HRPA's Comments to Clarify Facts of Today’s U.S. Senate Hearing on Companies’ Labor Law Practices

HR Policy Association Comments to Clarify the Facts of Today’s U.S. Senate Hearing on Companies’ Labor Law Practices

The Association Responds to Information in Senate Hearing, “Should
 Taxpayer Dollars Go to Companies that Violate Labor Laws”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – HR Policy Association, the leading organization representing chief human resource officers of 400 of the largest employers in the United States, releases its statement on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee hearing, “Should Taxpayer Dollars Go to Companies that Violate Labor Laws,” to clear up several misconceptions and misleading information regarding labor and employment law compliance that formed the basis of the hearing.

 HR Policy Association member companies collectively employ more than 11 million employees in the United States, over nine percent of the private sector workforce, and 20 million employees worldwide. Additionally, two-thirds of the Association’s member companies are federal contractors, who will be directly impacted if federal contracting rules are changed. Association member companies are committed to their continued compliance with the law and their employees through substantial investments in competitive wages, comprehensive benefits, and skills and training, among other efforts.   

The statement outlined several of the misconceptions that have surfaced following the recent, highly publicized Amazon Staten Island union election, including:

• It is inaccurate and/or premature to state that Amazon has conducted “illegal anti-union activity.”
  
  
• Fewer than a third of eligible workers voted in favor of representation, and only 58% of eligible workers participated in the election.  
  
  
• Mandatory meetings in which employers express the potential consequences of unionization are a long-established, lawful exercise of employer speech rights.
  
  
• It is inaccurate and/or premature to state that Amazon “misclassifies delivery drivers as independent contractors rather than employees to evade tax, wage, and benefit responsibilities.”
  
  
• Unions continue to win elections at the same rate they always have; however, they have filed fewer petitions to represent workers on average over the last decade. 

In addition, the statement highlighted implications of federal contracting debarment on businesses, employees, and the U.S. economy. 

Timothy J. Bartl president and CEO of HR Policy Association said, “HR Policy Association members have a long-standing commitment to complying with all federal and state employment and labor laws and are deeply committed to their employees. The Association does not dispute that there may be some bad actors that willfully and repeatedly violate labor and employment laws. Those bad actors should be held responsible under federal and state labor and employment laws that are already in place.”

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To read the full statement, visit:
https://www.hrpolicy.org/getmedia/e00265dd-a389-45e7-b516-9a3b14cff2b7/Sanders_Hearing_Written_Testimony.pdf

HR Policy Association is the lead organization representing chief human resource officers of major employers. The Association consists of more than 400 of the largest corporations doing business in the United States and globally, and these employers are represented in the organization by their most senior human resource executive. Collectively, their companies employ more than 11 million employees in the United States, over nine percent of the private sector workforce, and 20 million employees worldwide. They have a combined market capitalization of more than $8 trillion. These senior corporate officers participate in the Association because of their commitment to improving the direction of human resource policy. Their objective is to use the combined power of the membership to act as a positive influence 
 to better public policy, the HR marketplace, and the human resource profession. For more information visit www.hrpolicy.org.