WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Congressman Austin Scott (GA-08) today introduced the Protecting American Jobs Act, a bill which would reign in the arbitrary judicial powers of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to better protect American industry and jobs and provide more clarity and certainty in the ruling on labor disputes. Twenty-four Members of Congress joined Rep. Scott as original co-sponsors of the legislation.

“There’s absolutely no reason why an arbitrary board made up of unelected, partisan political appointees rather than federal judges should have such a powerful seat at the table when it comes to ruling on labor disputes that in effect structure our country’s labor policy,” said Rep. Austin Scott. “For far too long, NLRB has slowly siphoned away the powers of our federal court system to their own political and partisan gains. It’s high time we redefine the responsibilities of the Board to provide more certainty and clarity to employers and employees who rely on sound policies to keep their businesses and our economy thriving.”

Currently, NLRB retains a broad and vague authority to rule on labor-related issues. The Protecting American Jobs Act, would remove these adjudicatory functions, returning them to the U.S. federal court system where labor law cases were overseen before the NLRB’s creation in 1935. The move would restructure the NLRB to focus on overseeing and certifying the formation of collective bargaining units.

Original co-sponsors of today’s bill include Representatives Brian Babin (TX-36), Marsha Blackburn (TN-07), Ken Calvert (CA-42), Buddy Carter (GA-01), Barbara Comstock (VA-10), Jeff Duncan (SC-03), Blake Farenthold (TX-27), Drew Ferguson (GA-03), Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03), Bill Flores (TX-17), Bob Gibbs (OH-07), Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Paul Gosar (AZ-04), Tom Graves (GA-14), Gregg Harper (MS-03), Bill Huizenga (MI-02), Mike Kelly (PA-03), Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), Pete Olson (TX-22), David Schweikert (AZ-06), Chris Stewart (UT-02), Ted Yoho (FL-03), and Rick Allen (GA-12).

Click here to read the bill text.

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