Labor Dept. gains warrantless access to federal workers' earnings data

What it does

This bill allows the Secretary of Labor to request earnings and employment data from Social Security and the Department of Health and Human Services without notifying the affected federal employees, in order to detect improper payments and fraud in the federal workers' compensation program. The bill requires these agencies to share the data at no cost and establishes a 90-day timeline for creating data-sharing agreements and procedures.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is granting the Department of Labor warrantless access to federal employee earnings and benefit data from Social Security and HHS to detect improper workers' compensation payments. It is functionally a data-sharing and fraud-detection measure, not a workers' compensation reform.

What the text implies

• The bill permits data requests 'without authorization from, or notice to, the employee'—meaning federal workers can be investigated for fraud without their knowledge, creating a surveillance capability that extends beyond the stated anti-fraud purpose and may chill legitimate benefit claims.
• The Secretary of Labor gains unilateral power to request data on 'one or more employees' with no judicial oversight, warrant requirement, or statutory limitation on scope—the bill does not restrict requests to suspected fraud cases, only to 'improve compliance' and 'detect improper payments,' which are broad standards.
• Data-sharing agreements are negotiated in memoranda of understanding (MOUs) rather than statute, meaning the actual scope, frequency, and safeguards for data access are hidden from public view and Congress, and can be modified without legislative action.
• The bill does not establish any employee right to notice, challenge, or remedy if data is accessed or used against them, nor does it require findings of fraud before data is shared—the mechanism is purely investigative and one-directional.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill creates a legitimate anti-fraud mechanism that protects the integrity of federal workers' compensation and may reduce improper payments—a public benefit. However, it permits warrantless data access without employee notice or consent, creating a surveillance capability that bypasses normal privacy protections and due-process norms, even if the stated purpose is narrow.

Named in the bill

Department of Labor, Social Security Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA), National Directory of New Hires

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.

• May 14, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• May 14, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”
• Jun 25, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Jun 25, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 32 - 0”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $30,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 5 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Ryan Mackenzie, the sponsor, reported $1,066,117 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Workers Injury Law & Advocacy Group — $30,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 21, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.