I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3514 

To amend the National Labor Relations Act to strengthen protections for 

employees wishing to advocate for improved wages, hours, or other terms 

or conditions of employment and to provide for stronger remedies for 

interference with these rights, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Mr. POLIS, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. GRIJALVA, 

Mr. SABLAN, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. ADAMS, 

Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. ENGEL, 

Mr. FARR, Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. 

NAPOLITANO, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. RYAN

of Ohio, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SERRANO, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mrs. 

DAVIS of California, Mr. POCAN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 

Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, 

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. HONDA, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. LINDA T. 

SA ́NCHEZ of California, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. 

JEFFRIES, and Ms. BROWN of Florida) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the National Labor Relations Act to strengthen 

protections for employees wishing to advocate for improved wages, hours, or other terms or conditions of 

employment and to provide for stronger remedies for 

interference with these rights, 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, 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3514 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Workplace Action for 

3 a Growing Economy Act’’ or the ‘‘WAGE Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The National Labor Relations Act (29 

7 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) was enacted to encourage the 

8 practice of collective bargaining and to protect the 

9 exercise by workers of full freedom of association in 

10 the workplace. Since its enactment in 1935, tens of 

11 millions of workers have bargained with their em12 ployers over wages, benefits, and other terms and 

13 conditions of employment and have raised the stand14 ard of living for all workers. 

15 (2) Through acting collectively and bargaining 

16 with their employers, workers who are unionized 

17 earn 21.3 percent more than workers who are not 

18 covered by a collective bargaining agreement. They 

19 are 28.4 percent more likely to be covered by em20 ployer-provided health insurance and 30.9 percent 

21 more likely to have employer-provided pensions. The 

22 wage differential is even more pronounced for 

23 women and people of color. Unionized African-Amer24 ican workers earn 24.6 percent more than African25 American workers who are not unionized, and union26 ized Latino workers earn 29.3 percent more than 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3514 IH

1 their peers who are not unionized. Unionized women 

2 earn 24 percent more than women who are not 

3 unionized, and the wage gap between men and 

4 women is much smaller at unionized workplaces. 

5 The wage gains achieved through collective bar6 gaining benefit workers and their communities. 

7 (3) Unions and collective bargaining ensure 

8 that productivity gains are shared by working peo9 ple. The decline in the percentage of workers covered 

10 by collective bargaining has contributed significantly 

11 to skyrocketing income inequality and flat wages. 

12 (4) As enacted in 1935, the National Labor Re13 lations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) protects the 

14 right of all workers to join together with their co15 workers to advocate for improvements in their pay, 

16 benefits, and working conditions, regardless of 

17 whether they seek representation by a union. The 

18 law protects the right of workers to discuss issues 

19 like pay and benefits without retaliation or inter20 ference by employers. However, the awareness of 

21 workers regarding their rights under the law is lack22 ing, and many employers maintain policies that re23 strict the ability of workers to discuss workplace 

24 issues with each other, directly contravening these 

25 rights. Research shows that more than one-half of 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3514 IH

1 workers report that their employers have policies 

2 that prohibit or discourage workers from discussing 

3 pay with their co-workers. These policies and prac4 tices impede workers from exercising their rights 

5 under the law and impair their freedom of associa6 tion at work. 

7 (5) Retaliation by employers against workers 

8 who exercise their rights under the National Labor 

9 Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) persists at 

10 troubling levels. Employers routinely fire workers for 

11 trying to form a union at their workplace. In one out 

12 of 3 organizing campaigns, one or more workers are 

13 discharged for supporting joining a union. In fiscal 

14 year 2014, the National Labor Relations Board ob15 tained reinstatement orders for 3,240 workers and 

16 obtained backpay awards totaling $43,800,000 for 

17 workers who faced illegal retaliation for exercising 

18 their rights. Discrimination for organizing hurts all 

19 workers, but minorities in particular, as minorities 

20 are more likely than Whites to seek to organize and 

21 receive a larger wage premium from collective bar22 gaining. 

23 (6) The current remedies are inadequate to 

24 deter employers from violating the National Labor 

25 Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). The remedies 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3514 IH

1 and penalties for violations of the National Labor 

2 Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) are far weaker 

3 than for other labor and employment laws, including 

4 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et 

5 seq.). Unlike other major labor and employment 

6 laws, there are no civil penalties for violations of the 

7 law. Workers cannot go to court to pursue relief on 

8 their own; they must rely on the National Labor Re9 lations Board to prosecute their case. 

10 (7) In order to make the right to collective bar11 gaining and freedom of association in the workplace 

12 a reality for workers, the National Labor Relations 

13 Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) must be strengthened. 

14 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

15 The purposes of this Act are— 

16 (1) to strengthen protections for employees en17 gaged in collective action to improve their wages, 

18 hours, and terms and conditions of employment; 

19 (2) to provide for stronger remedies for employ20 ees who face retaliation, discrimination, or other in21 terference with the legal right of the employees to 

22 engage in collective action; 

23 (3) to provide for penalties against employers 

24 who violate the rights of employees to engage in colVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Sep 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3514.IH H3514

asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3514 IH

1 lective action, in order to act as a meaningful deter2 rent against violating the law; and 

3 (4) to streamline the enforcement procedures of 

4 the National Labor Relations Board to provide for 

5 more timely and effective enforcement of the law. 

6 SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING REMEDIES AND ENFORCEMENT 

7 FOR EMPLOYEES EXERCISING THEIR RIGHTS 

8 AT WORK. 

9 (a) BACKPAY.—Section 10(c) of the National Labor 

10 Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160(c)) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘And provided further,’’ and inserting ‘‘Provided further, 

12 That if the Board finds that an employer has discrimi13 nated against an employee in violation of paragraph (3) 

14 or (4) of section 8(a) or has committed a violation of sec15 tion 8(a) that results in the discharge of an employee or 

16 other serious economic loss to an employee, the Board 

17 shall award the employee back pay and an additional 

18 amount as liquidated damages equal to 2 times the 

19 amount of such back pay, without any reduction (includ20 ing any reduction based on the employee’s interim earn21 ings or failure to earn interim earnings): Provided fur22 ther,’’. 

23 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 12 of the National 

24 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 162) is amended— 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3514 IH

1 (1) by striking ‘‘SEC. 12. Any person’’ and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 12. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

4 ‘‘(a) VIOLATIONS FOR INTERFERENCE WITH

5 BOARD.—Any person’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(b) VIOLATIONS OF POSTING REQUIREMENTS.—If 

8 the Board, or any agent or agency designated by the 

9 Board for such purposes, determines that an employer has 

10 willfully violated section 8(h), the Board shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) state the findings of fact supporting such 

12 determination; 

13 ‘‘(2) issue and cause to be served on such em14 ployer an order requiring that such employer post 

15 the notice described in such section and provide the 

16 information to new employees described in such sec17 tion; and 

18 ‘‘(3) impose a civil penalty in an amount deter19 mined appropriate by the Board, except that in no 

20 case shall the amount of the fine exceed $500 for 

21 each such violation. 

22 ‘‘(c) VIOLATIONS CAUSING SERIOUS ECONOMIC LOSS

23 TO EMPLOYEES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any employer who commits 

25 an unfair labor practice within the meaning of paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Sep 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3514.IH H3514

asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 3514 IH

1 graph (3) or (4) of section 8(a) or a violation of sec2 tion 8(a) that results in the discharge of an em3 ployee or other serious economic loss to an employee 

4 shall, in addition to any remedy ordered by the 

5 Board, be subject to a civil penalty. Such penalty 

6 shall be in an amount not to exceed $50,000 for 

7 each violation, except that the Board shall double 

8 the amount of such penalty, to an amount not to ex9 ceed $100,000, in any case where the employer has 

10 within the preceding 5 years committed another 

11 such violation. 

12 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the 

13 amount of any civil penalty under this subsection, 

14 the Board shall consider— 

15 ‘‘(A) the gravity of the unfair labor prac16 tice; 

17 ‘‘(B) the impact of the unfair labor prac18 tice on the charging party, on other persons 

19 seeking to exercise rights guaranteed by this 

20 Act, and on the public interest; and 

21 ‘‘(C) the size of the employer. 

22 ‘‘(3) PERSONAL LIABILITY.—If the Board de23 termines, based on the particular facts and cir24 cumstances presented, that personal liability is war25 ranted, a civil penalty for a violation described in 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 3514 IH

1 this subsection may also be assessed against any of2 ficer or director of the employer who committed the 

3 violation or had the authority to prevent the viola4 tion. 

5 ‘‘(d) JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY.—An employer 

6 shall be jointly and severally liable under this Act for any 

7 violations of this Act involving one or more employees sup8 plied by another employer to perform labor within the em9 ployer’s usual course of business, except for purposes of 

10 subsection (e).’’. 

11 (c) INJUNCTIONS AGAINST UNFAIR LABOR PRAC12 TICES INVOLVING DISCHARGE OR OTHER SERIOUS ECO13 NOMIC LOSS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 10(l) of the National 

15 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160(l)) is amend16 ed— 

17 (A) by inserting after ‘‘charged that’’ the 

18 following: ‘‘an employer has engaged in an un19 fair labor practice within the meaning of section 

20 8(a) that significantly interferes with, restrains, 

21 or coerces employees in the exercise of the 

22 rights guaranteed under section 7 and involves 

23 discharge or other serious economic harm to an 

24 employee or’’; and 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 3514 IH

1 (B) by striking ‘‘as it deems just and prop2 er, notwithstanding any other provision of law:’’ 

3 and inserting the following: ‘‘to protect the 

4 rights guaranteed by section 7, notwithstanding 

5 any other provision of law. The district court 

6 shall grant the relief requested unless the court 

7 concludes that there is no reasonable likelihood 

8 that the Board will succeed on the merits of the 

9 Board’s claim:’’. 

10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 10(m) 

11 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 

12 160(m)) is amended by inserting ‘‘under cir13 cumstances not subject to subsection (l)’’ after ‘‘sec14 tion 8’’. 

15 (d) PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT.—Section 12 of the Na16 tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 162), as amended 

17 by subsection (b), is further amended by adding at the 

18 end the following: 

19 ‘‘(e) RIGHT TO CIVIL ACTION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who is injured 

21 by reason of any violation of paragraph (1) or (3) 

22 of section 8(a) may, in addition to or in lieu of filing 

23 a charge alleging such unfair labor practice with the 

24 Board in accordance with this Act, bring a civil ac25 tion in the appropriate district court of the United 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 3514 IH

1 States against the employer within 180 days of the 

2 violation. 

3 ‘‘(2) AVAILABLE RELIEF.—Relief granted in an 

4 action under paragraph (1) may include any relief 

5 authorized by section 706(g) of the Civil Rights Act 

6 of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5(g)) or by section 

7 1977A(b) of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 

8 1981a(b)). 

9 ‘‘(3) ATTORNEY’S FEE.—In any action or pro10 ceeding under this subsection, the court may allow 

11 the prevailing party a reasonable attorney’s fee (in12 cluding expert fees) as part of the costs.’’. 

13 (e) ENSURING FAIR REMEDIES FOR ALL WORK14 ERS.—Section 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act 

15 (29 U.S.C. 160(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘suffered by 

16 him:’’ and inserting ‘‘suffered by such employee: Provided 

17 further, That back pay shall not be denied on the basis 

18 that the employee is, or was during the time of relevant 

19 employment or during the back pay period, an unauthor20 ized alien as defined in section 274A(h)(3) of the Immi21 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)(3)) or any 

22 other provision of Federal law relating to the unlawful em23 ployment of aliens:’’. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 3514 IH

1 (f) REMEDYING ELECTION INTERFERENCE.—Section 

2 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 

3 159(c)) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 

5 paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively; and 

6 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(4) BARGAINING ORDER BASED ON MAJORITY OF

9 VOTES.—If the Board finds that, in an election under 

10 paragraph (1), a majority of the valid votes cast in a unit 

11 appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining have been 

12 cast in favor of representation by the labor organization, 

13 the Board shall issue an order requiring the employer to 

14 collectively bargain with the labor organization in accord15 ance with section 8(d). 

16 ‘‘(5) DISMISSAL; BARGAINING ORDERS IN OTHER

17 SITUATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) DISMISSAL.—If the Board finds that, in 

19 an election under paragraph (1), a majority of the 

20 valid votes cast in a unit appropriate for purposes 

21 of collective bargaining have not been cast in favor 

22 of representation by the labor organization, the 

23 Board shall dismiss the petition, subject to subpara24 graphs (B) and (C). 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 3514 IH

1 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULES FOR EMPLOYER VIOLA2 TIONS OR INTERFERENCE.—In any case where a 

3 majority of the valid votes cast in a unit appropriate 

4 for purposes of collective bargaining have not been 

5 cast in favor of representation by the labor organiza6 tion and the Board determines that the election 

7 should be set aside because the employer has com8 mitted a violation of this Act, or otherwise interfered 

9 with a fair election, and has not demonstrated that 

10 the violation or other interference is unlikely to have 

11 affected the outcome of the election, the Board shall, 

12 without ordering a new or rerun election, issue an 

13 order requiring the employer to bargain with the 

14 labor organization in accordance with section 8(d) if, 

15 at any time during the period beginning 1 year pre16 ceding the date of the commencement of the election 

17 and ending on the date upon which the Board makes 

18 the determination of a violation or other interference 

19 under subparagraph (A), a majority of the employ20 ees in the bargaining unit have signed authorizations 

21 designating the labor organization as their collective 

22 bargaining representative. 

23 ‘‘(C) OTHER ELECTION INTERFERENCE.—In 

24 any case where the Board determines that an elec25 tion under this paragraph should be set aside, the 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 3514 IH

1 Board shall direct a rerun election with appropriate 

2 additional safeguards necessary to ensure a fair elec3 tion process, except in cases where the Board issues 

4 a bargaining order under subparagraph (B).’’. 

5 SEC. 5. MODERNIZATION. 

6 (a) PREVENTION OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES.— 

7 Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 

8 158) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(h) POSTINGS OF NOTICE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall promul11 gate regulations requiring each employer to post and 

12 maintain, in conspicuous places where notices to em13 ployees and applicants for employment are custom14 arily posted both physically and electronically, a no15 tice setting forth the rights and protections afforded 

16 employees under this Act. The Board shall provide 

17 to employers the form and text of such notice. 

18 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF NEW EMPLOYEES.—The 

19 Board shall promulgate regulations requiring em20 ployers to notify each new employee of the informa21 tion contained in the notice described in paragraph 

22 (1).’’. 

23 (b) ENFORCING COMPLIANCE WITH ORDERS OF THE

24 BOARD.— 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 3514 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 10 of the National 

2 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160) is amended— 

3 (A) by striking subsection (e); 

4 (B) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub5 section (e); and 

6 (C) by inserting after subsection (c) the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(d) ENFORCING COMPLIANCE WITH ORDERS OF

9 THE BOARD.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each order of the Board 

11 shall take effect 30 days from the date upon which 

12 notice of the order is given, unless otherwise directed 

13 by the Board. Each such orders shall continue in 

14 force indefinitely or for the period of time specified 

15 in the order, or until the Board or a court of com16 petent jurisdiction issues a superseding order. 

17 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF THE BOARD.—If any per18 son or entity fails or neglects to obey any order of 

19 the Board while such order is in effect, the Board 

20 shall apply to the district court of the United States 

21 in which the unfair labor practice or other subject 

22 of the order occurred, or in which such person or en23 tity resides or transacts business, for the enforce24 ment of such order. The Board shall file in the court 

25 the record in the proceedings, as provided in section 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 3514 IH

1 2112 of title 28, United States Code. Any person 

2 that was a party to the underlying Board proceeding 

3 may join in the proceeding initiated by the Board. 

4 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURE.—If, after having provided a 

5 person or entity with notice and an opportunity to 

6 be heard regarding a request under paragraph (2) 

7 for the enforcement of an order, the court deter8 mines that the order was regularly made and duly 

9 served, and that the person or entity is in disobe10 dience of the same, the court shall enforce obedience 

11 to such order by a writ of injunction or other proper 

12 process, mandatory or otherwise, to— 

13 ‘‘(A) restrain such person or entity or the 

14 officers, agents, or representatives of such per15 son or entity, from further disobedience of such 

16 order; or 

17 ‘‘(B) enjoin upon such person or entity, of18 ficers, agents, or representatives obedience to 

19 the same. 

20 ‘‘(4) VIOLATIONS OF ORDERS BY THE BOARD.— 

21 Any person or entity who willfully and knowingly 

22 violates any rule, regulation, restriction, condition, 

23 or order made or imposed by the Board under au24 thority of this Act shall, in addition to any other 

25 penalties provided by law, be subject to a civil penVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Sep 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3514.IH H3514

asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 3514 IH

1 alty of not to exceed $10,000 for each and every day 

2 during which such violation occurs, commencing with 

3 the effective date of any such rule, regulation, re4 striction, condition, or order. Such civil penalty may 

5 be imposed by the Board or by a court in a pro6 ceeding initiated by the Board under this sub7 section.’’. 

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The National 

9 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is 

10 amended— 

11 (A) in section 9(d), by striking ‘‘section 

12 10(e) or 10(f)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (d) or 

13 (f) of section 10’’; and 

14 (B) in section 10— 

15 (i) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘sub16 section (e) of this section’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘subsection (d)’’; and 

18 (ii) in subsection (g), by striking 

19 ‘‘subsection (e) or (f) of this section’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘subsection (d) or (f)’’. 

Æ 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS