II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2042 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, 

Ms. WARREN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. REED) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

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


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The National Labor Relations Act (29 

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

5 practice of collective bargaining and to protect the 

6 exercise by workers of full freedom of association in 

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

8 millions of workers have bargained with their em9 ployers over wages, benefits, and other terms and 

10 conditions of employment and have raised the stand11 ard of living for all workers. 

12 (2) Through acting collectively and bargaining 

13 with their employers, workers who are unionized 

14 earn 21.3 percent more than workers who are not 

15 covered by a collective bargaining agreement. They 

16 are 28.4 percent more likely to be covered by em17 ployer-provided health insurance and 30.9 percent 

18 more likely to have employer-provided pensions. The 

19 wage differential is even more pronounced for 

20 women and people of color. Unionized African-Amer21 ican workers earn 24.6 percent more than African22 American workers who are not unionized, and union23 ized Latino workers earn 29.3 percent more than 

24 their peers who are not unionized. Unionized women 

25 earn 24 percent more than women who are not 

26 unionized, and the wage gap between men and 


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1 women is much smaller at unionized workplaces. 

2 The wage gains achieved through collective bar3 gaining benefit workers and their communities. 

4 (3) Unions and collective bargaining ensure 

5 that productivity gains are shared by working peo6 ple. The decline in the percentage of workers covered 

7 by collective bargaining has contributed significantly 

8 to skyrocketing income inequality and flat wages. 

9 (4) As enacted in 1935, the National Labor Re10 lations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) protects the 

11 right of all workers to join together with their co12 workers to advocate for improvements in their pay, 

13 benefits, and working conditions, regardless of 

14 whether they seek representation by a union. The 

15 law protects the right of workers to discuss issues 

16 like pay and benefits without retaliation or inter17 ference by employers. However, the awareness of 

18 workers regarding their rights under the law is lack19 ing, and many employers maintain policies that re20 strict the ability of workers to discuss workplace 

21 issues with each other, directly contravening these 

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

23 workers report that their employers have policies 

24 that prohibit or discourage workers from discussing 

25 pay with their co-workers. These policies and pracVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Sep 16, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2042.IS S2042

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1 tices impede workers from exercising their rights 

2 under the law and impair their freedom of associa3 tion at work. 

4 (5) Retaliation by employers against workers 

5 who exercise their rights under the National Labor 

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

7 troubling levels. Employers routinely fire workers for 

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

9 of 3 organizing campaigns, one or more workers are 

10 discharged for supporting joining a union. In fiscal 

11 year 2014, the National Labor Relations Board ob12 tained reinstatement orders for 3,240 workers and 

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

14 workers who faced illegal retaliation for exercising 

15 their rights. Discrimination for organizing hurts all 

16 workers, but minorities in particular, as minorities 

17 are more likely than Whites to seek to organize and 

18 receive a larger wage premium from collective bar19 gaining. 

20 (6) The current remedies are inadequate to 

21 deter employers from violating the National Labor 

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

23 and penalties for violations of the National Labor 

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

25 than for other labor and employment laws, including 


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

2 seq.). Unlike other major labor and employment 

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

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

5 their own; they must rely on the National Labor Re6 lations Board to prosecute their case. 

7 (7) In order to make the right to collective bar8 gaining and freedom of association in the workplace 

9 a reality for workers, the National Labor Relations 

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

11 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

12 The purposes of this Act are— 

13 (1) to strengthen protections for employees en14 gaged in collective action to improve their wages, 

15 hours, and terms and conditions of employment; 

16 (2) to provide for stronger remedies for employ17 ees who face retaliation, discrimination, or other in18 terference with the legal right of the employees to 

19 engage in collective action; 

20 (3) to provide for penalties against employers 

21 who violate the rights of employees to engage in col22 lective action, in order to act as a meaningful deter23 rent against violating the law; and 


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1 (4) to streamline the enforcement procedures of 

2 the National Labor Relations Board to provide for 

3 more timely and effective enforcement of the law. 

4 SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING REMEDIES AND ENFORCEMENT 

5 FOR EMPLOYEES EXERCISING THEIR RIGHTS 

6 AT WORK. 

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

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

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

10 That if the Board finds that an employer has discrimi11 nated against an employee in violation of paragraph (3) 

12 or (4) of section 8(a) or has committed a violation of sec13 tion 8(a) that results in the discharge of an employee or 

14 other serious economic loss to an employee, the Board 

15 shall award the employee back pay and an additional 

16 amount as liquidated damages equal to 2 times the 

17 amount of such back pay, without any reduction (includ18 ing any reduction based on the employee’s interim earn19 ings or failure to earn interim earnings): Provided fur20 ther,’’. 

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

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

23 (1) by striking ‘‘SEC. 12. Any person’’ and in24 serting the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 12. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

2 ‘‘(a) VIOLATIONS FOR INTERFERENCE WITH

3 BOARD.—Any person’’; and 

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

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

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

7 Board for such purposes, determines that an employer has 

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

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

10 determination; 

11 ‘‘(2) issue and cause to be served on such em12 ployer an order requiring that such employer post 

13 the notice described in such section and provide the 

14 information to new employees described in such sec15 tion; and 

16 ‘‘(3) impose a civil penalty in an amount deter17 mined appropriate by the Board, except that in no 

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

19 each such violation. 

20 ‘‘(c) VIOLATIONS CAUSING SERIOUS ECONOMIC LOSS

21 TO EMPLOYEES.— 

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

23 an unfair labor practice within the meaning of para24 graph (3) or (4) of section 8(a) or a violation of sec25 tion 8(a) that results in the discharge of an em26 ployee or other serious economic loss to an employee 


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1 shall, in addition to any remedy ordered by the 

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

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

4 each violation, except that the Board shall double 

5 the amount of such penalty, to an amount not to ex6 ceed $100,000, in any case where the employer has 

7 within the preceding 5 years committed another 

8 such violation. 

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

10 amount of any civil penalty under this subsection, 

11 the Board shall consider— 

12 ‘‘(A) the gravity of the unfair labor prac13 tice; 

14 ‘‘(B) the impact of the unfair labor prac15 tice on the charging party, on other persons 

16 seeking to exercise rights guaranteed by this 

17 Act, and on the public interest; and 

18 ‘‘(C) the size of the employer. 

19 ‘‘(3) PERSONAL LIABILITY.—If the Board de20 termines, based on the particular facts and cir21 cumstances presented, that personal liability is war22 ranted, a civil penalty for a violation described in 

23 this subsection may also be assessed against any of24 ficer or director of the employer who committed the 


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1 violation or had the authority to prevent the viola2 tion. 

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

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

5 violations of this Act involving one or more employees sup6 plied by another employer to perform labor within the em7 ployer’s usual course of business, except for purposes of 

8 subsection (e).’’. 

9 (c) INJUNCTIONS AGAINST UNFAIR LABOR PRAC10 TICES INVOLVING DISCHARGE OR OTHER SERIOUS ECO11 NOMIC LOSS.— 

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

13 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160(l)) is amend14 ed— 

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

16 following: ‘‘an employer has engaged in an un17 fair labor practice within the meaning of section 

18 8(a) that significantly interferes with, restrains, 

19 or coerces employees in the exercise of the 

20 rights guaranteed under section 7 and involves 

21 discharge or other serious economic harm to an 

22 employee or’’; and 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘as it deems just and prop24 er, notwithstanding any other provision of law:’’ 

25 and inserting the following: ‘‘to protect the 


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1 rights guaranteed by section 7, notwithstanding 

2 any other provision of law. The district court 

3 shall grant the relief requested unless the court 

4 concludes that there is no reasonable likelihood 

5 that the Board will succeed on the merits of the 

6 Board’s claim:’’. 

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

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

9 160(m)) is amended by inserting ‘‘under cir10 cumstances not subject to subsection (l)’’ after ‘‘sec11 tion 8’’. 

12 (d) PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT.—Section 12 of the Na13 tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 162), as amended 

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

15 end the following: 

16 ‘‘(e) RIGHT TO CIVIL ACTION.— 

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

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

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

20 a charge alleging such unfair labor practice with the 

21 Board in accordance with this Act, bring a civil ac22 tion in the appropriate district court of the United 

23 States against the employer within 180 days of the 

24 violation. 


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

2 action under paragraph (1) may include any relief 

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

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

5 1977A(b) of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 

6 1981a(b)). 

7 ‘‘(3) ATTORNEY’S FEE.—In any action or pro8 ceeding under this subsection, the court may allow 

9 the prevailing party a reasonable attorney’s fee (in10 cluding expert fees) as part of the costs.’’. 

11 (e) ENSURING FAIR REMEDIES FOR ALL WORK12 ERS.—Section 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act 

13 (29 U.S.C. 160(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘suffered by 

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

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

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

17 employment or during the back pay period, an unauthor18 ized alien as defined in section 274A(h)(3) of the Immi19 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)(3)) or any 

20 other provision of Federal law relating to the unlawful em21 ployment of aliens:’’. 

22 (f) REMEDYING ELECTION INTERFERENCE.—Section 

23 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 

24 159(c)) is amended— 


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

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

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol4 lowing: 

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

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

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

8 appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining have been 

9 cast in favor of representation by the labor organization, 

10 the Board shall issue an order requiring the employer to 

11 collectively bargain with the labor organization in accord12 ance with section 8(d). 

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

14 SITUATIONS.— 

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

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

17 valid votes cast in a unit appropriate for purposes 

18 of collective bargaining have not been cast in favor 

19 of representation by the labor organization, the 

20 Board shall dismiss the petition, subject to subpara21 graphs (B) and (C). 

22 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULES FOR EMPLOYER VIOLA23 TIONS OR INTERFERENCE.—In any case where a 

24 majority of the valid votes cast in a unit appropriate 

25 for purposes of collective bargaining have not been 


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1 cast in favor of representation by the labor organiza2 tion and the Board determines that the election 

3 should be set aside because the employer has com4 mitted a violation of this Act, or otherwise interfered 

5 with a fair election, and has not demonstrated that 

6 the violation or other interference is unlikely to have 

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

8 without ordering a new or rerun election, issue an 

9 order requiring the employer to bargain with the 

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

11 at any time during the period beginning 1 year pre12 ceding the date of the commencement of the election 

13 and ending on the date upon which the Board makes 

14 the determination of a violation or other interference 

15 under subparagraph (A), a majority of the employ16 ees in the bargaining unit have signed authorizations 

17 designating the labor organization as their collective 

18 bargaining representative. 

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

20 any case where the Board determines that an elec21 tion under this paragraph should be set aside, the 

22 Board shall direct a rerun election with appropriate 

23 additional safeguards necessary to ensure a fair elec24 tion process, except in cases where the Board issues 

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


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1 SEC. 5. MODERNIZATION. 

2 (a) PREVENTION OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES.— 

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

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

5 ‘‘(h) POSTINGS OF NOTICE.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall promul7 gate regulations requiring each employer to post and 

8 maintain, in conspicuous places where notices to em9 ployees and applicants for employment are custom10 arily posted both physically and electronically, a no11 tice setting forth the rights and protections afforded 

12 employees under this Act. The Board shall provide 

13 to employers the form and text of such notice. 

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

15 Board shall promulgate regulations requiring em16 ployers to notify each new employee of the informa17 tion contained in the notice described in paragraph 

18 (1).’’. 

19 (b) ENFORCING COMPLIANCE WITH ORDERS OF THE

20 BOARD.— 

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

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

23 (A) by striking subsection (e); 

24 (B) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub25 section (e); and 


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

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(d) ENFORCING COMPLIANCE WITH ORDERS OF

4 THE BOARD.— 

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

6 shall take effect 30 days from the date upon which 

7 notice of the order is given, unless otherwise directed 

8 by the Board. Each such orders shall continue in 

9 force indefinitely or for the period of time specified 

10 in the order, or until the Board or a court of com11 petent jurisdiction issues a superseding order. 

12 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF THE BOARD.—If any per13 son or entity fails or neglects to obey any order of 

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

15 shall apply to the district court of the United States 

16 in which the unfair labor practice or other subject 

17 of the order occurred, or in which such person or en18 tity resides or transacts business, for the enforce19 ment of such order. The Board shall file in the court 

20 the record in the proceedings, as provided in section 

21 2112 of title 28, United States Code. Any person 

22 that was a party to the underlying Board proceeding 

23 may join in the proceeding initiated by the Board. 

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

25 person or entity with notice and an opportunity to 


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1 be heard regarding a request under paragraph (2) 

2 for the enforcement of an order, the court deter3 mines that the order was regularly made and duly 

4 served, and that the person or entity is in disobe5 dience of the same, the court shall enforce obedience 

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

7 process, mandatory or otherwise, to— 

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

9 officers, agents, or representatives of such per10 son or entity, from further disobedience of such 

11 order; or 

12 ‘‘(B) enjoin upon such person or entity, of13 ficers, agents, or representatives obedience to 

14 the same. 

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

16 Any person or entity who willfully and knowingly 

17 violates any rule, regulation, restriction, condition, 

18 or order made or imposed by the Board under au19 thority of this Act shall, in addition to any other 

20 penalties provided by law, be subject to a civil pen21 alty of not to exceed $10,000 for each and every day 

22 during which such violation occurs, commencing with 

23 the effective date of any such rule, regulation, re24 striction, condition, or order. Such civil penalty may 

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1 ceeding initiated by the Board under this sub2 section.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The National 

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

5 amended— 

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

7 10(e) or 10(f)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (d) or 

8 (f) of section 10’’; and 

9 (B) in section 10— 

10 (i) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘sub11 section (e) of this section’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘subsection (d)’’; and 

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

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

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

Æ 


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