By NAHB
The House and Senate today introduced legislation strongly opposed by NAHB that contains dozens of sweeping labor law revisions that would negatively affect the construction labor market at a time of critical skilled worker shortages.
The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, would expand employers’ liability for the labor practices of subcontractors and third-party vendors and narrow the circumstances under which an individual can work as an independent contractor — effectively gutting the contracting business model that serves as the foundation of the residential construction sector.
The legislation was introduced in the House (H.R. 20) by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and in the Senate (S. 567) by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The measure has virtually no chance of passing the Republican-controlled House; and it is uncertain whether it will pass the Senate, where the Democrats hold a slim majority.
