Sponsors (48)
Official title: To prohibit an employer from terminating the coverage of an employee under a group health plan while the employer is engaged in a lock-out or while the employee is engaged in a lawful strike, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 21, 2025 by Chris Deluzio · Last progress May 21, 2025
The bill secures employer-provided health coverage for striking and locked-out workers and strengthens enforcement against unlawful benefit cuts, but increases employer liability and enforcement risk that may raise costs and prompt defensive business responses affecting hiring and benefits.
Union members and workers on strike or locked out keep employer-provided group health coverage, preventing loss of medical benefits and unexpected medical bills during labor disputes.
Stronger enforcement tools and penalties increase incentives for employers to comply with NLRA protections, deterring retaliation against collective action and allowing the Board to hold corporate leaders accountable.
Adopting ERISA's definition of 'group health plan' clarifies which plans are covered, reducing legal uncertainty for employers, employees, and the NLRB about coverage obligations during labor disputes.
Employers may face higher costs from maintaining coverage and paying civil penalties (including fines), which could lead to higher prices, reduced benefits, layoffs, or business closures.
Firms and leaders may become more risk-averse—shifting hiring toward contractors/gig workers, trimming future benefits, or making preemptive concessions—to limit exposure to benefit obligations and potential personal liability.
Increased enforcement discretion and new penalty authorities could prompt more litigation and contested penalty assessments, creating legal uncertainty and compliance costs for employers and the NLRB.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits employers from ending or altering group health plan coverage during lockouts or lawful strikes and authorizes new NLRB civil penalties for violations.
Prohibits employers from terminating or changing employees’ group health plan coverage during employer lockouts or when employees are engaged in lawful strikes, and adopts ERISA’s definition of “group health plan.” It also creates new civil penalties the NLRB may assess against employers (and responsible officers/directors) who violate these protections, with higher caps for repeated or especially harmful violations and factors the Board must consider when setting penalties.