Congressional Labor Caucus Announces Legislative Endorsements on Federal Workers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressional Labor Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Mark Pocan (WI-02), and Donald Norcross (NJ-01) announced the Labor Caucus’ endorsement of eight bills to protect the rights of federal employees.
“Federal workers are patriotic Americans who keep our country running, including nurses who care for veterans, law enforcement officers who keep us safe, teachers who educate our children, and so many more.” said the Co-Chairs. “Since day one, Donald Trump and Elon Musk have executed an unprecedented assault on these workers and the critical services they provide. Labor Caucus members are fighting back, and we’re proud to endorse these key pieces of legislation led by our members to protect and support federal workers.”
This legislative endorsement slate includes the following legislation:
H.R.2550 - Protect America's Workforce Act
Lead: Rep. Jared Golden (ME-02)
Bill Summary: The Protect America’s Workforce Act reverses Trump EO stripping collective bargaining rights from federal employees across multiple Federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, State, Veterans Affairs, Justice, and Energy, as well as certain employees in the Departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Interior, and Agriculture.
H.R.492 - Saving the Civil Service Act
Lead: Rep. Gerald Connolly (VA-11)
Bill Summary: The Saving the Civil Service Act would prevent any position in the federal competitive service from being reclassified outside of merit system principles without the express consent of Congress; installs a cap on the number of conversions to the frozen excepted service schedule; and requires that any employee who is converted provide consent for that conversion.
H.R.2906 - SERVICE Act
Lead: Rep. Nikema Williams (GA-05)
Bill Summary: The SERVICE Act prevents an agency from reducing its workforce by 5% or greater in a given fiscal year without itself conducting a full impact analysis of those cuts on the agency's ability to carry out its mission, and GAO evaluating the accuracy of that evaluation.
H.R.2905 - Ensuring Agency Service Quality Act
Lead: Rep. Nikema Williams (GA-05)
Bill Summary: The Ensuring Agency Service Quality Act requires Federal agencies to maintain minimum staffing numbers to comply with Congressional appropriations and requires an agency to justify their inability or refusal to comply with the requirement.
H.R.1835 - MERIT Act
Lead: Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10)
Bill Summary: The MERIT Act reinstates federal employees who were fired from federal agencies and departments as part of DOGE mass layoffs. The bill would provide back pay, treat the employees as “involuntarily separated without cause,” and require GAO to submit a report on the number of workers fired and other information about the layoffs.
H.R.1989 - Protect Our Probationary Employees Act
Lead: Rep. Sarah Elfreth (MD-03)
Bill Summary: The Protect Our Probationary Employees Act would ensure that if and when federal employees are reinstated, they will not need to restart their probationary period for the same job they previously held.
H.R.3094 - Probationary Reduction for Employee Protection (PREP) Act
Lead: Rep. Donald Beyer (VA-08)
Bill Summary: The PREP Act would reform federal employees’ probationary process by setting a probationary timeline to which all agencies must adhere.
H.R.3093 - Restoring Employment and Hiring Incentives for Removed Employees (REHIRE) Act
Lead: Rep. Donald Beyer (VA-08)
Bill Summary: The REHIRE Act would extend federal hiring preference to career federal employees that have been involuntarily removed from their positions in the competitive service during the Trump Administration.