in paragraph (1), the Authority 


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1 may only consider the criteria described in sub2 section (b). 

3 (4) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—A determination made 

5 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain in ef6 fect unless and until the Authority issues a sub7 sequent determination, in accordance with the 

8 procedures set forth in subparagraph (B). 

9 (B) REQUEST.—A public employee, super10 visory employee, public employer, or a labor or11 ganization may submit to the Authority a writ12 ten request for a subsequent determination with 

13 respect to whether a material change of State 

14 law has occurred. 

15 (C) ISSUANCE.—If satisfied that a mate16 rial change in State law has occurred, the Au17 thority shall issue a subsequent determination 

18 described under paragraph (1) not later than 

19 30 days after receipt of such request. 

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

21 public employer aggrieved by a determination of the 

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

23 60-day period beginning on the date on which the 

24 determination was made, petition any United States 

25 Court of Appeals in the circuit in which the covered 


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1 person or public employer resides or transacts busi2 ness or in the Court of Appeals for the District of 

3 Columbia Circuit, for judicial review. In any judicial 

4 review of a determination made by the Authority de5 scribed in paragraph (1), the procedures contained 

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

7 United States Code, shall be followed. 

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

9 determination described in paragraph (1), the Au10 thority shall, as relevant, consider any requirement 

11 imposed by a consent decree entered into by the De12 partment of Justice before, on, or after the date of 

13 enactment of this Act as substantially providing for 

14 the rights and procedures under subsection (b). 

15 (b) FEDERAL MINIMUM STANDARD.—The collective 

16 bargaining rights and procedures under this subsection 

17 are as follows: 

18 (1) A right of public employees and supervisory 

19 employees— 

20 (A) to self-organization; 

21 (B) to form, join, or assist a labor organi22 zation or to refrain from any such activity; 

23 (C) to bargain collectively through rep24 resentatives of their own choosing; and 


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1 (D) to engage in other concerted activities 

2 for the purpose of collective bargaining or other 

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

4 or collective legal claims) or protection. 

5 (2) A requirement for public employers to— 

6 (A) recognize the labor organization of its 

7 public employees and supervisory employees 

8 (freely chosen in an election by a majority of 

9 such employees voting in the appropriate unit 

10 or chosen by voluntary recognition if that meth11 od is permitted under State law) without re12 quiring an election to recertify or decertify a 

13 labor organization that is already recognized as 

14 the representative of such employees unless not 

15 less than 30 percent of such employees in the 

16 bargaining unit freely sign a petition to decer17 tify such labor organization— 

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

19 year after the date of the election (or after 

20 a voluntary recognition if permitted under 

21 State law) of the representative; 

22 (ii) not earlier than 1 year after the 

23 expiration of a valid collective bargaining 

24 agreement; 


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1 (iii) not during the term of a valid col2 lective bargaining agreement (except as 

3 permissible under clause (iv)); or 

4 (iv) during the 30-day period begin5 ning on the date that is 90 days before the 

6 end of a valid existing contract; 

7 (B) collectively bargain with such recog8 nized labor organization; and 

9 (C) commit any agreements with such rec10 ognized labor organization to writing in a con11 tract or memorandum of understanding. 

12 (3) An interest impasse resolution mechanism, 

13 such as fact-finding, mediation, arbitration, or com14 parable procedures that culminate in binding resolu15 tion. 

16 (4) Payroll deduction of labor organization fees 

17 for any duly chosen representative of a public em18 ployee or supervisory employee pursuant to the 

19 terms of an agreement between the labor organiza20 tion and such public or supervisory employee, which 

21 shall remain in effect until revoked by such employee 

22 in accordance with its terms. 

23 (5) The prohibition of practices that interfere 

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1 ployees in the exercise of rights guaranteed in para2 graph (1) or regulations issued thereunder. 

3 (6) The enforcement of all relevant rights and 

4 procedures provided by State law and enumerated in 

5 this subsection. 

6 (7) The enforcement of all rights and proce7 dures provided by any written contract or memo8 randum of understanding between a labor organiza9 tion and a public employer, through— 

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

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

12 the State courts, if so permitted under State 

13 law; or 

14 (C) a grievance resolution procedure culmi15 nating in binding arbitration negotiated in such 

16 contract or memorandum. 

17 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH RIGHTS AND PROCE18 DURES.—If the Authority determines under subsection 

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

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

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

22 preempt the laws of such State. 

23 (d) FAILURE TO SUBSTANTIALLY PROVIDE.— 

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

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


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1 not substantially provide for each of the rights and 

2 procedures described in subsection (b), then such 

3 State shall be subject to the rules and activities of 

4 the Authority under section 4 beginning on the later 

5 of— 

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

7 of enactment of this Act; 

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

9 first regular session of the legislature of the 

10 State that begins after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act; or 

12 (C) in the case of a State receiving a sub13 sequent determination described under sub14 section (a)(4), the date that is the last day of 

15 the first regular session of the legislature of the 

16 State that begins after the date the Authority 

17 made the determination. 

18 (2) PARTIAL FAILURE.—If the Authority deter19 mines under subsection (a)(1) that a State does not 

20 substantially provide for each of the rights and pro21 cedures described in subsection (b) because the 

22 State fails to substantially provide for all of such 

23 rights and procedures with respect to any public or 

24 supervisory employees, the Authority shall identify— 


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1 (A) the categories of public or supervisory 

2 employees of such State that shall be subject to 

3 the rules and activities of the Authority under 

4 section 4, pursuant to section 7(b)(4), begin5 ning on the applicable date under paragraph 

6 (1); 

7 (B) the categories of public employees and 

8 supervisory employees of such State that shall 

9 not be subject to the rules and activities of the 

10 Authority under section 4; 

11 (C) the categories of rights and procedures 

12 described in subsection (b) for which the State 

13 does not substantially provide for certain public 

14 employees and supervisory employees; and 

15 (D) the categories of rights and procedures 

16 described in such subsection for which the State 

17 substantially provides for all employees. 

18 SEC. 4. MINIMUM STANDARDS ADMINISTERED BY THE FED19 ERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY. 

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

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

22 rules and take such actions that the Authority determines 

23 appropriate to establish and administer collective bar24 gaining rights and procedures that substantially provide 


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

2 States described in section 3(d). 

3 (b) ROLE OF THE FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AU4 THORITY.— 

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

6 (a), the Authority shall— 

7 (A) provide for the rights and procedures 

8 described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of sec9 tion 3(b); 

10 (B) supervise or conduct elections to deter11 mine whether a labor organization has been 

12 chosen as an exclusive representative by a ma13 jority of the public employees and supervisory 

14 employees voting in such election in an appro15 priate unit; 

16 (C) determine the appropriateness of units 

17 for labor organization representation; 

18 (D) conduct hearings and resolve com19 plaints concerning violations of this Act or any 

20 rule or order issued by the Authority pursuant 

21 to this Act; 

22 (E) resolve exceptions to the awards of ar23 bitrators that violate or exceed the scope of 

24 public policy of this Act; and 


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1 (F) take such other actions as are nec2 essary and appropriate to effectively administer 

3 this Act, including issuing subpoenas requiring 

4 the attendance and testimony of witnesses and 

5 the production of documentary or other evi6 dence from any place in the United States, ad7 ministering oaths, taking or ordering the taking 

8 of depositions, ordering responses to written in9 terrogatories, and receiving and examining wit10 nesses. 

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

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

13 nothing in this Act shall be construed as super14 seding, or creating or imposing any requirement in 

15 conflict with, any consent decree entered into by the 

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

17 of enactment of this Act. 

18 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

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

20 order directing compliance by any covered person or 

21 public employer found to be in violation of this sec22 tion, and may petition any United States Court of 

23 Appeals with jurisdiction over the parties, or the 

24 United States Court of Appeals for the District of 

25 Columbia Circuit, to enforce any such final orders 


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1 issued pursuant to this section or pursuant to rules 

2 issued under this section, and for appropriate tem3 porary relief or a restraining order. Any covered per4 son or public employer aggrieved by an order issued 

5 by the Authority under this section may, during the 

6 60-day period beginning on the date on which the 

7 order was issued petition any United States Court of 

8 Appeals in the circuit which the covered person or 

9 public employer resides or transacts business or in 

10 the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 

11 Circuit, for judicial review. Any petition or appeal 

12 under this section shall be conducted in accordance 

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

14 5, United States Code. 

15 (2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

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

17 Authority has filed an order of enforcement as 

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

19 the 180-day period following the filing of a 

20 charge with the Authority pursuant to the rules 

21 of the Authority under this section, file a civil 

22 action against any named State administrator 

23 in an appropriate district court of the United 

24 States to enjoin such administrator to enforce 

25 compliance— 


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

2 the Authority under this section; or 

3 (ii) to enforce compliance with any 

4 order issued by the Authority. 

5 (B) TIMING.—Any civil action brought 

6 under subparagraph (A) shall be brought not 

7 later than the earlier of— 

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

9 expiration of the 180-day period in sub10 paragraph (A); or 

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

12 date that the Authority dismisses a charge 

13 described in subparagraph (A). 

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

15 of the Federal lawsuit to the Authority. 

16 (D) JURISDICTION AND ATTORNEYS’ 

17 FEES.—A district court shall have jurisdiction 

18 over the civil action filed under subparagraph 

19 (A) without regard to the amount in con20 troversy or the citizenship of the parties and 

21 may award reasonable attorneys’ fees. 


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1 SEC. 5. LOCKOUTS AND EMPLOYEE STRIKES PROHIBITED 

2 WHEN EMERGENCY OR PUBLIC SAFETY SERV3 ICES IMPERILED. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), any em5 ployer, emergency services employee, or law enforcement 

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

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

8 any other organized job action of which a reasonably prob9 able result is a measurable disruption of the delivery of 

10 emergency or public safety services. No labor organization 

11 may cause or attempt to cause a violation of this sub12 section. 

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

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

15 subdivision of any State with respect to strikes by emer16 gency services employees or law enforcement officers. 

17 SEC. 6. EXISTING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND 

18 AGREEMENTS. 

19 The enactment of this Act shall not invalidate any 

20 certification, recognition, result of an election, collective 

21 bargaining agreement, or memorandum of understanding 

22 that— 

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

24 any public employee relations board or commission, 

25 or by any State or political subdivision or an agent 


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1 or management official of such State or political 

2 subdivision; and 

3 (2) is in effect on the day before the date of en4 actment of this Act. 

5 SEC. 7. EXCEPTIONS. 

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

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

8 State do not substantially provide for the rights and proce9 dures under section 3(b) on the basis that relevant State 

10 laws— 

11 (1) permit a public or supervisory employee to 

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

13 the relationship of the public employee with the pub14 lic employer involved; 

15 (2) do not cover public or supervisory employees 

16 of the State militia or national guard; 

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

18 State if— 

19 (A) such political subdivision has a popu20 lation of fewer than 5,000 people or employs 

21 fewer than 25 public employees; and 

22 (B) the State in which such political sub23 division is located notifies the Authority that 

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1 fore the date on which the Authority makes the 

2 determination; or 

3 (4) do not require bargaining with respect to 

4 pension or retirement income benefits. 

5 (b) COMPLIANCE.— 

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

7 shall be construed to require a State to rescind or 

8 preempt the laws of any political subdivision of the 

9 State if such laws substantially provide for the 

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

11 (2) ACTIONS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUM12 BIA.—Nothing in this Act or in the rules issued 

13 under this Act shall be construed— 

14 (A) to require the District of Columbia to 

15 rescind— 

16 (i) section 501 of the District of Co17 lumbia Government Comprehensive Merit 

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

19 Official Code), establishing the Public Em20 ployee Relations Board of the District of 

21 Columbia; or 

22 (ii) section 502 of such Act (1– 

23 605.02, D.C. Official Code), establishing 

24 the power of the Board; 


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1 (B) to preempt the laws described in sub2 paragraph (A); or 

3 (C) to limit or alter the powers of the gov4 ernment of the District of Columbia pursuant 

5 to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act 

6 (Public Law 93–198; 87 Stat. 774). 

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

8 this Act shall be construed to preempt— 

9 (A) the laws of any State or political sub10 division of a State that substantially provide for 

11 the rights and procedures described in section 

12 3(b); 

13 (B) the laws of any State or political sub14 division of a State that substantially provide for 

15 the rights and procedures described in section 

16 3(b), solely because such laws provide that a 

17 contract or memorandum of understanding be18 tween a public employer and a labor organiza19 tion must be presented to a legislative body as 

20 part of the process for approving such contract 

21 or memorandum of understanding; or 

22 (C) the laws of any State or political sub23 division of a State that permit or require a pub24 lic employer to recognize a labor organization 

25 on the basis of signed authorizations executed 


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1 by employees designating the labor organization 

2 as their representative. 

3 (4) LIMITED ENFORCEMENT POWER.—In the 

4 case of a law described in section 3(d)(2), the Au5 thority shall only exercise the authority under sec6 tion 4 with respect to the categories of public or su7 pervisory employees for whom State law does not 

8 substantially provide the rights and procedures de9 scribed in section 3(b). 

10 SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY. 

11 If any provision of this Act or the application thereof 

12 to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remain13 der of this Act, or the application of that provision to per14 sons or circumstances other than those as to which it is 

15 held invalid, is not affected thereby. 

16 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

18 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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