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 An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

one-third of the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

. The Bill was sponsored initially by Senators

Tammy Baldwin Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Wisconsin since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms in the Wisconsin Stat ...

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...

and

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

in March 2018, joined in April 2018 by Kirsten Gillibrand, and in November 2018 by

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

. It was sponsored in the House of Representatives in June 2018 by

Keith Ellison Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 30th attorney general of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. representative for from 2007 to ...

and Ro Khanna.

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 landma ...

(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 U.S. 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. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

, consulting with the

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Natio ...

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. According to the organization, it exists "to carry forward the legacy and values of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt by developing progressive ideas and bold leadership in the service of rest ...

, 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 Labour law United States labor law United States proposed federal labor legislation

Contents

Reception

See also

Notes

References

External links