The Reward Work Act of 2018
S.2605
an
HR 6096
is a proposed United States

Act of Congress An act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...

to ban unjustified stock buy-backs, and to require that every listed company enable employees to elect one-third of the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

. The Bill was sponsored initially by Senators

Tammy Baldwin Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party (United Stat ...

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...

and

Brian Schatz Brian Emanuel Schatz ( ; born October 20, 1972) is an American educator and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Hawaii, a seat he has held since 2012. A member ...

in March 2018, joined in April 2018 by

Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York since 2009 ...

, and in November 2018 by

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

. It was sponsored in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in June 2018 by

Keith Ellison Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2019 as the 30th attorney general of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. representative for fr ...

and

Ro Khanna Rohit Khanna (born September 13, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (Un ...

Section 2 prohibits stock buybacks on the open market. Section 3 requires one-third board representation for employees of listed companies. Specifically, this amends §12b of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (also called the Exchange Act, '34 Act, or 1934 Act) (, codified at et seq.) is a law governing the secondary trading of securities (stocks, bonds, and debentures) in the United States of America. A land ...

(15 USC 78l(b)(1)) to add "No issuer may register securities on a national exchange unless at least 1⁄3 of the issuer’s directors are chosen by the issuing company’s employees in a one-employee-one-vote election process." It then requires the

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

, consulting with the

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces United States labor law, U.S. labor law in relation to collect ...

to make regulations ensuring democratic election processes, and 1/3 of an issuer's board to "be composed of employee representatives within 2 years of the date of enactment of this Act."

Reception

The Act was welcomed by the

Roosevelt Institute The Roosevelt Institute is a liberal American think tank headquartered in New York City. History and overview The Roosevelt Institute was created in 1987 through the merger of the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four ...

, and media outlets. A Civis poll found people in "the “lean Democrat” category voted 75% in favor of the question, and just 9% opposed. Around 43% of the “lean Republican” category supported the concept, while 31% opposed, and the pure Republican category saw 4% more opposed than in favor. But overall, a clear majority of people favor the concept."E Anzelotti, 'Want Fairer Workplaces? Give Employees Seats On The Board' (6 April 2018
Fast Company
/ref>

Notes

{{reflist

References

*E Anzelotti, 'Want Fairer Workplaces? Give Employees Seats On The Board' (6 April 2018
Fast Company
*D Matthews, 'Workers don’t have much say in corporations. Why not give them seats on the board?' (6 April 2018
Vox
*E McGaughey, 'Votes at Work in Britain: Shareholder Monopolisation and the ‘Single Channel’' (2018
15(1) Industrial Law Journal 76
map of countries on page 4 *E McGaughey, 'The Codetermination Bargains: The History of German Corporate and Labour Law' (2016
23(1) Columbia Journal of European Law 135
*E McGaughey, 'Democracy in America at Work: The History of Labor's Vote in Corporate Governance' (2019
42 Seattle University Law Review
*G Tyler, 'Codetermination Enters The American Political Debate' (20 April 2018
Social Europe

External links

S.2605, Text of proposed Reward Work Act
Proposed legislation of the 115th United States Congress United States labor law United States proposed federal labor legislation

Contents

Reception

See also

Notes

References

External links