Committee Republicans Vote to Weaken Worker Protections, Fuel Culture Wars, and Undermine Public Education
WASHINGTON – Today, Committee Republicans advanced four bills that weaken essential worker protections, fuel culture wars on college campuses, and undermine our public schools.
“Similar to most of the markups we have had this Congress, Committee Republicans are rallying behind another set of bills that shirk our responsibilities to workers, students, and their families,” said Ranking Member Scott.
H.J. Res. 116 would repeal the Biden Administration’s final rule determining whether a worker is classified as an employee or an independent contractor. Under federal law, employees have a wide range of basic workforce protections, including minimum wage, overtime, employer-provided health insurance, pension benefits, collective bargaining, workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, and health and safety protections. But when workers, who should be employees under the law, are instead misclassified as independent contractors, they lose out on these protections.
H.R. 6418 would expand pre-planning grants for charter schools with even less transparency and accountability than already permitted under current law. This is yet another demonstration of the Majority’s efforts to expand school choice, instead of improving public schools, while also ignoring the need for guardrails and the danger of exposing children to low-quality educational experiences.
H.R. 3724 is a veiled attack on diversity and academic freedom in college curricula. It mirrors language in Republicans’ so-called College Cost Reduction Act, which forces colleges and universities to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as a condition for accreditation.
H.R. 7683 is inconsistent with the principles of the First Amendment this country was founded on and would restrict free speech on college campuses.
Read Ranking Member Scott’s opening statement here.
Read Democratic amendments and letters of opposition to H.J. Res. 116, H.R. 6418, H.R. 3724, and H.R. 7683 here.
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