U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, recently introduced the The Know Your Labor Rights Act, which is aimed at ensuring workers are aware of all their rights. It was introduced with House and Senate members earlier this month.
Her effort comes amid a larger bipartisan effort to force employers to do more to make sure that workers know their labor rights and new employees are told about their legal protections as soon as they are hired, according to a news release from Gluesenkamp Perez.
“As a small business owner, and a member of Congress who’s actually clocked into work, I know that small businesses are regularly scammed by fraudsters pretending to be federal agencies. They exploit the patchwork of federal bureaucracy to charge mom and pop operations hundreds of dollars for posters available for free,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in the release. “I’m encouraged that this bill takes a step towards ensuring the information is available free on the Department of Labor’s website.”
The Know Your Labor Rights Act would:
• Require employers to post and maintain notices to employees of their rights under Section 7 of the NLRA.
• Require employers to notify each new employee of the information in the notice.
• Impose penalties on employers for non-compliance.
“Greedy corporations and corrupt managers in nearly every sector of the economy put in overtime trying to stop working people from organizing,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in the release. “But the right to organize is sacred, and American workers should be informed of their legal right to do so. The Know Your Labor Rights Act would help put power back in the hands of working people. It would mandate that employers post information about labor rights in an easily accessible place so that workers remain informed and empowered.”
