Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2020
Latest action · Jun 25, 2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR S3314-3319)
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJun 25, 2020
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2020
This bill modifies provisions related to Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which typically involves the reorganization of a debtor company's assets and debts. Specifically, the bill (1) expands available claims and priorities for employees and retirees, and (2) places additional restrictions on the compensation of executives and other high level employees.
With respect to employee and retiree recoveries and losses, the bill
- increases the maximum value and age of specified wage and benefit claims entitled to priority payment;
- allows certain claims for losses related to defined contribution plans, if the employer or plan sponsor has committed fraud or otherwise breached its fiduciary duty;
- allows, as an administrative expense of the estate, severance pay owed to employees and contributions to an employee benefit plan;
- establishes certain restrictions regarding the rejection or amendment of a collective bargaining agreement;
- revises specified procedures related to the reduction or denial of retiree benefits;
- requires a court, in approving a sale of business assets, to consider the extent to which a bidder has offered to maintain existing jobs and assume benefit obligations; and
- allows claims related to pension losses.
With respect to executive compensation, the bill
- establishes specified limitations related to executive compensation enhancements,
- prohibits executives from receiving certain retiree benefits if such benefits were reduced or eliminated for other employees or retirees, and
revises other requirements related to court approval of such compensation.
Cosponsors 9
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 25, 2020 to Sep 8, 2020, with 6 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | Jun 25, 2020 |
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Original | Jun 25, 2020 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | Jun 25, 2020 |
| D-CA | Kamala D. Harris | Original | Jun 25, 2020 |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Original | Jun 25, 2020 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | Jun 25, 2020 |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Jul 21, 2020 | |
| D-IL | Tammy Duckworth | Jul 22, 2020 | |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Sep 8, 2020 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 25, 2020Introduced in Senate
- Jun 25, 2020Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR S3314-3319)
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 7370 | Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2020 | Related bill | Sep 29, 2020 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jun 25, 2020Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.