Posts tagged Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee
Liya Palagashvili: The Portable Benefits Revolution: How Did We Get Here?
May 1, 2025 // Senator Bill Cassidy just put flexible benefits on the map. This is the story of how a niche policy idea climbed to the top of the Congressional agenda.
Senate confirms Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Labor secretary
March 11, 2025 // “The American people demand and deserve change after four years of economic heartache under the ‘most pro-union administration in American history.’ Unfortunately, Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s record pushing policies that force hardworking Americans into union membership suggests more of the same,” McConnell said. “Most Americans believe joining a union should be a personal choice – not a mandate – which is why more than half the states, including Kentucky, have adopted right-to-work laws.”
Trump’s labor secretary pick Lori Chavez-DeRemer advances to final Senate vote
March 7, 2025 // In a 66-30 vote, 15 Democratic senators signaled support for President Trump’s pick, as Chavez-DeRemer advanced to a final vote on her nomination – which is scheduled to take place on Monday. Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Gary Peters of Michigan, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Adam Schiff of California, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Mark Warner of Virginia, Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island voted in favor of Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the only Republican opposed to Trump’s labor pick.
‘We Are Hopeful’ Q&A with Patrice Onwuka and Kim Kavin
January 24, 2025 // Congress should consider enshrining the Trump-era definition for independent contractors, and/or consider ways to get ahead of the opposition to flexible work. The Employee Rights Act was a federal bill that, among many pro-worker provisions, sought to protect independent contractors as a counter to a national ABC Test in the now-defunct Protecting the Right to Organize Act. Portable benefits also provide a pathway for companies to provide independent contractors with workplace benefits without triggering a reclassification.
Senator Sanders Issues New Report Unfairly Criticizing Amazon’s Workplace Safety Record
December 16, 2024 // Significant criticisms have been levied at Sanders over this investigation. For example, the report, which was drafted by Sanders’ staffers rather than safety experts, relies on outdated data and unverified anecdotes. It also ignores the significant investments and improvements Amazon has made since 2019 to enhance worker safety and health. Additionally, Sanders’ investigation and subsequent reports have been conducted and issued without any involvement from other members of the Senate HELP Committee, indicating that no other Senators on the committee agreed with the approach taken by Senator Sanders.
New proposed federal law would bar unions from promoting antisemitism
October 7, 2024 // Title VII of the Civil Rights Act allows employees not to pay dues or fees to a union based on their religious beliefs or practices. But Cassidy said many workers were unaware they have the right to pull their union dues from activities that have nothing to do with union bargaining for salaries and benefits. As part of the Senate committee’s probe into antisemitism, the senator also found that unions make it difficult to opt out of these unrelated costs — including bogging down workers with lawsuits that end up costing more than the actual dues. “Union members pay unions to represent before management. This legislation keeps unions focused on that,” said Cassidy.
Ranking Member Cassidy Introduces Legislation Preventing Unions from Abusing Workers’ Dues to Promote Antisemitism, Hateful Ideology
October 4, 2024 // “At a time when major unions are blatantly disregarding the opinions and interests of their members, I applaud Senator Cassidy for introducing legislation that will ensure workers know their union rights and enhance them,” said F. Vincent Vernuccio, President, Institute for the American Worker.
EXCLUSIVE: Bill Cassidy To Introduce Bill To Stop Left-Wing Investing From Taking Over Retirement Funds
September 27, 2024 // “Asset managers should prioritize helping Americans achieve the best return for their retirement, not funneling their clients’ money to fund a left-wing political ideology,” Cassidy, who serves as the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, said. “This legislation protects 152 million Americans who depend on a strong retirement to live after their career is over.” Under current Department of Labor rules, administrators of employee retirement plans are allowed to consider ESG factors when choosing between investment opportunities they have determined to be of equivalent quality. If a retirement fund determines multiple investment options are of equal value under Cassidy’s bill, it must document how it made that determination and then choose at random between the options.
Ranking Member Cassidy Slams Biden-Harris Admin Forcing Unionization on Medicare Call Center Employees, Threatening 650 Louisiana Jobs
September 20, 2024 // U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, slammed the Biden-Harris administration for forcing call-center employees to unionize even if they do not want to join a union. These efforts threaten the closure of 12 call centers employing 10,000 employees nationwide, including 650 workers in Bogalusa, LA. Since 2013, Maximus has run 1-800-MEDICARE and the Affordable Care Act call centers on behalf of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In 2022, Maximus was awarded a new nine-year contract. Despite some of the highest customer satisfaction scores in the federal government, the Biden-Harris administration ended their contract with Maximus two years into their agreement and is rebidding the contract with new requirements including a “labor harmony agreement.”
Opinion: Political Vendettas Put Small Business in the Crossfire
August 17, 2024 // Senator Bernie Sanders’ recently released Amazon Investigation Interim Report is an example of such an effort that put America’s small business community in the crossfire. I can't help but think that the report was created to serve a personal agenda against the nation’s largest online marketplace. It relied on outdated data to draw misleading conclusions that Amazon is a uniquely dangerous workplace and sets an inappropriate and extreme precedent rife with questionable methodology and bias. Read Newsmax: Political Vendettas Put Small Business in the Crossfire | Newsmax.com Important: Find Your Real Retirement Date in Minutes! More Info Here