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As the second session of the 111th Congress moves along, it is becoming increasingly apparent that partisan gridlock and the massive amounts of time and energy devoted to the health care reform debate have drawn attention from, and stymied action on, other proposed federal legislation that would impact employers and employees. Here is a snapshot, as of March 2010, of the status of the most prominent labor and employment bills pending in Washington.

Labor Relations. The “Employee Free Choice Act,” which would make it far easier for unions to obtain recognition and first contracts, remains stalled. While passage in the House is assured at least for the balance of this year, its approval by the Senate (where 60 votes would be needed to close off debate) is questionable. The “Secret Ballot Protection Act,” a reverse image of EFCA that would guarantee the use of secret ballots in union recognition situations, has also been introduced but is certain not to be passed.

The “RESPECT Act,” which would narrow the statutory definition of “supervisor” to undo several 2006 decisions of the “Bush” NLRB and make it possible for many more employees to organize or join existing bargaining units, has — perhaps surprisingly — not been re-introduced in the current Congress.

The “Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act” would require states and their political subdivisions that do not currently allow collective bargaining for public safety officers to provide such rights. It has not moved in committee during this Congress. The bill easily passed the House with bipartisan support during the last Congress but was stalled in the Senate.

Equal Employment. Hearings were held in both the House and Senate last fall on the “Employment Non-Discrimination Act,” which would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and, to a limited extent, gender identity. But the bills have not been reported out of committee in either chamber.

The “Paycheck Fairness Act,” which would strengthen remedies under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, passed the House in January 2009 along with the Lilly Ledbetter Act (which was enacted in 2009), but it was delinked from the Ledbetter Act in the Senate and has remained dormant ever since.

Employee Classification. The “Taxpayer Responsibility, Accountability and Consistency Act,” which would amend the Internal Revenue Code to drastically tighten the requirements for an employer to classify a worker as an independent contractor, has been introduced in both chambers and referred to the respective finance committees. No further action has been taken.

Family And Medical Leave. The “Healthy Families Act,” introduced in the Senate by the late Senator Kennedy and by 121 co-sponsors in the House, would require employers with 15 or more employees to provide limited amounts of paid sick leave for all employees and to permit unused sick leave days to carry over from year to year, although no more than seven days of leave must be available at any one time. It would also prohibit employers from making an employee’s use of paid sick days a basis for discipline. It has not moved out of committee in either chamber.

Arbitration. The “Arbitration Fairness Act” would essentially outlaw pre-dispute arbitration agreements requiring arbitration of an employment, consumer, or franchise dispute, or of disputes arising under anti-discrimination and consumer protection statutes. It would also require all questions regarding the validity or enforceability of an arbitration agreement to be decided by courts under federal law, not by an arbitrator, thereby sweeping away the pro-arbitration rules the U.S. Supreme Court has created over the past several decades. Although committee hearings have been held in both chambers, neither has reported the bill out.

Noel D. Massie