When Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in 2018, they pursued an active workplace legislative agenda resulting in the passage of some two dozen bills that would have significantly altered U.S. employment law. Few of these measures were enacted into law, however, largely because they were for the most part opposed by the Trump Administration and the still Republican-controlled U.S. Senate had different legislative priorities.
Today, of course, the political dynamics are different, with Democrats now in control of both houses of Congress and the White House. Not surprisingly, House Democrats have picked up where they left off last year, by our count already passing eight major bills since January that would impact employment law to a significant degree. But even with Democrats in control of the Senate and President Biden an enthusiastic supporter of the Democrats’ workplace agenda, actually getting a controversial bill enacted into law remains a difficult task absent bipartisan agreement.
The PWFA is one of the eight bills approved by the House so far, and unlike the other bills, it passed on May 14 by a vote of 315 to 101 with substantial Republican support, increasing its prospects for favorable action by the Senate.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.