Sen. Sherrod Brown

Fairness for Farm Workers Act This bill extends overtime pay protections to agricultural workers. The bill requires employers, beginning in 2023, to compensate agricultural workers for hours worked in excess of their regular hours (i.e., 55 hours in 2023, 50 hours in 2024, 45 hours in 2025, and 40 hours in 2026) at not less than one and one-half times the employee's regular rate. For employers with 25 or fewer employees, the overtime pay requirements begin in 2026. These overtime pay requirements do not apply, as under current law, to employees who are the parent, spouse, child, or other member of the employer's immediate family. The bill also repeals the exemption from overtime pay requirements for employers in various agriculture-related industries, including certain small farms, irrigation projects, sugar processing, and cotton ginning and compressing.

Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act This bill modifies provisions relating to Medicare payment rates for clinical diagnostic laboratory services, including by requiring payment rates for certain widely available clinical diagnostic laboratory tests to be based on a statistical sampling of private sector rates.

Supply Chain Resiliency Act This bill establishes the Office of Supply Chain Resiliency within the Department of Commerce. The office must identify vulnerabilities in the supply chains for critical products and emerging technologies. It also must provide financial support to manufacturers to expand production of products that are part of supply chains experiencing shortages.

Downpayment Toward Equity Act of 2021 This bill establishes a grant program through the Department of Housing and Urban Development for states and other entities to provide qualifying assistance to certain first-time, first-generation home buyers in purchasing their first homes. Qualifying assistance includes assistance for mortgage down payments, mortgage closing costs, reduction of mortgage interest rates, subsidies for shared equity homes, or for certain preoccupancy modifications to a home to accommodate persons with disabilities. The bill also establishes grant requirements regarding home buyer income, types of housing, homeowner occupancy, types of mortgages, and home buyer counseling.

Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 20 21 This bill expands various labor protections related to employees' rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace. Among other things, it revises the definitions of employee , supervisor , and employer to broaden the scope of individuals covered by the fair labor standards; permits labor organizations to encourage participation of union members in strikes initiated by employees represented by a different labor organization (i.e., secondary strikes); and prohibits employers from bringing claims against unions that conduct such secondary strikes. The bill also allows collective bargaining agreements to require all employees represented by the bargaining unit to contribute fees to the labor organization for the cost of such representation, notwithstanding a state law to the contrary; and expands unfair labor practices to include prohibitions against replacement of, or discrimination against, workers who participate in strikes. The bill makes it an unfair labor practice to require or coerce employees to attend employer meetings designed to discourage union membership and prohibits employers from entering into agreements with employees under which employees waive the right to pursue or a join collective or class-action litigation. Finally, the bill addresses the procedures for union representation elections, modifies the protections against unfair labor practices that result in serious economic harm, and establishes penalties and permits injunctive relief against entities that fail to comply with National Labor Relations Board orders.

This resolution reaffirms the goals of World Refugee Day and the commitment of the United States to promote the safety and well-being of refugees and asylum seekers.

Otto Warmbier Countering North Korean Censorship and Surveillance Act of 2021 This bill authorizes sanctions related to censorship in North Korea and addresses related issues. The President may impose property-blocking sanctions on foreign individuals and entities responsible for implementing or facilitating North Korea's censorship laws and surveillance. For the individuals that meet such criteria, the President may also impose visa-blocking sanctions. The bill also authorizes the U.S. Agency for Global Media to provide increased broadcasting and grants for various purposes, including the development of internet freedom tools to facilitate information sharing related to North Korea and the restoration of the agency's broadcasting capacity to North Korea.  The President must submit to Congress a strategy to combat North Korea's information environment. The Department of State and the Department of the Treasury must jointly report to Congress each year on U.S. government activities related to the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea.

This resolution supports the goals and ideals of World Sickle Cell Awareness Day. The resolution also commits to ensuring equitable access to new sickle cell disease (SCD) treatments by shining the light among all economic, racial, and ethnic groups to improve health outcomes for those living with SCD. Finally, the resolution encourages the people of the United States and the world to hold appropriate programs, events, and activities on Sickle Cell Awareness Day to raise public awareness of SCD traits, preventative care programs, treatments, and other patient services for those suffering from SCD, complications from SCD, and conditions related to SCD.

Fair Warning Act of 2022 This bill bars an employer from ordering a site closing or mass layoff until 90 calendar days after the employer has served written notice of such an order to (1) each representative of the affected employees as of the time of the notice or each affected employee, (2) the Department of Labor and the governor of the state where the site closing or mass layoff is to occur, and (3) the state or entity designated by the state to carry out rapid response activities.

My Body, My Data Act of 2022 This bill establishes protections, subject to certain limits, for personal reproductive or sexual health information. This includes information relating to past, present, or future surgeries or procedures, such as the termination of a pregnancy. Specifically, commercial entities, including individuals, nonprofits, and common carriers, may not collect, retain, use, or disclose personal reproductive or sexual health information except (1) with the express written consent of the individual to whom such information relates, or (2) as is strictly necessary to provide a requested product or service. Commercial entities also must provide individuals with access to, and a reasonable mechanism to delete, any of their reproductive or sexual health information upon request. Further, commercial entities must maintain and publish a privacy policy describing their practices with respect to such information. The bill's provisions do not apply to entities that are subject to certain existing health-related privacy regulations, such as the privacy regulations issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Additionally, the provisions do not apply to the disclosure of personal reproductive or sexual health information for the publication of newsworthy information of legitimate public concern. The bill provides for enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission and by private civil actions.