Scott Leads Colleagues in Championing American Workers, Small Businesses

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced the Modern Worker Empowerment Act, which ensures government regulation keeps up with a 21st century workforce. This legislation provides America’s workforce with the flexibility and autonomy it needs and empowers entrepreneurs and small businesses to succeed as they grapple with a dynamic global environment, regulatory challenges and uncertain economic conditions. 
 
Joining Senators Scott and Blackburn are Senators Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), John Thune (R-S.D.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). 

“With families already struggling in President Biden’s broken economy, the Biden administration and big labor unions are turning the screws, weaponizing regulations against Americans just trying to make ends meet,” said Senator Scott. “I’ll never stop fighting to free American workers from burdensome red tape, so they can climb the economic ladder and live out their version of the American Dream.”

“The success of American workers should not be hampered by harmful and unnecessary regulation,”said Senator Blackburn. “In Tennessee, we have record-low unemployment and a nationally recognized workforce development program because our laws enable our creators and businesses to innovate in the best way that they know how. That should be the standard across the country.”

The Fair Labor Standards Act’s failure to clearly define “employee” has allowed the Biden administration to broadly exercise rigid labor rules against workers beyond the standard precedent, crippling the gig economy. The Modern Worker Empowerment Act addresses the ambiguity of the current law, releasing workers from burdensome regulations and freeing them to build economic opportunity. 

Full text of the Modern Worker Empowerment Act can be found here.

BACKGROUND

Senator Scott’s fight to support American workers includes: 

• Reintroducing the Training America’s Workforce Act which helps individuals obtain industry-specific skills through on-the-job learning and classroom instruction, as well as an industry-recognized credential during participation in or upon completion of an industry-recognized apprenticeship program (IRAP);
• Leading his Republican colleagues in introducing a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to overturn a misguided rule from the Department of Labor (DOL) which would drastically increase costs for American farmers;
• Fighting for his landmark legislation, the Employee Rights Act of 2023, which modernizes our nation’s labor policies to match the needs of the 21st century and pushes back against the Biden administration’s anti-worker PRO Act; and
• Supporting the Fair and Open Competition Act (FOCA), which would prevent the federal government from mandating project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal projects funded by taxpayers, increasing workforce competition and saving taxpayer dollars.