{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bobbyscott.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-labor-leaders-introduce-bill-protect-workers-and-level-playing", "House Labor Leaders Introduce Bill to Protect Workers and Level the Playing Field", "2025-12-10", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "VA", "Robert C. \"Bobby\" Scott", "S000185", "bobbyscott.house.gov", "bobbyscott", "https://bobbyscott.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, House labor leaders will introduce the Labor Enforcement to Securely (LET\u2019S) Protect Workers Act. The LET\u2019S Protect Workers Act is a transformative bill that will protect America\u2019s workers and crack down on dishonest employers and corporations by raising penalties for violations of workers\u2019 rights and protections.\n\nThe bill introduction is accompanied by a damning report entitled, \u201cA Slap on the Wrist: How it Pays for Dishonest Employers to Take Advantage of Workers\u201d which illustrates how current civil monetary penalties for labor violations fall short, allowing dishonest employers to exploit workers. And it underscores the lack of accountability for serious infractions, such as illegal child labor, worker fatalities, wage theft, union-busting, and discriminatory health coverage practices, emboldens companies to keep breaking the law.\n\n\u201cEvery American should be fairly compensated and be able to return home safely at the end of the day,\u201d said Ranking Member Robert C. \u201cBobby\u201d Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce. \u201cUnfortunately, shortcomings in our labor laws enable unethical employers to exploit workers, endanger children, and suppress the right to organize\u2014with little accountability. That\u2019s why I'm proud to reintroduce the LET\u2019S Protect Workers Act, which will hold bad actors accountable and strengthen penalties for labor law violations. This bill will help level the playing field and, once again, restore the balance of power between workers and their employers.\u201d\n\n\u201cFar too often, bad employers break our labor laws by violating safety standards or retaliating against workers for union organizing, and yet they get off with merely a slap on the wrist,\u201d said Congressional Labor Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Donald Norcross, Mark Pocan, Debbie Dingell, and Steven Horsford. \u201cToday, we\u2019re introducing legislation that would finally establish meaningful penalties to protect workers and hold bad actors accountable. Every day, working people bravely organize for fairer workplaces, and lawmakers need to have their backs. We\u2019re calling on every one of our colleagues to join us in supporting this legislation and fighting for workers.\u201d\n\nResponsibly strengthening civil monetary penalties will save workers\u2019 lives, prevent disabling injury, protect the welfare of children, safeguard the most vulnerable workers, and undergird the right to organize by raising the cost of noncompliance and deterring violations. The LET\u2019S Protect Workers Act will:\n\nIncrease civil monetary penalties for violations of child labor, minimum wage and overtime, worker health and safety, and farmworker protection standards.\n\nImprove mine safety and reliable funding of black lung benefits through new and increased civil monetary penalties and the option to shut down scofflaw operators.\n\nSet new penalties for retaliation against workers who exercise their family and medical leave rights.\n\nStrengthen enforcement of mental health parity requirements for employer-sponsored health plans.\n\nClose a loophole that allows employers to escape penalties for failing to keep records of workplace injuries if OSHA does not detect the violation within six months.\n\nCreate new penalties for violations of the National Labor Relations Act, consistent with the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.\n\nThe LET\u2019S Protect Workers Act is co-sponsored by 70 Representatives including Alma S. Adams (NC-12), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Andr\u00e9 Carson (IN-07), Troy A. Carter (LA-02), Greg Casar (TX-25), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. (CA-31), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Christopher R. Deluzio (PA-17), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Valerie P. Foushee (NC-04), Lois Frankel (FL-22), John Garamendi (CA-08), Jes\u00fas G. \u201cChuy\u201d Garc\u00eda (IL-04), Daniel S. Goldman (NY-10), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Henry C. \u201cHank\u201d Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Robin L. Kelly (IL-02), Timothy M. Kennedy (NY-26), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Greg Landsman (OH-01), Summer L. Lee (PA-12), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), John W. Mannion (NY-22), Doris O. Matsui (CA-07), Sarah McBride (DE-AL), Jennifer L. McClellan (VA-04), Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), James P. McGovern (MA-02), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Frank J. Mrvan (IN-01), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Emily Randall (WA-06), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Melanie A. Stansbury (NM-01), Haley M. Stevens (MI-11), Thomas R. Suozzi (NY-03), Emilia Strong Sykes (OH-13), Mark Takano (CA-39), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), Val T. Hoyle (OR-04), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), and Angie Craig (MN-02).\n\nThe LET\u2019S Protect Workers Act is endorsed by AFL-CIO, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Child Labor Coalition, Communications Workers of America (CWA), Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Family Values @ Work, International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART), National Consumers League, National Employment Law Project (NELP), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), UNITE HERE, United Auto Workers (UAW), United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), and United Steelworkers (USW).\n\nTo read the full text of the LET\u2019S Protect Workers Act, click here.\n\nTo read the fact sheet of the LET\u2019S Protect Workers Act, click here.\n\nTo read the section-by-section of the LET\u2019S Protect Workers Act, click here.\n\nTo read the report entitled, \u201cA Slap on the Wrist: How it Pays for Dishonest Employers to Take Advantage of Workers,\u201d click here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bobbyscott.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-labor-leaders-introduce-bill-protect-workers-and-level-playing"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6510880086570978, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}