PRINTER'S NO. 1608
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
54
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY KNOWLES, METCALFE, RAPP, F. KELLER, BLOOM,
KAUFFMAN, EVERETT, WARD, MACKENZIE, HICKERNELL, SCHEMEL,
McGINNIS, SAYLOR, IRVIN, GROVE, MENTZER, B. MILLER, LAWRENCE
AND ZIMMERMAN, MAY 1, 2017
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MAY 1, 2017
AN ACT
Providing that employment shall not be conditional upon
membership or nonmembership in, nor upon the payment or
nonpayment of money to, certain labor organizations; and
providing for bargaining, penalties and remedies.
The General Assembly finds that:
(1) To require a person to be a member of, or not to be
a member of, a private organization as a compulsory condition
of work or employment is not in accord with fundamental
principles of individual liberty and freedom of choice.
(2) It is therefore declared to be the public policy of
this Commonwealth that membership or nonmembership in a labor
union should not be made a condition of the opportunity to
work or to be or remain in the employment of any employer.
(3) Employees should have the right to form, join,
continue membership in or assist labor organizations and
should equally have the right to refrain from forming,
joining, continuing membership in or assisting labor
organizations.
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(4) Any express or implied agreement between employers
and labor organizations, or any practice whatsoever, which
directly or indirectly makes membership or nonmembership in a
labor organization, or support or nonsupport of a labor
organization, a condition of employment or continued
employment is a violation of individual liberty and freedom
and is against the public policy of this Commonwealth.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Freedom of
Employment Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Employer." The term does not include the Commonwealth, a
political subdivision, municipal authority or an instrumentality
of any of them.
"Labor organization." An organization, agency, employee-
representation committee, plan or arrangement in which employees
participate and that exists for the purpose of dealing with
their employer concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages,
rates of pay, hours of employment or conditions of work.
"Person." An individual or a corporation, association,
company, firm or labor organization.
Section 3. Prohibited conditions of employment.
(a) Membership.--No person may be required to become or
remain a member of a labor organization as a condition of
employment or continuation of employment.
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(b) Abstention from membership.--No person may be required
to abstain or refrain from membership in a labor organization as
a condition of employment or continuation of employment.
(c) Dues, fees and charges.--No person may be required to
pay or refrain from paying any dues, fees or other charges of
any kind to a labor organization as a condition of employment or
continuation of employment.
Section 4. Penalty.
A person commits a misdemeanor of the third degree and shall,
upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than
$1,000 or to imprisonment for not more than six months, or both,
with each day of violation constituting a separate offense, if
the person does any of the following:
(1) Directly or indirectly places on another person a
requirement or compulsion prohibited by this act.
(2) Makes an expressed or implied agreement, written or
oral, to violate paragraph (1).
(3) Engages in a lockout, layoff, strike, work stoppage,
slowdown, picket, boycott or other action or conduct that has
the purpose or effect of directly or indirectly imposing on
another person a requirement or compulsion prohibited by this
act.
Section 5. Relief.
Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, a person
injured or threatened with injury by an action or conduct
prohibited by this act shall be entitled to injunctive relief
and to damages for any injuries sustained.
Section 6. Repeals.
All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are
inconsistent with this act.
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Section 7. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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