H.R. 5280 — Introduced in House

I 113th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5280 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 30, 2014 Mr. Ellison (for himself, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Nadler, Mr. George Miller of California, Ms. Hahn, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Sires, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Norton, Ms. Fudge, Ms. Bass, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Takano, Mr. Holt, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Jackson Lee, and Mr. Ryan of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To strengthen the current protections available under the National Labor Relations Act by providing a private right of action for certain violations of such Act, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Employee Empowerment Act. 2. Private right of action under the National Labor Relations Act Section 10 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 160) is amended by adding at the end the following: (n) In addition to filing a charge alleging an unfair labor practice with the Board in accordance with this Act, a person alleging an unfair labor practice by an employer in violation of section 8(a)(3) may, not later than 180 days after the date of such violation, bring a civil action in the appropriate district court of the United States against the employer for such violation. The court may grant any relief described in section 706(g) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5) or section 1977A(b) of the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1981a(b)), and may allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney’s fee (including expert witness fees) as part of the costs. .