Empowering Striking Workers Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5206 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5206

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Social Security Act 
 to provide that an individual engaged in a labor dispute may receive 
                         unemployment benefits.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 8, 2025

Mr. Norcross (for himself, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Simon, Mr. Magaziner, 
    Ms. Norton, Mrs. McIver, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, Mr. Deluzio, Ms. 
   Budzinski, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Casar, Ms. 
 Jayapal, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Adams, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Chu, 
    Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Omar, Ms. Randall, and Mr. Carson) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Social Security Act 
 to provide that an individual engaged in a labor dispute may receive 
                         unemployment benefits.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Empowering Striking Workers Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FOR STRIKING WORKERS.

    (a) In General.--Section 3304(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (18), by 
striking the period at the end of paragraph (19) and inserting ``; 
and'', and by adding at the end the following:
            ``(20) in the case of an individual who is employed but 
        unable to work due to a labor dispute (including any 
        controversy concerning terms, tenure or conditions of 
        employment, or concerning the association or representation of 
        persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing, or 
        seeking to arrange terms or conditions of employment, 
        regardless of whether the disputants stand in the proximate 
        relation of employer and employee), including an individual 
        unable to work as an indirect result of such a labor dispute, 
        compensation is payable to such individual as though such 
        individual were unemployed beginning on the date that is the 
        earlier of--
                    ``(A) the date that is 14 days after the date on 
                which a strike began;
                    ``(B) the date on which a lock-out began;
                    ``(C) the date on which the employer hired 
                permanent replacement workers; or
                    ``(D) the date on which the strike or lock-out 
                ended and the individual became unemployed.''.
    (b) Exemption From Work Availability Requirement.--Section 
303(a)(12) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503(a)(12)) is amended 
by inserting ``(other than a claimant who is an individual unable to 
work due to a labor dispute as described in section 3304(a)(20) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986)'' after ``claimant''.
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