National Labor Relations Act
Workplace Safety
Universal Paid Family and Medical Leave
Wage and Hour
Major Investment and Incentives for Clean Energy Manufacturing
Immigration Reform
Universal Preschool and Child Care Tax Credits
Affordable Care Act Amendments
Retirement Savings Plans
Bill Tracker
On December 6, 2021, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a “Dear Colleague” letter reiterating his goal to pass the Build Back Better Act before Christmas. The update he provided on the procedural steps needed to get there, including necessary technical edits.
Became Law
To President
Passed Senate
Passed House
Introduced
Provides four weeks of guaranteed government-paid family and medical leave (maximum benefit of approximately $800 per week).
Modifies the affordability threshold for employer-sponsored health coverage under the Affordable Care Act for an employer that has at least 50 full-time employees (including full-time equivalent employees).
Undocumented individuals could receive provisional grants of work permits under a process known as parole, which allows people to stay in the U.S. for five years with an option to extend for another five years thereafter.
Proposes to add civil penalties against an employer who engages in unfair labor practices (ULPs), up to six figures per violation in some instances. It would also add potential personal liability for company directors and officers for ULPs.
Prohibits “backdoor” Roth conversions (conversion of employee after-tax contributions to Roth contributions) in qualified plans and individual retirement accounts for all individuals regardless of income level (beginning in 2022).
Increase civil penalties for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Increase certain penalties under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The bill increases penalties for “willful” violations from $70,000 to $700,000. The current inflation-corrected penalty is $136,653.
Would expand paid access for “high-quality” preschool of a parent’s choice for three-year-old and four-year-old children.
Provides support through $320 billion in tax credits to companies and individuals that manufacture and install solar-powered panels, improve energy efficiency of work environments, and advance residential clean energy transmission and storage.
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On December 6, 2021, President Biden responded to an inquiry whether the Build Back Better Act can pass by Christmas by stating “As early as we can get it. We want to get it done no matter how long it takes.”
On December 7, 2021, Senator Joe Manchin (D- W.Va) expressed continued concerns about the Build Back Better Act. He indicated that he was waiting on the final text before making a decision to support but repeated concerns about rising inflation. Without Manchin’s support, the bill may not make it through the Senate.
On December 6, 2021, Supported by the Biden Administration and congressional Democrats, Build Back Better bill heads to the Senate with key immigration reform provisions. Read more about the proposed changes to immigration law on Jackson Lewis’ Immigration Blog.
November 19, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, which is a $1.75 trillion in government spending bill, with an emphasis on social and climate goals. The bill as passed by the House has many implications for employers including effects on Labor Relations and employment class and collective actions.
On December 2, 2022, New Yorkers across all areas of the state, including businesses and unions sent a letter to Senator Schumer to Include Paid Family and Medical Leave into the Build Back Better Act.
On December 2, 2022, the White House released a Readout of the President’s Calls with Senator Murray and Senator Kaine on the Build Back Better Act, which focused on the need to reduce costs for families, including prescription drugs and child care.
On December 11, 2021, both the Senate Committee on Finance and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions released updated text for the Build Back Better Act to be sent to the Senate Parliamentarian for bipartisan discussions. Changes by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions included revisions to the NLRB provisions. For more details on those proposed revisions’ read Jackson Lewis’ Labor & Collective Bargaining Blog.
On December 11, 2021, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions has released its revisions of the Build Back Better bill and it removes the provisions regarding class or collective action waivers in the version passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on November 19, 2021, while wage and hour penalties remain. For more details on this change read Jackson Lewis’ Legal Update.
On December 15, Senator Rod Wyden from Oregon told reporters that the Democrats are considering all available options to pass a standalone extension of the monthly child tax credit payments, suggesting the larger Build Back Better Act which the tax credit is currently tied to may be postponed until the new year.
On December 16, 2021, President Biden issued a statement regarding the Build Back Better Act. The statement suggested the bill would not see a vote before the end of the year as previously hoped by Democrats.