Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB2736 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 2736
5	5	To secure the rights of public employees to organize, act concertedly, and
6	6	bargain collectively, which safeguard the public interest and promote
7	7	the free and unobstructed flow of commerce, and for other purposes.
8	8	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
9	9	APRIL8, 2025
10	10	Mr. N
11	11	ORCROSS(for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. DELUZIO, Ms. ADAMS,
12	12	Ms. A
13	13	NSARI, Mr. BACON, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BEYER, Ms. BONAMICI,
14	14	Mr. B
15	15	OYLEof Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms.
16	16	B
17	17	UDZINSKI, Ms. BYNUM, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CARTERof Louisiana, Mr.
18	18	C
19	19	ASAR, Mr. CASE, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. CASTORof Florida, Mrs.
20	20	C
21	21	HERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. CHU, Ms. CLARKEof New York, Mr.
22	22	C
23	23	LEAVER, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. DAVISof Illinois, Ms.
24	24	D
25	25	EANof Pennsylvania, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. DELBENE,
26	26	Ms. D
27	27	EXTER, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. ELFRETH, Mr. EVANSof Pennsylvania,
28	28	Mrs. F
29	29	LETCHER, Mr. FOSTER, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Ms. LOISFRANKELof
30	30	Florida, Mr. F
31	31	ROST, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. GARBARINO, Mr. GARCIAof
32	32	California, Mr. G
33	33	ARCI´Aof Illinois, Ms. GILLEN, Ms. PEREZ, Mr. GOLD-
34	34	MANof New York, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. GOODLANDER, Mr. GOTTHEIMER,
35	35	Mrs. H
36	36	AYES, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. HOYER, Mr. IVEY,
37	37	Ms. J
38	38	ACOBS, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSONof Georgia, Ms. KELLYof Illi-
39	39	nois, Mr. K
40	40	ENNEDYof New York, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI,
41	41	Mr. L
42	42	ARSONof Connecticut, Mr. LATIMER, Mr. LAWLER, Mr. LYNCH,
43	43	Mr. M
44	44	AGAZINER, Mr. MANNION, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. MCBRIDE, Mrs.
45	45	M
46	46	CCLAINDELANEY, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mrs. MCIVER,
47	47	Mr. M
48	48	EEKS, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. MENG, Ms. MOOREof Wisconsin, Mr.
49	49	M
50	50	ORELLE, Ms. MORRISON, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. MRVAN,
51	51	Mr. M
52	52	ULLIN, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr.
53	53	O
54	54	LSZEWSKI, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PETERS, Ms. PETTERSEN,
55	55	Mr. P
56	56	OCAN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. ROSS, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. SCANLON, Ms.
57	57	S
58	58	CHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. SCHOLTEN, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms.
59	59	S
60	60	HERRILL, Mr. SMITHof Washington, Mr. SORENSEN, Ms. STANSBURY,
61	61	Mr. S
62	62	TANTON, Mr. SUBRAMANYAM, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. TAKANO, Mr.
63	63	T
64	64	HOMPSONof Mississippi, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr.
65	65	T
66	66	ONKO, Mr. TORRESof New York, Mrs. TORRESof California, Ms.
67	67	U
68	68	NDERWOOD, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. WASSERMANSCHULTZ, Ms.
69	69	W
70	70	ATERS, Mrs. WATSONCOLEMAN, and Ms. WILLIAMSof Georgia) intro-
71	71	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
72	72	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2
73	73	•HR 2736 IH
74	74	duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
75	75	cation and Workforce
76	76	A BILL
77	77	To secure the rights of public employees to organize, act
78	78	concertedly, and bargain collectively, which safeguard the
79	79	public interest and promote the free and unobstructed
80	80	flow of commerce, and for other purposes.
81	81	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
82	82	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
83	83	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
84	84	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Service Free-4
85	85	dom to Negotiate Act of 2025’’. 5
86	86	SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6
87	87	(a) I
88	88	NGENERAL.—In this Act: 7
89	89	(1) A
90	90	PPROPRIATE UNIT.—The term ‘‘appro-8
91	91	priate unit’’ means a group of public employees or 9
92	92	a group of supervisory employees appropriate for 10
93	93	collective bargaining that share a community of in-11
94	94	terest, as demonstrated by factors including whether 12
95	95	such group— 13
96	96	(A) has a bargaining history or history of 14
97	97	prior organization; and 15
98	98	(B) reflects the desires of the employees 16
99	99	who are seeking or proposing representation by 17
100	100	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
101	101	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3
102	102	•HR 2736 IH
103	103	a labor organization regarding the employees to 1
104	104	be included in such bargaining unit. 2
105	105	(2) A
106	106	UTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means 3
107	107	the Federal Labor Relations Authority. 4
108	108	(3) C
109	109	OLLECTIVE BARGAINING .—The term ‘‘col-5
110	110	lective bargaining’’, used with respect to public em-6
111	111	ployees, supervisory employees, and public employ-7
112	112	ers, means the performance of the mutual obligation 8
113	113	of the representative of a public employer and the 9
114	114	exclusive representative of an appropriate unit of 10
115	115	public and supervisory employees of the employer to 11
116	116	meet at reasonable times and to consult and bargain 12
117	117	in a good-faith effort to reach agreement with re-13
118	118	spect to wages, hours, and other terms and condi-14
119	119	tions of employment affecting such employees and to 15
120	120	execute a written document incorporating any collec-16
121	121	tive bargaining agreement reached, but the obliga-17
122	122	tion referred to in this paragraph does not compel 18
123	123	either party to agree to a proposal or to make a con-19
124	124	cession (as described in section 8(d) of the National 20
125	125	Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(d))). 21
126	126	(4) C
127	127	ONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE .—The term 22
128	128	‘‘confidential employee’’ means an employee of a 23
129	129	public employer who acts in a confidential capacity 24
130	130	with respect to an individual who formulates or ef-25
131	131	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
132	132	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4
133	133	•HR 2736 IH
134	134	fectuates management policies in the field of labor- 1
135	135	management relations. 2
136	136	(5) C
137	137	OVERED PERSON .—The term ‘‘covered 3
138	138	person’’ means an individual or a labor organization. 4
139	139	(6) E
140	140	MERGENCY SERVICES EMPLOYEE .—The 5
141	141	term ‘‘emergency services employee’’ means— 6
142	142	(A) a public employee providing out-of-hos-7
143	143	pital emergency medical care, including an 8
144	144	emergency medical technician, paramedic, or 9
145	145	first responder; or 10
146	146	(B) a public employee providing other serv-11
147	147	ices in response to emergencies that have the 12
148	148	potential to cause death or serious bodily in-13
149	149	jury, including an employee in fire protection 14
150	150	activities (as defined in section 3(y) of the Fair 15
151	151	Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 16
152	152	203(y))). 17
153	153	(7) L
154	154	ABOR ORGANIZATION .—The term ‘‘labor 18
155	155	organization’’ means any organization of any kind 19
156	156	that is not under the control directly or indirectly by 20
157	157	a public employer in which such employees partici-21
158	158	pate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or 22
159	159	in part, of dealing with public employers concerning 23
160	160	grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours 24
161	161	of employment, or conditions of work. 25
162	162	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
163	163	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5
164	164	•HR 2736 IH
165	165	(8) LAW.—The term ‘‘law’’, used with respect 1
166	166	to a State or a political subdivision thereof, includes 2
167	167	the application of the laws of such State or such po-3
168	168	litical subdivision, including any regulations or ordi-4
169	169	nances issued by such State or such political subdivi-5
170	170	sion. 6
171	171	(9) L
172	172	AW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER .—The term 7
173	173	‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the meaning given 8
174	174	such term in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime 9
175	175	Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10
176	176	10284). 11
177	177	(10) M
178	178	ANAGEMENT EMPLOYEE .—The term 12
179	179	‘‘management employee’’ means an individual em-13
180	180	ployed by a public employer in a position the duties 14
181	181	and responsibilities of which require the individual to 15
182	182	formulate or determine the policies of the public em-16
183	183	ployer. 17
184	184	(11) P
185	185	UBLIC EMPLOYEE .—The term ‘‘public 18
186	186	employee’’— 19
187	187	(A) means an individual, employed by a 20
188	188	public employer, who in any workweek is en-21
189	189	gaged in commerce or is employed in an enter-22
190	190	prise engaged in commerce; 23
191	191	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
192	192	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6
193	193	•HR 2736 IH
194	194	(B) includes an individual who is tempo-1
195	195	rarily transferred to a supervisory or manage-2
196	196	ment position; and 3
197	197	(C) does not include— 4
198	198	(i) a supervisory employee; 5
199	199	(ii) a management employee; 6
200	200	(iii) a confidential employee; or 7
201	201	(iv) an elected official. 8
202	202	(12) P
203	203	UBLIC EMPLOYER .—The term ‘‘public 9
204	204	employer’’ means an entity that— 10
205	205	(A) employs not less than 1 individual; 11
206	206	(B) is engaged in commerce; and 12
207	207	(C) is either— 13
208	208	(i) a State or the political subdivision 14
209	209	of a State; or 15
210	210	(ii) any authority, agency, school dis-16
211	211	trict, board or other entity controlled and 17
212	212	operated by an entity described in clause 18
213	213	(i). 19
214	214	(13) S
215	215	UBSTANTIALLY PROVIDES .—The term 20
216	216	‘‘substantially provides’’, used with respect to the 21
217	217	rights and procedures described in section 3(b), 22
218	218	means providing rights and procedures that are 23
219	219	equivalent to or greater than each of the rights and 24
220	220	procedures described in such section. 25
221	221	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
222	222	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7
223	223	•HR 2736 IH
224	224	(14) SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEE .—The term ‘‘su-1
225	225	pervisory employee’’ means an individual, employed 2
226	226	by a public employer, who in any workweek is en-3
227	227	gaged in commerce or is employed in an enterprise 4
228	228	engaged in commerce and who— 5
229	229	(A) has the authority in the interest of the 6
230	230	employer, if the exercise of such authority is 7
231	231	not merely routine or clerical in nature but re-8
232	232	quires the consistent exercise of independent 9
233	233	judgment, to— 10
234	234	(i) hire, promote, reward, transfer, 11
235	235	furlough, lay off, recall, suspend, dis-12
236	236	cipline, or remove public employees; 13
237	237	(ii) adjust the grievances of public 14
238	238	employees; or 15
239	239	(iii) effectively recommend any action 16
240	240	described in clause (i) or (ii); and 17
241	241	(B) devotes a majority of time at work to 18
242	242	exercising the authority under subparagraph 19
243	243	(A). 20
244	244	(b) F
245	245	AIRLABORSTANDARDS ACT OF 1938 21
246	246	T
247	247	ERMS.—The terms ‘‘commerce’’, ‘‘employ’’, ‘‘enterprise 22
248	248	engaged in commerce’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings 23
249	249	given such terms in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards 24
250	250	Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 25
251	251	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
252	252	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8
253	253	•HR 2736 IH
254	254	(c) STATELAW.—If any term defined in this section 1
255	255	has a substantially equivalent meaning to a term (or a 2
256	256	substantially equivalent term) under applicable State law 3
257	257	on the date of the enactment of this Act, such term (or 4
258	258	substantially equivalent term) and meaning under such 5
259	259	applicable State law shall apply with respect to the term 6
260	260	defined under this Act with respect to such State. 7
261	261	SEC. 3. FEDERAL MINIMUM STANDARDS. 8
262	262	(a) D
263	263	ETERMINATION.— 9
264	264	(1) I
265	265	N GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 10
266	266	after the date of enactment of this Act (except as 11
267	267	provided in paragraph (4)(C)), the Authority shall 12
268	268	make a determination for each State as to whether 13
269	269	the laws of such State substantially provide for each 14
270	270	of the rights and procedures under subsection (b) 15
271	271	and not later than 30 days after the enactment of 16
272	272	this Act, the Authority shall establish procedures for 17
273	273	the implementation of this section. 18
274	274	(2) C
275	275	ONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONAL OPIN -19
276	276	IONS.—In making the determination under para-20
277	277	graph (1), the Authority shall consider the opinions 21
278	278	of affected public employees, supervisory employees, 22
279	279	labor organizations, and public employers. In the 23
280	280	case where the Authority is notified by an affected 24
281	281	public employer and labor organization that both 25
282	282	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
283	283	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9
284	284	•HR 2736 IH
285	285	parties agree that the law applicable to such em-1
286	286	ployer and labor organization substantially provides 2
287	287	for the rights and procedures described in subsection 3
288	288	(b), the Authority shall give such agreement weight 4
289	289	to the maximum extent practicable in making the 5
290	290	Authority’s determination under paragraph (1). 6
291	291	(3) L
292	292	IMITED CRITERIA.—In making the deter-7
293	293	mination described in paragraph (1), the Authority 8
294	294	may only consider the criteria described in sub-9
295	295	section (b). 10
296	296	(4) S
297	297	UBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS .— 11
298	298	(A) I
299	299	N GENERAL.—A determination made 12
300	300	pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain in ef-13
301	301	fect unless and until the Authority issues a sub-14
302	302	sequent determination, in accordance with the 15
303	303	procedures set forth in subparagraph (B). 16
304	304	(B) R
305	305	EQUEST.—A public employee, super-17
306	306	visory employee, public employer, or a labor or-18
307	307	ganization may submit to the Authority a writ-19
308	308	ten request for a subsequent determination with 20
309	309	respect to whether a material change of State 21
310	310	law has occurred. 22
311	311	(C) I
312	312	SSUANCE.—If satisfied that a mate-23
313	313	rial change in State law has occurred, the Au-24
314	314	thority shall issue a subsequent determination 25
315	315	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
316	316	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10
317	317	•HR 2736 IH
318	318	described under paragraph (1) not later than 1
319	319	30 days after receipt of such request. 2
320	320	(5) J
321	321	UDICIAL REVIEW.—Any covered person or 3
322	322	public employer aggrieved by a determination of the 4
323	323	Authority under this paragraph (1) may, during the 5
324	324	60-day period beginning on the date on which the 6
325	325	determination was made, petition any United States 7
326	326	Court of Appeals in the circuit in which the covered 8
327	327	person or public employer resides or transacts busi-9
328	328	ness or in the Court of Appeals for the District of 10
329	329	Columbia Circuit, for judicial review. In any judicial 11
330	330	review of a determination made by the Authority de-12
331	331	scribed in paragraph (1), the procedures contained 13
332	332	in subsections (c) and (d) of section 7123 of title 5, 14
333	333	United States Code, shall be followed. 15
334	334	(6) R
335	335	ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—In making the 16
336	336	determination described in paragraph (1), the Au-17
337	337	thority shall, as relevant, consider any requirement 18
338	338	imposed by a consent decree entered into by the De-19
339	339	partment of Justice before, on, or after the date of 20
340	340	enactment of this Act as substantially providing for 21
341	341	the rights and procedures under subsection (b). 22
342	342	(b) F
343	343	EDERALMINIMUMSTANDARD.—The collective 23
344	344	bargaining rights and procedures under this subsection 24
345	345	are as follows: 25
346	346	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
347	347	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11
348	348	•HR 2736 IH
349	349	(1) A right of public employees and supervisory 1
350	350	employees— 2
351	351	(A) to self-organization; 3
352	352	(B) to form, join, or assist a labor organi-4
353	353	zation or to refrain from any such activity; 5
354	354	(C) to bargain collectively through rep-6
355	355	resentatives of their own choosing; and 7
356	356	(D) to engage in other concerted activities 8
357	357	for the purpose of collective bargaining or other 9
358	358	mutual aid (including the filing of joint, class, 10
359	359	or collective legal claims) or protection. 11
360	360	(2) A requirement for public employers to— 12
361	361	(A) recognize the labor organization of its 13
362	362	public employees and supervisory employees 14
363	363	(freely chosen in an election by a majority of 15
364	364	such employees voting in the appropriate unit 16
365	365	or chosen by voluntary recognition if that meth-17
366	366	od is permitted under State law) without re-18
367	367	quiring an election to recertify or decertify a 19
368	368	labor organization that is already recognized as 20
369	369	the representative of such employees unless not 21
370	370	less than 30 percent of such employees in the 22
371	371	bargaining unit freely sign a petition to decer-23
372	372	tify such labor organization— 24
373	373	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
374	374	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 12
375	375	•HR 2736 IH
376	376	(i) not earlier than the date that is 1 1
377	377	year after the date of the election (or after 2
378	378	a voluntary recognition if permitted under 3
379	379	State law) of the representative; 4
380	380	(ii) not earlier than 1 year after the 5
381	381	expiration of a valid collective bargaining 6
382	382	agreement; 7
383	383	(iii) not during the term of a valid col-8
384	384	lective bargaining agreement (except as 9
385	385	permissible under clause (iv)); or 10
386	386	(iv) during the 30-day period begin-11
387	387	ning on the date that is 90 days before the 12
388	388	end of a valid existing contract; 13
389	389	(B) collectively bargain with such recog-14
390	390	nized labor organization; and 15
391	391	(C) commit any agreements with such rec-16
392	392	ognized labor organization to writing in a con-17
393	393	tract or memorandum of understanding. 18
394	394	(3) An interest impasse resolution mechanism, 19
395	395	such as fact-finding, mediation, arbitration, or com-20
396	396	parable procedures that culminate in binding resolu-21
397	397	tion. 22
398	398	(4) Payroll deduction of labor organization fees 23
399	399	for any duly chosen representative of a public em-24
400	400	ployee or supervisory employee pursuant to the 25
401	401	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
402	402	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13
403	403	•HR 2736 IH
404	404	terms of an agreement between the labor organiza-1
405	405	tion and such public or supervisory employee, which 2
406	406	shall remain in effect until revoked by such employee 3
407	407	in accordance with its terms. 4
408	408	(5) The prohibition of practices that interfere 5
409	409	with, restrain, or coerce public or supervisory em-6
410	410	ployees in the exercise of rights guaranteed in para-7
411	411	graph (1) or regulations issued thereunder. 8
412	412	(6) The enforcement of all relevant rights and 9
413	413	procedures provided by State law and enumerated in 10
414	414	this subsection. 11
415	415	(7) The enforcement of all rights and proce-12
416	416	dures provided by any written contract or memo-13
417	417	randum of understanding between a labor organiza-14
418	418	tion and a public employer, through— 15
419	419	(A) a State agency, if the State so chooses; 16
420	420	(B) at the election of an aggrieved party, 17
421	421	the State courts, if so permitted under State 18
422	422	law; or 19
423	423	(C) a grievance resolution procedure culmi-20
424	424	nating in binding arbitration negotiated in such 21
425	425	contract or memorandum. 22
426	426	(c) C
427	427	OMPLIANCE WITHRIGHTS AND PROCE-23
428	428	DURES.—If the Authority determines under subsection 24
429	429	(a)(1) that the laws of a State substantially provide each 25
430	430	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
431	431	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 14
432	432	•HR 2736 IH
433	433	of the rights and procedures described in subsection (b), 1
434	434	then subsection (d) shall not apply and this Act shall not 2
435	435	preempt the laws of such State. 3
436	436	(d) F
437	437	AILURETOSUBSTANTIALLYPROVIDE.— 4
438	438	(1) I
439	439	N GENERAL.—If the Authority determines 5
440	440	under subsection (a)(1) that the laws of a State do 6
441	441	not substantially provide for each of the rights and 7
442	442	procedures described in subsection (b), then such 8
443	443	State shall be subject to the rules and activities of 9
444	444	the Authority under section 4 beginning on the later 10
445	445	of— 11
446	446	(A) the date that is 2 years after the date 12
447	447	of enactment of this Act; 13
448	448	(B) the date that is the last day of the 14
449	449	first regular session of the legislature of the 15
450	450	State that begins after the date of the enact-16
451	451	ment of this Act; or 17
452	452	(C) in the case of a State receiving a sub-18
453	453	sequent determination described under sub-19
454	454	section (a)(4), the date that is the last day of 20
455	455	the first regular session of the legislature of the 21
456	456	State that begins after the date the Authority 22
457	457	made the determination. 23
458	458	(2) P
459	459	ARTIAL FAILURE.—If the Authority deter-24
460	460	mines under subsection (a)(1) that a State does not 25
461	461	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
462	462	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 15
463	463	•HR 2736 IH
464	464	substantially provide for each of the rights and pro-1
465	465	cedures described in subsection (b) because the 2
466	466	State fails to substantially provide for all of such 3
467	467	rights and procedures with respect to any public or 4
468	468	supervisory employees, the Authority shall identify— 5
469	469	(A) the categories of public or supervisory 6
470	470	employees of such State that shall be subject to 7
471	471	the rules and activities of the Authority under 8
472	472	section 4, pursuant to section 7(b)(4), begin-9
473	473	ning on the applicable date under paragraph 10
474	474	(1); 11
475	475	(B) the categories of public employees and 12
476	476	supervisory employees of such State that shall 13
477	477	not be subject to the rules and activities of the 14
478	478	Authority under section 4; 15
479	479	(C) the categories of rights and procedures 16
480	480	described in subsection (b) for which the State 17
481	481	does not substantially provide for certain public 18
482	482	employees and supervisory employees; and 19
483	483	(D) the categories of rights and procedures 20
484	484	described in such subsection for which the State 21
485	485	substantially provides for all employees. 22
486	486	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
487	487	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 16
488	488	•HR 2736 IH
489	489	SEC. 4. MINIMUM STANDARDS ADMINISTERED BY THE FED-1
490	490	ERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY. 2
491	491	(a) I
492	492	NGENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 3
493	493	date of enactment of this Act, the Authority shall issue 4
494	494	rules and take such actions that the Authority determines 5
495	495	appropriate to establish and administer collective bar-6
496	496	gaining rights and procedures that substantially provide 7
497	497	for the minimum standards described in section 3(b) for 8
498	498	States described in section 3(d). 9
499	499	(b) R
500	500	OLE OF THEFEDERALLABORRELATIONSAU-10
501	501	THORITY.— 11
502	502	(1) I
503	503	N GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 12
504	504	(a), the Authority shall— 13
505	505	(A) provide for the rights and procedures 14
506	506	described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of sec-15
507	507	tion 3(b); 16
508	508	(B) supervise or conduct elections to deter-17
509	509	mine whether a labor organization has been 18
510	510	chosen as an exclusive representative by a ma-19
511	511	jority of the public employees and supervisory 20
512	512	employees voting in such election in an appro-21
513	513	priate unit; 22
514	514	(C) determine the appropriateness of units 23
515	515	for labor organization representation; 24
516	516	(D) conduct hearings and resolve com-25
517	517	plaints concerning violations of this Act or any 26
518	518	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
519	519	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 17
520	520	•HR 2736 IH
521	521	rule or order issued by the Authority pursuant 1
522	522	to this Act; 2
523	523	(E) resolve exceptions to the awards of ar-3
524	524	bitrators that violate or exceed the scope of 4
525	525	public policy of this Act; and 5
526	526	(F) take such other actions as are nec-6
527	527	essary and appropriate to effectively administer 7
528	528	this Act, including issuing subpoenas requiring 8
529	529	the attendance and testimony of witnesses and 9
530	530	the production of documentary or other evi-10
531	531	dence from any place in the United States, ad-11
532	532	ministering oaths, taking or ordering the taking 12
533	533	of depositions, ordering responses to written in-13
534	534	terrogatories, and receiving and examining wit-14
535	535	nesses. 15
536	536	(2) R
537	537	ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—In providing for 16
538	538	the rights and procedures under paragraph (1)(A), 17
539	539	nothing in this Act shall be construed as super-18
540	540	seding, or creating or imposing any requirement in 19
541	541	conflict with, any consent decree entered into by the 20
542	542	Department of Justice before, on, or after the date 21
543	543	of enactment of this Act. 22
544	544	(c) E
545	545	NFORCEMENT.— 23
546	546	(1) I
547	547	N GENERAL.—The Authority may issue an 24
548	548	order directing compliance by any covered person or 25
549	549	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
550	550	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 18
551	551	•HR 2736 IH
552	552	public employer found to be in violation of this sec-1
553	553	tion, and may petition any United States Court of 2
554	554	Appeals with jurisdiction over the parties, or the 3
555	555	United States Court of Appeals for the District of 4
556	556	Columbia Circuit, to enforce any such final orders 5
557	557	issued pursuant to this section or pursuant to rules 6
558	558	issued under this section, and for appropriate tem-7
559	559	porary relief or a restraining order. Any covered per-8
560	560	son or public employer aggrieved by an order issued 9
561	561	by the Authority under this section may, during the 10
562	562	60-day period beginning on the date on which the 11
563	563	order was issued petition, any United States Court 12
564	564	of Appeals in the circuit which the covered person or 13
565	565	public employer resides or transacts business, or in 14
566	566	the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 15
567	567	Circuit, for judicial review. Any petition or appeal 16
568	568	under this section shall be conducted in accordance 17
569	569	with subsections (c) and (d) of section 7123 of title 18
570	570	5, United States Code. 19
571	571	(2) P
572	572	RIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 20
573	573	(A) F
574	574	ILING A CIVIL ACTION.—Unless the 21
575	575	Authority has filed an order of enforcement as 22
576	576	provided in paragraph (1), any party may, after 23
577	577	the 180-day period following the filing of a 24
578	578	charge with the Authority pursuant to the rules 25
579	579	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
580	580	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 19
581	581	•HR 2736 IH
582	582	of the Authority under this section, file a civil 1
583	583	action against any named State administrator 2
584	584	in an appropriate district court of the United 3
585	585	States to enjoin such administrator to enforce 4
586	586	compliance— 5
587	587	(i) with this Act or the rules issued by 6
588	588	the Authority under this section; or 7
589	589	(ii) to enforce compliance with any 8
590	590	order issued by the Authority. 9
591	591	(B) T
592	592	IMING.—Any civil action brought 10
593	593	under subparagraph (A) shall be brought not 11
594	594	later than the earlier of— 12
595	595	(i) the date that is 180 days after the 13
596	596	expiration of the 180-day period in sub-14
597	597	paragraph (A); or 15
598	598	(ii) the date that is 180 days after the 16
599	599	date that the Authority dismisses a charge 17
600	600	described in subparagraph (A). 18
601	601	(C) N
602	602	OTICE.—The party shall serve notice 19
603	603	of the Federal lawsuit to the Authority. 20
604	604	(D) J
605	605	URISDICTION AND ATTORNEYS ’ 21
606	606	FEES.—A district court shall have jurisdiction 22
607	607	over the civil action filed under subparagraph 23
608	608	(A) without regard to the amount in con-24
609	609	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
610	610	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 20
611	611	•HR 2736 IH
612	612	troversy or the citizenship of the parties and 1
613	613	may award reasonable attorneys’ fees. 2
614	614	SEC. 5. LOCKOUTS AND EMPLOYEE STRIKES PROHIBITED 3
615	615	WHEN EMERGENCY OR PUBLIC SAFETY SERV-4
616	616	ICES IMPERILED. 5
617	617	(a) I
618	618	NGENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), any em-6
619	619	ployer, emergency services employee, or law enforcement 7
620	620	officer, subject to the rules and activities of the Authority 8
621	621	under section 4, may not engage in a lockout, strike, or 9
622	622	any other organized job action of which a reasonably prob-10
623	623	able result is a measurable disruption of the delivery of 11
624	624	emergency or public safety services. No labor organization 12
625	625	may cause or attempt to cause a violation of this sub-13
626	626	section. 14
627	627	(b) N
628	628	OPREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section shall 15
629	629	be construed to preempt any law of any State or political 16
630	630	subdivision of any State with respect to strikes by emer-17
631	631	gency services employees or law enforcement officers. 18
632	632	SEC. 6. EXISTING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND 19
633	633	AGREEMENTS. 20
634	634	The enactment of this Act shall not invalidate any 21
635	635	certification, recognition, result of an election, collective 22
636	636	bargaining agreement, or memorandum of understanding 23
637	637	that— 24
638	638	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
639	639	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 21
640	640	•HR 2736 IH
641	641	(1) has been issued, approved, or ratified by 1
642	642	any public employee relations board or commission, 2
643	643	or by any State or political subdivision or an agent 3
644	644	or management official of such State or political 4
645	645	subdivision; and 5
646	646	(2) is in effect on the day before the date of en-6
647	647	actment of this Act. 7
648	648	SEC. 7. EXCEPTIONS. 8
649	649	(a) I
650	650	NGENERAL.—The Authority shall not make a 9
651	651	determination under section 3(a)(1) that the laws of a 10
652	652	State do not substantially provide for the rights and proce-11
653	653	dures under section 3(b) on the basis that relevant State 12
654	654	laws— 13
655	655	(1) permit a public or supervisory employee to 14
656	656	appear on the employee’s own behalf with respect to 15
657	657	the relationship of the public employee with the pub-16
658	658	lic employer involved; 17
659	659	(2) do not cover public or supervisory employees 18
660	660	of the State militia or national guard; 19
661	661	(3) do not apply to a political subdivision of a 20
662	662	State if— 21
663	663	(A) such political subdivision has a popu-22
664	664	lation of fewer than 5,000 people or employs 23
665	665	fewer than 25 public employees; and 24
666	666	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
667	667	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 22
668	668	•HR 2736 IH
669	669	(B) the State in which such political sub-1
670	670	division is located notifies the Authority that 2
671	671	such subdivision is exempt from such laws be-3
672	672	fore the date on which the Authority makes the 4
673	673	determination; or 5
674	674	(4) do not require bargaining with respect to 6
675	675	pension or retirement income benefits. 7
676	676	(b) C
677	677	OMPLIANCE.— 8
678	678	(1) A
679	679	CTIONS OF STATES.—Nothing in this Act 9
680	680	shall be construed to require a State to rescind or 10
681	681	preempt the laws of any political subdivision of the 11
682	682	State if such laws substantially provide for the 12
683	683	rights and procedures described in section 3(b). 13
684	684	(2) A
685	685	CTIONS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUM -14
686	686	BIA.—Nothing in this Act or in the rules issued 15
687	687	under this Act shall be construed— 16
688	688	(A) to require the District of Columbia to 17
689	689	rescind— 18
690	690	(i) section 501 of the District of Co-19
691	691	lumbia Government Comprehensive Merit 20
692	692	Personnel Act of 1978 (1–605.01, D.C. 21
693	693	Official Code), establishing the Public Em-22
694	694	ployee Relations Board of the District of 23
695	695	Columbia; or 24
696	696	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
697	697	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 23
698	698	•HR 2736 IH
699	699	(ii) section 502 of such Act (1– 1
700	700	605.02, D.C. Official Code), establishing 2
701	701	the power of the Board; 3
702	702	(B) to preempt the laws described in sub-4
703	703	paragraph (A); or 5
704	704	(C) to limit or alter the powers of the gov-6
705	705	ernment of the District of Columbia pursuant 7
706	706	to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act 8
707	707	(Public Law 93–198; 87 Stat. 774). 9
708	708	(3) A
709	709	CTIONS OF THE AUTHORITY .—Nothing in 10
710	710	this Act shall be construed to preempt— 11
711	711	(A) the laws of any State or political sub-12
712	712	division of a State that substantially provide for 13
713	713	the rights and procedures described in section 14
714	714	3(b); 15
715	715	(B) the laws of any State or political sub-16
716	716	division of a State that substantially provide for 17
717	717	the rights and procedures described in section 18
718	718	3(b), solely because such laws provide that a 19
719	719	contract or memorandum of understanding be-20
720	720	tween a public employer and a labor organiza-21
721	721	tion must be presented to a legislative body as 22
722	722	part of the process for approving such contract 23
723	723	or memorandum of understanding; or 24
724	724	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
725	725	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 24
726	726	•HR 2736 IH
727	727	(C) the laws of any State or political sub-1
728	728	division of a State that permit or require a pub-2
729	729	lic employer to recognize a labor organization 3
730	730	on the basis of signed authorizations executed 4
731	731	by employees designating the labor organization 5
732	732	as their representative. 6
733	733	(4) L
734	734	IMITED ENFORCEMENT POWER .—In the 7
735	735	case of a law described in section 3(d)(2), the Au-8
736	736	thority shall only exercise the authority under sec-9
737	737	tion 4 with respect to the categories of public or su-10
738	738	pervisory employees for whom State law does not 11
739	739	substantially provide the rights and procedures de-12
740	740	scribed in section 3(b). 13
741	741	SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY. 14
742	742	If any provision of this Act or the application thereof 15
743	743	to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remain-16
744	744	der of this Act, or the application of that provision to per-17
745	745	sons or circumstances other than those as to which it is 18
746	746	held invalid, is not affected thereby. 19
747	747	SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 20
748	748	There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 21
749	749	as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 22
750	750	Æ
751	751	VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Apr 17, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2736.IH H2736
752	752	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS