U.S. Lawmakers Introduce Updated Bipartisan Warehouse Worker Protection Act

On Sept. 25, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) reintroduced S. 5208, the bipartisan Warehouse Worker Protection Act (WWPA), a bill that would amend various labor and employment laws and establish new protections for warehouse workers. The new piece of legislation is nearly identical to one introduced this past spring, but adds a provision that grants the Federal Trade Commission authority to have oversight over warehouse employers.

As Connecting the Dots reported back in April, the WWPA would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a proposed standard for ergonomic program management within three years and it would it require the agency to issue a final rule in three years that would require employers to have medical professionals at the workplace to aid injured or ill workers and to provide occupational medicine consultation services. It also would speed up the timeline for abatement for willful or repeat violations.

Under the WWPA, employers who fail to correct a violation designated as willful or repeated, and who were not granted a stay, would be assessed a civil penalty of up to $7,000 for each day during which the violation continues. Finally, the legislation would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to create a Fairness and Transparency Office within the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. As written, this portion of the legislation includes notice requirements and prohibitions related to performance quotas in warehousing. U.S. House lawmakers have introduced similar legislation.

Read more about that bill at this link.

While it is unlikely U.S. lawmakers will consider this bill before the current congress finishes its work in December, it is possible Sen. Markey, Sen. Hawley, and their House counterparts will reintroduce the WWPA when the 119th Congress convenes in January 2025.