II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1774 

To provide protections for workers with respect to their right to select or 

refrain from selecting representation by a labor organization. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 

Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. HELLER, Mr. 

RUBIO, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. SASSE, Mr. ISAKSON, and Mr. 

RISCH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide protections for workers with respect to their 

right to select or refrain from selecting representation 

by a labor organization. 

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 ‘‘Employee Rights Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE NATIONAL LABOR RELA6 TIONS ACT. 

7 (a) UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES.—Section 8(b)(1) of 

8 the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(b)(1)) 


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1 is amended by striking ‘‘restrain or’’ and inserting ‘‘inter2 fere with, restrain, or’’. 

3 (b) REPRESENTATIVES AND ELECTIONS.—Section 9 

4 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘designated or selected for 

8 the purposes of collective bargaining’’ and in9 serting ‘‘for the purposes of collective bar10 gaining selected by secret ballot in an election 

11 conducted by the Board,’’; and 

12 (B) by inserting before the period the fol13 lowing: ‘‘: Provided further, That, for purposes 

14 of determining the majority of the employees in 

15 a secret ballot election in a unit, the term ‘ma16 jority’ shall mean the majority of all the em17 ployees in the unit, and not the majority of em18 ployees voting in the election’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(3) Whenever any certified or voluntarily recognized 

22 bargaining unit existing on or after the date of enactment 

23 of the Employee Rights Act experiences turnover, expan24 sion, or alteration by merger of unit represented employ25 ees exceeding 50 percent of the bargaining unit on such 


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1 date and (A) the unit represented employees are covered 

2 by a negotiated and agreed-upon collective bargaining 

3 agreement in effect between a labor organization rep4 resentative and an employer, the Board shall conduct a 

5 secret paper ballot election among the represented employ6 ees in the bargaining unit between the 120th day and 

7 110th day prior to the collective bargaining agreement’s 

8 expiration or prior to the conclusion of three years, which9 ever occurs earlier, or (B) there is no negotiated collective 

10 bargaining agreement then in effect between a labor orga11 nization and an employer, the Board shall conduct a secret 

12 paper ballot election among the represented employees in 

13 the bargaining unit within 30 days. Thereafter, a secret 

14 ballot election shall again be conducted under the same 

15 conditions and procedures whenever the recognized bar16 gaining unit experiences turnover, expansion, or alteration 

17 by merger of unit represented employees exceeding 50 per18 cent of the bargaining unit then in existence at the time 

19 of the preceding secret paper ballot election. The election 

20 shall be conducted without regard to the pendency of any 

21 unfair labor practice charge against the employer or the 

22 labor organization representative and the Board shall rule 

23 on any objections to the election pursuant to its estab24 lished timeframes for resolving such matters. If a majority 

25 of the votes cast in a valid election reject the continuing 


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1 representation by the labor organization, the Board shall 

2 withdraw the labor organization’s certification, the labor 

3 organization shall cease representation of employees in the 

4 bargaining unit, and any obligations to or on behalf of 

5 the labor organization in a collectively bargained contract 

6 then in effect shall terminate.’’. 

7 (c) FAIR REPRESENTATION IN ELECTIONS.—Section 

8 9 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘prior to an 

11 election’’ after ‘‘in each case’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (c)— 

13 (A) in the flush matter following para14 graph (1)(B)— 

15 (i) by inserting ‘‘of 14 days in ad16 vance’’ after ‘‘appropriate hearing upon 

17 due notice’’; 

18 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and a review of 

19 post-hearing appeals,’’ after ‘‘the record of 

20 such hearing’’; and 

21 (iii) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: ‘‘The employer shall provide the 

23 Board a list consisting only of employee 

24 names and home addresses of all eligible 

25 voters within 7 days following the Board’s 


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1 determination of the appropriate unit or 

2 following any agreement between the em3 ployer and the labor organization regard4 ing the eligible voters. Any employee may 

5 elect to be excluded from such list by noti6 fying the employer in writing.’’; and 

7 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(6)(A) No election shall take place after the filing 

9 of any petition unless and until— 

10 ‘‘(i) a hearing is conducted before a qualified 

11 hearing officer in accordance with due process on 

12 any and all material, factual issues regarding juris13 diction, statutory coverage, appropriate unit, unit in14 clusion or exclusion, or eligibility of individuals; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the issues are resolved by a Regional Di16 rector, subject to appeal and review, or by the 

17 Board. 

18 ‘‘(B) No election results shall be final and no labor 

19 organization shall be certified as the bargaining represent20 ative of the employees in an appropriate unit unless and 

21 until the Board has ruled on— 

22 ‘‘(i) each pre-election issue not resolved before 

23 the election; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Board conducts a hearing in accord2 ance with due process and resolves each issue per3 taining to the conduct or results of the election.’’. 

4 (d) PENALTIES.—Section 10 of the National Labor 

5 Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160) is amended by inserting 

6 after the second sentence following the second proviso, the 

7 following: ‘‘Any labor organization found to have inter8 fered with, restrained, or coerced employees in the exercise 

9 of their rights under section 7 to form or join a labor orga10 nization or to refrain therefrom, including the filing of a 

11 decertification petition, shall be liable for wages lost and 

12 labor organization dues or fees collected unlawfully, if any, 

13 and an additional amount as liquidated damages. Any 

14 labor organization found to have interfered with, re15 strained, or coerced an employee in connection with the 

16 filing of a decertification petition shall be prohibited from 

17 filing objections to an election held pursuant to such peti18 tion.’’. 

19 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE LABOR-MANAGEMENT RE20 PORTING AND DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1959. 

21 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 3(k) of the Labor-Man22 agement Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 

23 402(k)) is amended by striking ‘‘ballot, voting machine, 

24 or otherwise, but’’ and inserting ‘‘paper ballot, voting maVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Sep 11, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1774.IS S1774

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1 chine, or electronic ballot cast in the privacy of a voting 

2 booth and’’. 

3 (b) RIGHTS OF MEMBERS.—Section 101(a)(1) of the 

4 Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 

5 (29 U.S.C. 411(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: ‘‘Every employee in a bargaining unit rep7 resented by a labor organization, regardless of member8 ship status in the labor organization, shall have the same 

9 right as members to vote by secret ballot regarding wheth10 er to ratify a collective bargaining agreement with, or to 

11 engage in a strike or refusal to work of any kind against, 

12 their employer.’’. 

13 (c) RIGHT NOT TO SUBSIDIZE LABOR ORGANIZA14 TION NONREPRESENTATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—Title I of 

15 the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 

16 1959 (29 U.S.C. 411 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

17 the end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 106. RIGHT NOT TO SUBSIDIZE LABOR ORGANIZA19 TION NONREPRESENTATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

20 ‘‘No employee’s labor organization dues, fees, or as21 sessments or other contributions shall be used or contrib22 uted to any person, organization, or entity for any purpose 

23 not directly related to the labor organization’s collective 

24 bargaining or contract administration functions on behalf 

25 of the represented unit employee unless the employee 


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1 member, or nonmember required to make such payments 

2 as a condition of employment, authorizes such expenditure 

3 in writing, after a notice period of not less than 35 days. 

4 An initial authorization provided by an employee under 

5 the preceding sentence shall expire not later than 1 year 

6 after the date on which such authorization is signed by 

7 the employee. There shall be no automatic renewal of an 

8 authorization under this section.’’. 

9 (d) LIMITATIONS.—Section 101(a) of the Labor10 Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 

11 U.S.C. 411(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(6) LIMITATION.—No strike shall commence with14 out the consent of a majority of all represented unit em15 ployees affected, determined by a secret ballot vote con16 ducted by a neutral, private organization chosen by agree17 ment between the employer and the labor organization in18 volved. In any case in which the employer involved has 

19 made an offer for a collective bargaining agreement, the 

20 represented unit employees involved shall be provided the 

21 opportunity for a secret ballot vote on such offer prior to 

22 any vote relating to the commencement of a strike. The 

23 cost of any such election shall be borne by the labor orga24 nization.’’. 


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1 (e) REPORTING BY LABOR ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 

2 201(c) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclo3 sure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 431(c)) is amended— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘and the independently verified 

5 annual audit report of the labor organization’s fi6 nancial condition and operations’’ after ‘‘required to 

7 be contained in such report’’; 

8 (2) by inserting ‘‘and represented unit nonmem9 bers’’ after ‘‘members’’; 

10 (3) by inserting ‘‘and represented unit non11 member’’ after ‘‘any member’’; 

12 (4) by inserting ‘‘and represented unit non13 member’’ after ‘‘such member’’; 

14 (5) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘any books, 

15 records,’’; and 

16 (6) by inserting ‘‘, and independently verified 

17 annual audit report of the labor organization’s fi18 nancial condition and operations’’ before ‘‘necessary 

19 to verify such report.’’. 

20 (f) ACTS OF VIOLENCE.—Section 610 of the Labor21 Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 

22 U.S.C. 530) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘It shall’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) It 

24 shall’’; and 

25 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(b) It shall be unlawful for any person, through the 

2 use of force or violence, or threat of the use of force or 

3 violence, to restrain, coerce, or intimidate, or attempt to 

4 restrain, coerce, or intimidate any person for the purpose 

5 of obtaining from any person any right to represent em6 ployees or any compensation or other term or condition 

7 of employment. Any person who willfully violates this sub8 section shall be fined not more than $100,000 or impris9 oned for not more than 10 years, or both. 

10 ‘‘(c) The lawfulness of a labor organization’s objec11 tives shall not remove or exempt from the definition of 

12 extortion, as defined in section 1951(b)(2) of title 18, 

13 United States Code, conduct by the labor organization or 

14 its agents that otherwise constitutes extortion as defined 

15 in such section.’’. 

Æ 


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