IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 506 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in support of consid-
ering legislation that would reinforce the goals of the working families 
agenda. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 29, 2015 
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. EDWARDS, Ms. LINDA 
T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. ELLISON, 
Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. WILSON of 
Florida, Mr. NADLER, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. POCAN, Mr. POLIS, Ms. 
CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. COURTNEY, Mrs. DAVIS of 
California, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. 
JEFFRIES, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. BEYER, Mr. GUTIE´RREZ, Mrs. 
WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. LEE, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. GRAYSON, Ms. 
KAPTUR, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. NORTON, Ms. JACK-
SON LEE, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. TONKO, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. 
CARSON of Indiana, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illi-
nois, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. 
HONDA, Mr. FATTAH, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mrs. CAROLYN 
B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. DEUTCH, 
Ms. BROWN of Florida, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Ms. HAHN, 
Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. TAKAI, Mr. 
QUIGLEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. GENE 
GREEN of Texas, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. 
HUFFMAN, Mr. SERRANO, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. COHEN, Ms. ROYBAL- 
ALLARD, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. VAN
HOLLEN, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. 
BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. 
RYAN of Ohio, Ms. MENG, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. 
CONYERS, Mr. SIRES, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. 
VEASEY, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. 
BLUMENAUER, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. KILMER, Mrs. DINGELL, 
Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. TED LIEU 
of California, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Miss RICE 
of New York, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. CLAY, Mr. LARSEN of 
Washington, Mr. FARR, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. 
HIGGINS, Mrs. BEATTY, and Mr. NORCROSS) submitted the following res-
olution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, 
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•HRES 506 IH 
House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, and the Judi-
ciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in 
support of considering legislation that would reinforce 
the goals of the working families agenda. 
Whereas too many Americans are struggling to make ends 
meet and Congress has the power to enact responsible 
policies that would boost wages so hardworking Ameri-
cans can live a better life; 
Whereas full-time, year-round work at the minimum wage 
leaves a family of 3 below the Federal poverty line; 
Whereas the buying power of the minimum wage erodes over 
time—and in 2014, the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 
was worth nearly 10 percent less than when it was last 
raised in 2009, after adjusting for inflation; 
Whereas raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020 would 
directly or indirectly lift wages for 35,100,000 workers— 
more than 1 in 4 United States workers—89 percent of 
whom are over the age of 20; 
Whereas a 2000 study commissioned by the Department of 
Labor found that up to 30 percent of firms misclassify 
their employees as independent contractors; 
Whereas misclassified workers are excluded from employer- 
provided health and pension plans, denied the right to 
unionize, and deprived of overtime, minimum wage, em-
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•HRES 506 IH 
ployment discrimination, and health and safety protec-
tions that are guaranteed to employees; 
Whereas employers who misclassify their workers fail to pay 
required payroll taxes, thereby shifting unemployment 
taxes and workers’ compensation premiums onto law- 
abiding businesses; 
Whereas nonunion workers earn, on average, $207 less per 
week than unionized workers and workers who do not be-
long to a union are far less likely to have access to paid 
sick leave, fair scheduling, paid medical and retirement 
benefits, life insurance, and paid holidays as their union 
counterparts; 
Whereas an analysis of illegal employer conduct during union 
organizing campaigns found that 47 percent of employers 
threaten cuts in benefits or wages if their employees join 
the union, 57 percent threaten to close the facility, and 
34 percent fire at least one employee in retaliation for or-
ganizing but the penalties for employer interference with 
organizing are only nominal; 
Whereas strengthening protections for organizing will allow 
workers to collectively bargain for higher wages and bet-
ter working conditions; 
Whereas workplace policies make it difficult for millions of 
Americans to both provide for and care for their families, 
and Congress has the power to enact responsible policies 
that would help achieve a better balance between work 
and family life; 
Whereas in more than 60 percent of households with children 
all adults are working, women make up 40 percent of pri-
mary breadwinners in households with children, and men 
are increasingly more involved in raising children; 
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Whereas nearly 17 percent of workers have unstable shift 
schedules—a disproportionate number of whom are work-
ers of color—and roughly half of low-wage workers report 
very little or no control over the timing of the hours they 
are scheduled to work; 
Whereas 41 percent of workers who are ages 26 through 32 
in hourly jobs report getting their work schedules a week 
or less in advance; 
Whereas ensuring that workers have flexible, predictable, and 
stable schedules is critical to workers’ ability to plan their 
lives—including arranging child care or elder care, hold-
ing down a second job, going to school, or addressing 
their own serious health conditions; 
Whereas more than 43,000,000 people don’t have a single 
paid sick day to recover from common, short-term ill-
nesses, less than two-thirds of workers in the private sec-
tor have access to paid sick leave and only 30 percent of 
workers in the bottom quarter of the earnings distribu-
tion have access to paid sick leave; 
Whereas providing all workers with sick days would reduce 
medical costs by $1,100,000,000 and save public health 
programs $500,000,000 annually; 
Whereas only 13 percent of the workforce has paid family 
leave through an employer, less than 40 percent has per-
sonal medical leave through an employer-provided dis-
ability program, and only 5 percent of workers in the bot-
tom quarter of the earnings distribution have access to 
paid family and medical leave; 
Whereas the implementation of a nationwide family leave pro-
posal would mean economic security for working Ameri-
cans and their families, improved health outcomes for 
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families and children, increased labor force attachment 
for women, better bottom lines for business and a strong-
er national economy; 
Whereas decades of research shows that access to high-qual-
ity child care and early education experiences benefits all 
children, particularly low-income children; 
Whereas high-quality child care and early education can build 
a strong foundation for young children’s healthy develop-
ment and ensure that children thrive, and quality pre-
school leads to a wide range of short- and long-term ben-
efits, including better educational outcomes, higher earn-
ings, and lower crime and delinquency rates and support 
for quality preschool programs could help deliver these 
benefits to children nationwide; 
Whereas discrimination remains an all too persistent barrier 
to workers’ ability to succeed and Congress has the power 
to level the playing field by enacting responsible policies 
that would strengthen protections from discrimination; 
Whereas more than 5 decades after the passage of the Equal 
Pay Act of 1963, women overall working full-time, year- 
round are paid an overall average of 79 cents for every 
dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men, Asian-American 
women working full-time, year-round are paid 84 cents, 
African-American women working full-time, year-round 
are paid 61 cents, Native American women working full- 
time, year-round are paid 59 cents, and Hispanic women 
working full-time, year-round are paid 55 cents compared 
to White, non-Hispanic men; 
Whereas the wage gap costs women and mothers who are em-
ployed full-time in the United States, as a group, more 
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than $490,000,000,000 every year and results in a loss 
of over $400,000 over a woman’s lifetime; 
Whereas putting the remedies for violations of the Equal Pay 
Act of 1963 on par with the remedies for violations of 
other civil rights laws and prohibiting employers from re-
taliating against workers for discussing their pay would 
help women fight back against pay discrimination; 
Whereas two-thirds of first-time mothers are working but all 
too often women are denied minor adjustments at work 
needed to continue working safely during pregnancy like 
carrying a water bottle, staying off high ladders, or sit-
ting on a stool during a very long shift; 
Whereas pregnant women who have been denied accommoda-
tions have been forced off the job during pregnancy at 
the moment when they can least afford it—when they 
have a new mouth to feed; 
Whereas establishing an unmistakably clear legal right to job 
accommodations for pregnant workers would allow 
women who need accommodations to have healthy preg-
nancies and provide for their growing families; 
Whereas 31 States lack full nondiscrimination protections for 
workers based on their sexual orientation and gender 
identity, meaning that workers may have no recourse if 
they are fired based solely on sexual orientation or gen-
der identity; 
Whereas lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals 
working in States lacking full nondiscrimination protec-
tions for workers are more likely to report household in-
comes below $24,000 than such individuals working in 
States with such protections; and 
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Whereas making unmistakably clear that Federal law pro-
hibits discrimination against workers based on their sex-
ual orientation or gender identity would help ensure that 
these workers’ jobs are not in jeopardy: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) workers are in need of responsible policy so-
lutions that will help them make a better life for 
themselves and their families; 
(2) a working families agenda is established 
to— 
(A) boost wages by raising the minimum 
wage, strengthening workers’ right to organize, 
and protecting workers from misclassification; 
(B) achieve a better balance between work 
and family by providing workers with paid sick 
days, paid family leave, and flexible, predict-
able, and stable schedules while also ensuring 
that workers have access to high-quality early 
learning opportunities and affordable child care; 
and 
(C) level the playing field by strengthening 
the law guaranteeing equal pay for equal work, 
ensuring that pregnant workers have an unmis-
takably clear right to reasonable accommoda-
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tions when they need them to continue working 
safely during pregnancy, and ensure that work-
ers have explicit protections from discrimination 
based on their sexual orientation and gender 
identity; and 
(3) to show support for working families hear-
ings and votes should be held on— 
(A) H.R. 2150, the Raise the Wage Act; 
(B) H.R. 3514, the Workplace Action for 
a Growing Economy Act; 
(C) H.R. 3427, the Payroll Fraud Preven-
tion Act of 2015; 
(D) H.R. 3071, the Schedules that Work 
Act; 
(E) H.R. 932, the Healthy Families Act; 
(F) H.R. 1439, the Family and Medical 
Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act); 
(G) H.R. 2411, the Strong Start for Amer-
ica’s Children Act of 2015; 
(H) H.R. 2654, the Pregnant Workers 
Fairness Act; 
(I) H.R. 1619, the Paycheck Fairness Act; 
and 
(J) H.R. 3185, the Equality Act. 
Æ 
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