LABOR REFORMS
Workers Bill of Rights
Wages
· All wages shall be tied into inflation as a minimum +1% annually
· This means if annual inflation for a given year is 3%, the effective wage increase for a worker for the next year shall be 4% of salary
· All profits from business shall distribute 50% of net profits to workers on a minimum of an annual basis, pro-rated if employment stops before that 1-year mark.
· All time worked over their scheduled time shall be 1.5x hourly wage regardless of full time, part time, or contract status
· 2x pay shall be incurred for times meeting and exceeding 50 hours in a given week, or 10 hours in a given day
· 3x pay shall be incurred for times meeting and exceeding 70 hours in a given week, or 12 hours in a given day
· No employee shall work more than 16 hours in a given, and any employee working 16 hours in a day must be given recouperation time, to be paid at the same 3x rate of pay. This time shall be the time to commute, plus 1 hour for winding down, plus 8 hours.
· The work week shall be reorganized into a 4 day, 8 hour/day work week
· Wages shall increase to reflect the reduction of 8 hours of schedule work
· Overtime pay shall commence at the start of the 9th hour of a given 8 hour work day
· Any wage incentives such as Shift Differential shall be in effect for the duration of the employment of the individual, even if they are asked to work a shift that has a lower, or no shift differential.
· Conversely if employees without a shift differential are tasked to work on a schedule that has one, they will receive the shift differential and all other benefits associated with it for the entire duration of their scheduled time
· All wage information for positions must be clearly stated, and easily accessible by employees, or prospective hires.
· There must be a fair system in place to track compensation for every position within an organization
· Discussing wages shall be federally protected, and any unfair wage practices shall be met with heavy fines, and prison time for the Business C level personnel
· Engaging in undocumented hiring, intimidation, and wage theft shall result in the business owners, leadership, and hiring department to be heavily fined, and charged with jail time, while the victims will be given the opportunity to obtain work visas and recuperate their lost/stolen wages.
· The minimum wage shall be raised to $26.50/hour for all jobs, across all businesses, regardless of revenue, or profit margin.
· Tipped wages shall be similarly raised to $26.50/hour
· Commission positions must pay all employees a minimum of $26.50/hour for hours worked, or commission, whichever is greater
· Annual raises must still stay in line with inflation +1%
· Companies that offer $26.50/hour or more should continue to do so, but are not allowed to cut the wages of any employees because of this reform
· In order to support small businesses, making < $1,000,000 in annual revenue, the federal government shall pay the difference in current wages up to $26.50/hour for a period of 5 years as this policy normalizes within the economy.
Benefits
· A new federal standard for minimum benefits shall be put into place to include the following:
· Unlimited sick time off
· 30 days of Vacation
· 5 days of PTO
· 2 years fully paid paternity leave
· All break times shall be paid including 2 15-minute breaks, and 1 30-minute lunch
· Commuting time shall be considered part of the regular work day
· Discrimination based on distance from work shall be met with existing anti-discrimination laws
· All industries shall have an employee relations staff so that employees can address grievances with their employers, managers, or supervisors without reprisal and without being outright dismissed or reprised or retaliated against. These personnel will solely exist to enforce federal labor laws, mediate disputes, and advocate on behalf of the worker.
Retirement
With the quality of life, and longer life span of citizens and workers it is reasonable to respect the concerns of industries that they will be unable to afford retirement for employees who live for 20 or 30 years past their retirement age. Therefore, the following provisions shall be put into a place:
· 401k for life
· All citizens who enter into the work force shall be enrolled in a 401k that will be tied to their SSN for a period of 30 years of labor, allowing for breaks in employment to be taken into consideration. This 401k will replace all existing 401k programs, but can be used in conjunction with other retirement systems, including pensions. The rules for accessing this 401k for life shall be as follows:
· 5% of salary shall be sent to this 401k for the duration of the 30 years of work
· Employer match shall be immediately vested
· Hardship withdrawals shall not be penalized
· 401k for life shall be considered after tax contributions
· Collecting from the 401k for life shall never incur an income tax.
· Individuals who continue to work after 30 years of contributions, may continue to contribute to their 401k for life at their discretion, or withdraw.
· The 401k for life may be transferred to Next of Kin, Spouses, or similarly designated persons, in totality without incurring any tax.
Social Security and Medicare
· Social Security shall no longer be taxed
· Social Security deductions shall be uncapped across all income levels
· Medicare deductions shall be uncapped across all income levels
· All American Citizens shall be eligible for Medicare
· Social Security shall be paid out after 30 years of combined employment, excluding unemployment, but including layoffs and periods of education
· Exceptions would be a Federal Shut Down, Global pandemic, or similar economic crisis
Employment Guarantees
In order to guarantee a strong work life balance, the ability to live a full and meaningful life, or to pursue building a family, the following guarantees shall be in effect:
Guaranteed Predictive Scheduling
· No schedule changes shall be made without 2 weeks prior notice
· Schedules that alternate between daytime, and night time hours in the same week shall incur hardship pay for the entirety of the schedule regardless of part time, contract, or full-time status
· 1 week of Employer sponsored adjustment time must be granted for all affected employees of a schedule change
· Emergency exceptions shall be allowed such as
· National Crisis
· Sudden loss of business demands
· Sudden change of business demands
· Short term needs
· Emergency exceptions must be resolved within 6 weeks and all hourly workers affected shall be paid at hardship rates: 1.5x their hourly wage for the duration of the emergency
· Additionally, any incurred overtime will still abide by the 1.5x, 2x, and 3x rule at the rate of the hardship pay including any shift differentials.
Time Keeping and Work Hours
· Time keeping shall begin at the point of arrival of the employee at their worksite.
· This means if an employee is scheduled to work from 6am – 2pm, and they arrive at 5:55am, their 8-hour shift begins at 5:55am and ends at 1:55pm, and any time worked over that 8-hour period can be used to determine eligibility for overtime hours.
· Employees have the right to adjust their arrival and departure times by their early arrival or stay over time to ensure 32 hours total
· All software that monitors or manages time keeping must account for all times recorded as they are recorded.
· No automatic time deductions
· No rounding of hours
Layoffs or Firing
· When firings or layoffs are justified all employees:
· Are to be given 30 days’ notice with documentation outlining the justifying cause, or reason
· Shall receive 60 days of severance pay, including any incentive pay regardless of termination or layoff, in addition to unused PTO, or Vacation time
· These provisions supersede any and all applicable “Right to Work” or “At Will” statutes
Training
· Job Training must be standardized, applicable to all personnel equally, accessible through either hard copy on site, or digital copies on a company server.
· All industries must create, and integrate a training program that designates qualifications for personnel to become certified trainers, and are then the sole personnel allowed to conduct training on tasks, responsibilities, or other work-related activities.
· Training must cover all duties and responsibilities
· Training must cover all hazards, and safety considerations with their respective role, duty, or responsibility
· Training must be carried out by an employee who meets the qualifications of certified trainer for the role or duty being trained
Tools, Equipment, Uniforms
· All employers who require mandatory uniforms shall provide one set of uniforms for each scheduled work day, for a week of labor, of the employee
· 4 work uniforms for a 4 day week.
· All employers must provide, at no cost to the employee, all:
· Hand Tools
· Safety equipment
· Including prescription safety glasses
· Including shoe inserts
· Including prescription hearing safety equipment
· Stationary and other office supplies
· Ergonomic work stations, desks, or accommodations
· An example would be a chair for employees working on their feet for a majority of their work day
· An example would be an ergonomic mat for workers on an assembly line to reduce foot, ankle, and knee fatigue
· Respirators, or other air quality control equipment
· Safety harnesses, and other fall equipment
· Other tools, materials, or accessories to ensure safe, and ergonomic working conditions
Workplace Accommodations
· All work places shall provide access to restrooms, and other sanitary needs
· All work places shall accommodate breastfeeding mothers
· All work places shall have religious accommodations that are dignified
· All work places shall have disability accommodations that are dignified
· All work places shall provide clean drinking water at a minimum in common areas, accessible to all employees
· No job sites shall restrict or monitor the use of restroom time by their employees
· No employer has the right to monitor employee social media, or other personal activities
· Exceptions to this rule would fall under national security, proprietary rights, or if the employee is a direct representative such as a Director, PR person, or similar. A standard employee, outside of their scheduled working hours, shall never be considered a direct representative of the company.
Employer, Manager, and Supervisor Relations
· Workplaces shall be free of verbal abuse, threats, sabotage, and bullying of any kind.
· As much as possible, jobs should maximize the fulfillment and development of the people doing them and should minimize drudgery and stagnation.
· Productivity shall be measured by the completion, competence, and quality of assigned tasks, duties or responsibility.
· It is not up to the employee to find work to do, perform “Busy Work”, or otherwise seem “engaged” if there aren’t any duties to perform.
· This shall also not reflect on the employee as a way to justify docking wages, curtailing time, or otherwise impacting the employees’ rate of pay.
· Downtime should be considered as an opportunity to reward employees with full pay and early release from work
· Employers that make promises to their employees about pay, benefits, promotions, and responsibilities shall honor those promises, even if made verbally
· Promotion requirements shall be well established, universal, and free from bias
· Wage increases shall be well established, universal, and free from bias
· Duties and Responsibilities shall be well established, universal, and free from bias
· Incurring additional duties or responsibilities outside of your original duties and responsibilities shall incur a 5% wage or salary increase for each individual duty or responsibility inherited
· Reprisal, and Retaliation shall have lesser requirements to prove
· If more than 3 acts that can be reasonably construed as an act of reprisal or retaliation occur, this will be enough evidence to prove it has taken place
· Employees have the right to record incidents as evidence
· These incidents should be recorded to include: date, approximate time, individual(s) involved, and the incident itself. These recordings can be in the form of Memorandums of Record, and do not need to be audio, or video to be considered valid.
· Leadership personnel must make every effort to meet the professional needs of their employees, including taking their work life balance, personal health, and other relevant accommodations into consideration when making business or enterprise decisions.
· Leadership personnel shall be evaluated every 6 months to determine their employee relations abilities.
· Specifically, this means that Manager, Supervisors, or any personnel in charge of others must be effective at managing their responsible parties. In practice, receiving complaints from a significant portion of their work force for poor leadership, retaliation, failure to adhere to promises, etc. shall result in their removal from leadership
· Leadership must fill all short falls in their respective areas of responsibility.
· Plainly put, there shall no longer be an allowance for short staffing, understaffing, lean staffing, or similar business practices.