Core Provisions:  This bipartisan bill provides incentives to older Americans and employers to encourage the hiring and retention of workers 55 years of age or older.  To combat the anticipated surge of baby boomer retirements which, according to the Senate Special Committee on Aging, could lead to a labor shortage of up to five million workers in a decade, the bill provides tax credits to employers hiring older workers and provides benefits to older workers opting for reduced hours rather than retirement. The bill mitigates reductions in pension and Social Security benefits for older workers who work reduced hours (as opposed to retiring completely).

S. 2933 would establish a new entity within the Labor Department - the National Resource Center on Aging and the Workforce - to cater to older workers.  The bill also provides for representation of older workers on state and local workforce investment boards and mandates that states devote five percent of Workforce Investment Act funds to older workers.

Status: S. 2933 was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Smith (R-OR) on April 29, 2008, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

Core Provisions: H.R.5804 is intended to make it more difficult for employers to classify workers as independent contractors.  The bill removes the current safe harbor provision in the U.S. Tax Code, which allows employers to avoid paying social security taxes and withholding taxes for employees improperly classified as independent contractors.  Currently, the IRS is prohibited from seeking employment taxes from employers which reasonably classify workers as independent contractors, even when in error.  H.R.5804 removes this safe harbor and would allow the IRS to collect unpaid taxes for misclassified workers.  The bill also increases fines to employers for misclassifications, requires employers to provide information regarding large payments to independent contractors to the IRS, and allows workers to seek an IRS review of their classification status.

Status: H.R. 5804 was introduced in the House by Rep. McDermott (D-WA) on April 15, 2008, and was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Core Provisions: This bill, patterned off comparable European legislation, would provide employees with a statutory right to request alternate work terms and conditions. It allows qualifying employees to request changes in working hours, schedule, or location. This legislation provides for a detailed interactive process between employees and employers to address employee requests and requires employers to justify denials. The bill contains an anti-retaliation provision and exempts small businesses. The bill’s protections would be enforced by Department of Labor investigations, ALJ hearings, official inquiries, and federal court proceedings.

Status: H.R.4301 introduced by Rep. Maloney (D-NY) on Dec. 6, 2007 and was referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia on Dec. 11, 2007. S.2302 was introduced by Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) on Dec. 6, 2007 and referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Core Provisions: This legislation would increase available benefits for employees and retirees who suffer losses because of their employers’ bankruptcy. This bill would increase the cap on wage claims from $10,000 to $20,000, permit a second claim for up to $20,000 of benefits earned, and remove the requirement that claims must be for wages and benefits earned within 180 days of the bankruptcy filing. It would also create a new priority claim for stock value losses in workers’ pensions, and establish a new priority administrative expense for severance pay owed under workers’ collective severance programs. The legislation would also limit a trustee’s ability to reject or amend collective bargaining agreements.

Status: H.R.3652 was introduced by Rep. Conyers (D-MI) on September 25, 2007, and was referred to the Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law on October 12, 2007. Sen. Durbin (D-IL) introduced S.2092 on September 25, 2007, and it was referred to the Judiciary Committee.

Core Provisions: This Act is intended to improve enforcement of the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931, which requires payment of locally prevailing wages and benefits for public works projects. The Act would create a mechanism for workers to monitor compliance by granting them access to contractor payroll records filed with the federal government under the Freedom of Information Act. The bill also would increase penalties for violations of the Davis-Bacon Related Acts, standardizing treatment of offenses under related statutory provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act, and would also impose equitable penalties for violations of the Act.

Status: S.2524 was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Reid (D-NV) on behalf of Sen. Clinton (D-NY) on December 19, 2007, and referred to the HELP Committee. H.R.4851 was introduced in the House by Rep. Andrews (D-NJ) on December 19, 2007, and referred to the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Core Provisions: This Act would tie the federal minimum wage to increases in congressional salaries. Under the proposed bill, the minimum wage would increase incrementally on a set schedule through 2012, settling at $9.50 per hour.  After July 1, 2012, any congressional pay raise would trigger an automatic minimum wage increase, increasing the federal minimum wage by the same percentage as the raise in congressional pay. Congress currently receives an automatic cost-of-living adjustment in pay tied to the rate of inflation, unless it votes affirmatively to reject the increase. Tying the minimum wage to these automatic increases effectively grafts a cost-of-living adjustment mechanism into the federal minimum wage.

Status: S.2514 was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Reid (D-NV) on behalf of Sen. Clinton (D-NY) on December 18, 2007, and referred to the HELP Committee. Sen. Clinton introduced a similar bill in 2006 that failed to win passage. Senate Republicans are expected to oppose the bill.

Core Provisions: The Living American Wage Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to provide for the calculation of the minimum wage based on the federal poverty threshold for a family of three. This legislation would require the secretary of labor to recalculate the minimum wage rate by no later than June 1, 2008, and subsequently once every four years. The secretary would be required to set the rate at such a level that a person working for minimum wage 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year would earn an amount five percent higher than the federal poverty threshold for a three-person household including one child, as published each year by the Census Bureau.

Status: Rep. Green (D-TX) introduced the legislation on December 13, 2007, and it was referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Core Provisions: This legislation would revise existing presumptions and procedures involving whether an individual is classified as an independent contractor or an employee. If the Secretary of the Treasury makes an employee classification, employers may no longer rely on tax law provisions allowing independent contractor classification unless the employer had “no reasonable basis for not treating such individual as an employee.” The bill would also remove the employer’s ability to rely on “long-standing recognized practice of a significant segment of the industry” to support an independent contractor classification. The Act would also create a new procedure for an individual to appeal their classification status, and employers would be barred from retaliating against any individual who appeals his or her classification. The legislation also details consequences for misclassification determinations, including a possible employment tax audit of the employer. Lastly, the Act would impart new employer responsibilities including notice-posting, notifying independent contractors of their classification upon hiring and recordkeeping requirements.

Status: S.2044 was introduced by Sen. Obama (D-IL) on September 12, 2007 and referred to the Finance Committee. S.2044 currently has six co-sponsors.

Core Provisions: This Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex, race or national origin. The Act requires employers to provide equal pay for jobs that are comparable in skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions. It also prohibits companies from reducing other employees’ wages to achieve this pay equity. In addition, the Act mandates that employers disclose their job categories and pay scales to the public. Under this Act, an employer can pay different wages to employees based on seniority, merit or production. Finally, the Act provides for two alternate enforcement mechanisms, either filing a complaint with the EEOC or filing suit in federal court for compensatory and punitive damages.

Status: Sen. Harkin (D-IA) introduced S.1087 on April 11, 2007. Rep. Norton (D-DC) introduced H.R.2019 on April 24, 2007. On July 9, 2007, H.R.2019 was referred to the Subcommittee of Workforce Protections of the House Committee Education and Labor.

Core Provisions: This Act would amend the Equal Pay Act, which prohibits sex-based wage discrimination, to permit a “bona fide factor” affirmative defense only if the employer demonstrates that the factor is job-related or furthers a legitimate business purpose. Making it more difficult for employers to establish affirmative defenses to Equal Pay Act claims, an affirmative defense would no longer be valid where the employee could demonstrate an alternative employment practice that served the same business purpose without producing wage differences. Further, the bona fide factor defense would require a showing by the employer that the bona fide factor was actually applied and used reasonably. The bill also would increase penalties against employers for Equal Pay Act violations by adding compensatory and punitive damage liability.

Status: S.766 was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Clinton (D-NY) on March 6, 2007 and referred to the HELP Committee. In the House, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on H.R.1338 on July 11, 2007. An amended version was passed out of committee in the House on July 24 and then passed by a 247-178 margin by the House on July 31, 2008. On July 30, 2008, the White House issued a statement threatening to veto the legislation because it allowed unlimited damages.