SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting the Right 
to Organize Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE NATIONAL LABOR RELA-
TIONS ACT. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.— 
(1) JOINT EMPLOYER.—Section 2(2) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 152(2)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Two 
or more persons shall be employers with respect to 
an employee if each such person codetermines or 
shares control over the employee’s essential terms 
and conditions of employment. In determining 
whether such control exists, the Board or a court of 
competent jurisdiction shall consider as relevant di-
rect control and indirect control over such terms and 
conditions, reserved authority to control such terms 
and conditions, and control over such terms and con-
ditions exercised by a person in fact: Provided, That 
nothing herein precludes a finding that indirect or 
reserved control standing alone can be sufficient 
given specific facts and circumstances.’’. 
(2) EMPLOYEE.—Section 2(3) of the National 
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 152(3)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: ‘‘An individual 
performing any service shall be considered an em-
ployee (except as provided in the previous sentence) 
and not an independent contractor, unless— 
‘‘(A) the individual is free from control and 
direction in connection with the performance of 
the service, both under the contract for the per-
formance of service and in fact; 
‘‘(B) the service is performed outside the 
usual course of the business of the employer; 
and 
‘‘(C) the individual is customarily engaged 
in an independently established trade, occupa-
tion, profession, or business of the same nature 
as that involved in the service performed.’’. 
(3) SUPERVISOR.—Section 2(11) of the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 152(11)) is 
amended— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘and for a majority of the 
individual’s worktime’’ after ‘‘interest of the 
employer’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘assign,’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘or responsibly to direct 
them,’’. 
(b) REPORTS.—Section 3(c) of the National Labor 
Relations Act is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘The Board’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) 
The Board’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) Effective January 1, 2021, section 3003 of the 
Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 
(Public Law 166–44; 31 U.S.C. 1113 note) shall not apply 
with respect to reports required under this subsection. 
‘‘(3) Each report issued under this subsection shall 
include no less detail than reports issued by the Board 
prior to the termination of such reports under section 
3003 of the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act 
of 1995 (Public Law 166–44; 31 U.S.C. 1113 note).’’. 
(c) APPOINTMENT.—Section 4(a) of the National 
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 154(a)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘, or for economic analysis’’. 
(d) UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES.—Section 8 of the 
National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe-
riod and inserting ‘‘;’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) to promise, threaten, or take any action— 
‘‘(A) to permanently replace an employee 
who participates in a strike as defined by sec-
tion 501(2) of the Labor Management Rela-
tions Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C. 142(2)); 
‘‘(B) to discriminate against an employee 
who is working or has unconditionally offered to 
return to work for the employer because the 
employee supported or participated in such a 
strike; or 
‘‘(C) to lockout, suspend, or otherwise 
withold employment from employees in order to 
influence the position of such employees or the 
representative of such employees in collective 
bargaining prior to a strike; and 
‘‘(7) to communicate or misrepresent to an em-
ployee under section 2(3) that such employee is ex-
cluded from the definition of employee under section 
2(3).’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking paragraphs (4) and (7); 
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and 
(6) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; 
(C) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated, 
by striking ‘‘affected;’’ and inserting ‘‘affected; 
and’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated, 
by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period;
(3) in subsection (c), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting the following: ‘‘: Provided, 
That it shall be an unfair labor practice under sub-
section (a)(1) for any employer to require or coerce 
an employee to attend or participate in such employ-
er’s campaign activities unrelated to the employee’s 
job duties, including activities that are subject to the 
requirements under section 203(b) of the Labor- 
Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 
(29 U.S.C. 433(b)).’’; 
(4) in subsection (d)— 
(A) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(1) 
through (4) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), 
respectively; 
(B) by striking ‘‘For the purposes of this 
section’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) For purposes of this 
section’’; 
(C) by inserting ‘‘and to maintain current 
wages, hours, and working conditions pending 
an agreement’’ after ‘‘arising thereunder’’; 
(D) by inserting ‘‘: Provided, That an em-
ployer’s duty to collectively bargain shall con-
tinue absent decertification of the labor organi-
zation following an election conducted pursuant 
to section 9’’ after ‘‘making of a concession:’’;
(E) by inserting ‘‘further’’ before ‘‘, That 
where there is in effect’’; 
(F) by striking ‘‘The duties imposed’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(2) The duties imposed’’; 
(G) by striking ‘‘by paragraphs (2), (3), 
and (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘by subparagraphs (B), 
(C), and (D) of paragraph (1)’’; 
(H) by striking ‘‘section 8(d)(1)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘paragraph (1)(A)’’; 
(I) by striking ‘‘section 8(d)(3)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘paragraph (1)(C)’’ in each place it ap-
pears; 
(J) by striking ‘‘section 8(d)(4)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘paragraph (1)(D)’’; and 
(K) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) Whenever collective bargaining is for the pur-
pose of establishing an initial collective bargaining agree-
ment following certification or recognition of a labor orga-
nization, the following shall apply: 
‘‘(A) Not later than 10 days after receiving a 
written request for collective bargaining from an in-
dividual or labor organization that has been newly 
recognized or certified as a representative as defined 
in section 9(a), or within such further period as the 
parties agree upon, the parties shall meet and com-
vided further, That this subsection shall not apply to 
any agreement embodied in or expressly permitted 
by a contract between an employer and a labor orga-
nization.’’; 
(6) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘clause (B) of 
the last sentence of section 8(d) of this Act’’ and in-
serting ‘‘subsection (d)(2)(B)’’; and 
(7) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(h)(1) The Board shall promulgate regulations re-
quiring each employer to post and maintain, in con-
spicuous places where notices to employees and applicants 
for employment are customarily posted both physically and 
electronically, a notice setting forth the rights and protec-
tions afforded employees under this Act. The Board shall 
make available to the public the form and text of such 
notice. The Board shall promulgate regulations requiring 
employers to notify each new employee of the information 
contained in the notice described in the preceding two sen-
tences. 
‘‘(2) Whenever the Board directs an election under 
section 9(c) or approves an election agreement, the em-
ployer of employees in the bargaining unit shall, not later 
than 2 business days after the Board directs such election 
or approves such election agreement, provide a voter list 
to a labor organization that has petitioned to represent
such employees. Such voter list shall include the names 
of all employees in the bargaining unit and such employ-
ees’ home addresses, work locations, shifts, job classifica-
tions, and, if available to the employer, personal landline 
and mobile telephone numbers, and work and personal 
email addresses; the voter list must be provided in a 
searchable electronic format generally approved by the 
Board unless the employer certifies that the employer does 
not possess the capacity to produce the list in the required 
form. Not later than 9 months after the date of enactment 
of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019, the 
Board shall promulgate regulations implementing the re-
quirements of this paragraph. 
‘‘(i) The rights of an employee under section 7 in-
clude the right to use electronic communication devices 
and systems (including computers, laptops, tablets, inter-
net access, email, cellular telephones, or other company 
equipment) of the employer of such employee to engage 
in activities protected under section 7 if such employer has 
given such employee access to such devices and systems 
in the course of the work of such employee, absent a com-
pelling business rationale.’’. 
(e) REPRESENTATIVES AND ELECTIONS.—Section 9 
of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159) is 
amended—
(1) in subsection (c)— 
(A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(1) Whenever a petition shall have been filed, in ac-
cordance with such regulations as may be prescribed by 
the Board, by an employee or group of employees or any 
individual or labor organization acting in their behalf al-
leging that a substantial number of employees (i) wish to 
be represented for collective bargaining and that their em-
ployer declines to recognize their representative as the rep-
resentative defined in section 9(a), or (ii) assert that the 
individual or labor organization, which has been certified 
or is being recognized by their employer as the bargaining 
representative, is no longer a representative as defined in 
section 9(a), the Board shall investigate such petition and 
if it has reasonable cause to believe that a question of rep-
resentation affecting commerce exists shall provide for an 
appropriate hearing upon due notice. Such hearing may 
be conducted by an officer or employee of the regional of-
fice, who shall not make any recommendations with re-
spect thereto. If the Board finds upon the record of such 
hearing that such a question of representation exists, it 
shall direct an election by secret ballot and shall certify 
the results thereof. The Board shall find the labor organi-
zation’s proposed unit to be appropriate if the employees
in the proposed unit share a community of interest, and 
if the employees outside the unit do not share an over-
whelming community of interest with employees inside. At 
the request of the labor organization, the Board shall di-
rect that the election be conducted through certified mail, 
electronically, at the work location, or at a location other 
than one owned or controlled by the employer. No em-
ployer shall have standing as a party or to intervene in 
any representation proceeding under this section.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘an eco-
nomic strike who are not entitled to reinstate-
ment’’ and inserting ‘‘a strike’’; 
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 
(5) as paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively; 
(D) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 
following: 
‘‘(4) If the Board finds that, in an election under 
paragraph (1), a majority of the valid votes cast in a unit 
appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining have been 
cast in favor of representation by the labor organization, 
the Board shall certify the labor organization as the rep-
resentative of the employees in such unit and shall issue 
an order requiring the employer of such employees to col-
lectively bargain with the labor organization in accordance 
with section 8(d). This order shall be deemed an order
under section 10(c) of this Act, without need for a deter-
mination of an unfair labor practice. 
‘‘(5)(A) If the Board finds that, in an election under 
paragraph (1), a majority of the valid votes cast in a unit 
appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining have not 
been cast in favor of representation by the labor organiza-
tion, the Board shall dismiss the petition, subject to sub-
paragraphs (B) and (C). 
‘‘(B) In any case in which a majority of the valid 
votes cast in a unit appropriate for purposes of collective 
bargaining have not been cast in favor of representation 
by the labor organization and the Board determines that 
the election should be set aside because the employer has 
committed a violation of this Act or otherwise interfered 
with a fair election, and the employer has not dem-
onstrated that the violation or other interference is un-
likely to have affected the outcome of the election, the 
Board shall, without ordering a new election, certify the 
labor organization as the representative of the employees 
in such unit and issue an order requiring the employer 
to bargain with the labor organization in accordance with 
section 8(d) if, at any time during the period beginning 
1 year preceding the date of the commencement of the 
election and ending on the date upon which the Board 
makes the determination of a violation or other inter-
ference, a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit 
have signed authorizations designating the labor organiza-
tion as their collective bargaining representative. 
‘‘(C) In any case where the Board determines that 
an election under this paragraph should be set aside, the 
Board shall direct a new election with appropriate addi-
tional safeguards necessary to ensure a fair election proc-
ess, except in cases where the Board issues a bargaining 
order under subparagraph (B).’’; and 
(E) by inserting after paragraph (7), as so 
redesignated, the following: 
‘‘(8) Except under extraordinary circumstances— 
‘‘(A) a pre-election hearing under this sub-
section shall begin not later than 8 days after a no-
tice of such hearing is served on the labor organiza-
tion and shall continue from day to day until com-
pleted; 
‘‘(B) a regional director shall transmit the no-
tice of election at the same time as the direction of 
election, and shall transmit such notice and such di-
rection electronically (including transmission by 
email or facsimile) or by overnight mail if electronic 
transmission is unavailable; 
‘‘(C) not later than 2 days after the service of 
the notice of hearing, the employer shall—
‘‘(i) post the Notice of Petition for Elec-
tion in conspicuous places, including all places 
where notices to employees are customarily 
posted; 
‘‘(ii) if the employer customarily commu-
nicates with employees electronically, distribute 
such Notice electronically; and 
‘‘(iii) maintain such posting until the peti-
tion is dismissed or withdrawn or the Notice of 
Petition for Election is replaced by the Notice 
of Election; 
‘‘(D) regional directors shall schedule elections 
for the earliest date practicable, but not later than 
the 20th business day after the direction of election; 
and 
‘‘(E) a post-election hearing under this sub-
section shall begin not later than 14 days after the 
filing of objections, if any.’’; 
(2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘(e) or’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(d) or’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(f) The Board shall dismiss any petition for an elec-
tion with respect to a bargaining unit or any subdivision 
if, during the preceding 12-month period, the employer
has recognized a labor organization without an election 
and in accordance with this Act.’’. 
(f) PREVENTION OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES.— 
Section 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 
U.S.C. 160(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘suffered by him’’ 
and inserting ‘‘suffered by such employee: Provided fur-
ther, That if the Board finds that an employer has dis-
criminated against an employee in violation of paragraph 
(3) or (4) of section 8(a) or has committed a violation 
of section 8(a) that results in the discharge of an employee 
or other serious economic harm to an employee, the Board 
shall award the employee back pay without any reduction 
(including any reduction based on the employee’s interim 
earnings or failure to earn interim earnings), front pay 
(when appropriate), consequential damages, and an addi-
tional amount as liquidated damages equal to two times 
the amount of damages awarded: Provided further, no re-
lief under this subsection shall be denied on the basis that 
the employee is, or was during the time of relevant em-
ployment or during the back pay period, an unauthorized 
alien as defined in section 274A(h)(3) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(h)(3)) or any other 
provision of Federal law relating to the unlawful employ-
ment of aliens’’.
(g) ENFORCING COMPLIANCE WITH ORDERS OF THE 
BOARD.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 10 of the National 
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160) is further 
amended— 
(A) by striking subsection (e); 
(B) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (e); 
(C) by inserting after subsection (c) the 
following: 
‘‘(d)(1) Each order of the Board shall take effect 
upon issuance of such order, unless otherwise directed by 
the Board, and shall remain in effect unless modified by 
the Board or unless a court of competent jurisdiction 
issues a superseding order. 
‘‘(2) Any person who fails or neglects to obey an 
order of the Board shall forfeit and pay to the Board a 
civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each violation, 
which shall accrue to the United States and may be recov-
ered in a civil action brought by the Board to the district 
court of the United States in which the unfair labor prac-
tice or other subject of the order occurred, or in which 
such person or entity resides or transacts business. No ac-
tion by the Board under this paragraph may be made until 
30 days following the issuance of an order. Each separate
violation of such an order shall be a separate offense, ex-
cept that, in the case of a violation in which a person fails 
to obey or neglects to obey a final order of the Board, 
each day such failure or neglect continues shall be deemed 
a separate offense. 
‘‘(3) If, after having provided a person or entity with 
notice and an opportunity to be heard regarding a civil 
action under subparagraph (2) for the enforcement of an 
order, the court determines that the order was regularly 
made and duly served, and that the person or entity is 
in disobedience of the same, the court shall enforce obedi-
ence to such order by an injunction or other proper proc-
ess, mandatory or otherwise, to— 
‘‘(A) restrain such person or entity or the offi-
cers, agents, or representatives of such person or en-
tity, from further disobedience to such order; or 
‘‘(B) enjoin such person or entity, officers, 
agents, or representatives to obedience to the 
same.’’; 
(D) in subsection (f)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘proceed in the same 
manner as in the case of an application by 
the Board under subsection (e) of this sec-
tion,’’ and inserting ‘‘proceed as provided 
under paragraph (2) of this subsection’’;
(ii) by striking ‘‘Any’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(1) Within 30 days of the issuance of an 
order, any’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) No objection that has not been urged before the 
Board, its member, agent, or agency shall be considered 
by a court, unless the failure or neglect to urge such objec-
tion shall be excused because of extraordinary cir-
cumstances. The findings of the Board with respect to 
questions of fact if supported by substantial evidence on 
the record considered as a whole shall be conclusive. If 
either party shall apply to the court for leave to adduce 
additional evidence and shall show to the satisfaction of 
the court that such additional evidence is material and 
that there were reasonable grounds for the failure to ad-
duce such evidence in the hearing before the Board, its 
member, agent, or agency, the court may order such addi-
tional evidence to be taken before the Board, its member, 
agent, or agency, and to be made a part of the record. 
The Board may modify its findings as to the facts, or 
make new findings, by reason of additional evidence so 
taken and filed, and it shall file such modified or new find-
ings, which findings with respect to questions of fact if
supported by substantial evidence on the record considered 
as a whole shall be conclusive, and shall file its rec-
ommendations, if any, for the modification or setting aside 
of its original order. Upon the filing of the record with 
it the jurisdiction of the court shall be exclusive and its 
judgment and decree shall be final, except that the same 
shall be subject to review by the appropriate United States 
court of appeals if application was made to the district 
court, and by the Supreme Court of the United States 
upon writ of certiorari or certification as provided in sec-
tion 1254 of title 28, United States Code.’’; and 
(E) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘sub-
section (e) or (f) of this section’’ and inserting 
‘‘subsection (d) or (f)’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 18 of 
the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 168) 
is amended by striking ‘‘ section 10(e) or (f)’’ and 
inserting ‘‘subsection (d) or (f) of section 10’’. 
(h) INJUNCTIONS AGAINST UNFAIR LABOR PRAC-
TICES INVOLVING DISCHARGE OR OTHER SERIOUS ECO-
NOMIC HARM.—Section 10 of the National Labor Rela-
tions Act (29 U.S.C. 160) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (j)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘The Board’’ and inserting 
‘‘(1) The Board’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding subsection (m), whenever it is 
charged that an employer has engaged in an unfair labor 
practice within the meaning of paragraph (1) or (3) of 
section 8(a) that significantly interferes with, restrains, or 
coerces employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed 
under section 7, or involves discharge or other serious eco-
nomic harm to an employee, the preliminary investigation 
of such charge shall be made forthwith and given priority 
over all other cases except cases of like character in the 
office where it is filed or to which it is referred. If, after 
such investigation, the officer or regional attorney to 
whom the matter may be referred has reasonable cause 
to believe such charge is true and that a complaint should 
issue, such officer or attorney shall bring a petition for 
appropriate temporary relief or restraining order as set 
forth in paragraph (1). The district court shall grant the 
relief requested unless the court concludes that there is 
no reasonable likelihood that the Board will succeed on 
the merits of the Board’s claim.’’; and 
(2) by repealing subsections (k) and (l). 
(i) PENALTIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 12 of the National 
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 162) is amended—