Bill strips union power while claiming to protect workers

What it does

This bill overhauls U.S. labor law to restrict union organizing and collective bargaining power. It requires secret-ballot elections for union representation, bars undocumented workers from voting in union elections, mandates employer disclosure of worker contact lists to unions, restricts how unions can spend dues money, redefines who counts as an employee vs. independent contractor (making it harder to unionize gig workers), narrows the definition of joint employers, exempts franchisors from joint-employer liability, allows workers in "right-to-work" states to negotiate individually outside collective bargaining, bans union-negotiated diversity initiatives, and expands criminal penalties for union violence while carving out minor picketing conduct.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is systematic restriction of union organizing, collective bargaining, and dues spending, combined with redefinition of employment status to favor independent-contractor classification. Despite the title 'Employee Rights Act,' the substantive effect is to weaken worker protections and union power.

• Section 6 exempts Indian Tribes and tribal enterprises from NLRA coverage—substantively unrelated to core labor-law reform.
• Section 5(c) shields franchisors from joint-employer liability for training/policy requirements—narrow carve-out benefiting franchise business model.

What the text implies

• Undocumented workers are explicitly barred from union voting and representation, creating a permanent underclass of workers with no collective-bargaining rights and no voice in union elections—even though they may work in unionized industries.
• The independent-contractor redefinition (Section 5(a)) uses a 'significant control' test that mirrors gig-economy platforms' existing classification practices, potentially insulating Uber, DoorDash, and similar companies from reclassification as employers.
• Section 7(b) allows individual workers in right-to-work states to negotiate separately from collective bargaining units, fragmenting union power and enabling employers to pick off workers one by one.
• Section 4(c) requires annual re-authorization of union dues for non-representational spending, creating administrative friction and reducing union political/advocacy capacity without restricting representational spending.
• Section 8 bans union-negotiated diversity and inclusion provisions in collective bargaining agreements, effectively using labor law to override negotiated workplace equity measures.

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

Who it affects

Ordinary workers lose collective bargaining rights, organizing power, and union protections. Undocumented workers are explicitly disenfranchised from union elections. Gig and franchise workers face higher barriers to unionization under the new independent-contractor standard. Employers gain unilateral control over worker classification, joint-employer liability is narrowed, and unions face new restrictions on dues spending and organizing. The bill's framing as "employee rights" masks restriction

Who stands to gain

• gig-economy platforms (Uber, DoorDash, Lyft, etc.)
• franchise systems (QSR, retail franchisors)
• non-union employers
• staffing and temp agencies
• employers in right-to-work states

Named in the bill

National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Labor-Management Relations Act (Taft-Hartley), Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (Landrum-Griffin), Clayton Act, Norris-LaGuardia Act, Railway Labor Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (Hobbs Act), Indian Tribes, covered States (right-to-work states)

Where it stands

10 cosponsors: 10 Republicans.

• Oct 8, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Oct 8, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions”

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

Money around this bill

5 lobbying clients named this bill on 8 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $3,430,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 28 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 78% of bills with at least one filing.

Tim Scott, the sponsor, reported $214,300 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Hotel & Lodging Association — $1,680,000 on 2 filings
• Primerica Life Insurance Company — $780,000 on 2 filings
• AFL-CIO — $760,000 on 1 filing
• American Pipeline Contractors Association — $160,000 on 2 filings
• Power & Communication Contractors Association — $50,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.