Warehouse Worker Protection Act
Sponsored By: Senator Edward Markey
Introduced
Summary
Limits intrusive productivity quotas and automated surveillance. The bill would create a Fairness and Transparency Office and set rules on employer disclosure, worker access to speed data, NLRA protections, FTC enforcement, and OSHA ergonomic and medical-referral standards.
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- Workers: Employees at covered warehouses, wholesalers, couriers, and mail-order facilities would get access to their work-speed data, required training, representation during inspections, protections for breaks and medical referrals, and a 90-day rebuttable presumption for quota-linked retaliation.
- Employers: Covered employers with more than 200 employees at specified facilities would have to disclose quotas, surveillance technologies, and data uses, limit data collection to what is necessary, keep records, and face civil penalties that can reach up to $76,987 per violation and up to $769,870 for repeat or willful violations.
- Agencies and standards: The bill would place enforcement authority in a new office inside the Wage and Hour Division, let the FTC treat quota violations as unfair or deceptive acts, and require OSHA to develop ergonomic and medical-referral standards on multi-year timelines.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
New protections for warehouse workers
If enacted, the bill would ban many quotas that stop meal and rest breaks, bathroom access, safety, or reasonable accommodations. Employers would have to give plain written quota and surveillance notices and explain what work-speed data they collect. Employers could collect work-speed data only when strictly necessary. Workers could have a labor or advocacy representative, even anonymously, during inspections and complaint processes.
Stronger enforcement and penalties for employers
If enacted, the bill would give the Labor Secretary and FTC stronger tools to enforce quota rules. It would require investigations within 30 days after set triggers, like 40,000 annual work hours plus an injury rate 1.5 times the industry average, or 5 to 10 credible complaints. Employers could face penalties up to $76,987 per violation and up to $769,870 for repeat or willful violations, plus added per-violation amounts and up to $7,000 per day for some failures to correct. The bill would also bar predispute arbitration for these claims and make it easier to bring group lawsuits.
New safety and medical workplace standards
If enacted, the bill would require OSHA to propose an ergonomic program within 3 years and finalize it within 4 years. The standard would require hazard checks, controls like job rotation or workstation redesign, training, and medical management. The bill would also require a proposed medical-referral and first-aid standard within 1 year and a final standard within 3 years, including a trained first-aid person and occupational medicine consultation. It would shorten timelines for correcting serious violations and require fast hearings in some contests.
Who and which workplaces are covered
If enacted, the bill would apply to employers with more than 200 employees at covered facilities. Covered facilities would include NAICS 493, 423, 424, 454110, and 492110. The bill would not override state or local laws that give workers equal or stronger quota protections. Collective bargaining terms that are better for workers would also be preserved.
New Fairness and Transparency Office
If enacted, the bill would create a Fairness and Transparency Office inside the Wage and Hour Division. The President would appoint a Director and the Director would form an advisory board of workers, employers, and experts. The Office would coordinate enforcement, issue guidance and rules, and hire staff paid up to Executive Schedule level V.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Edward Markey
MA • D
Cosponsors
Josh Hawley
MO • R
Sponsored 7/31/2025
Roger Marshall
KS • R
Sponsored 7/31/2025
Bernie Sanders
VT • I
Sponsored 7/31/2025
Alex Padilla
CA • D
Sponsored 7/31/2025
Richard Blumenthal
CT • D
Sponsored 7/31/2025
Peter Welch
VT • D
Sponsored 7/31/2025
Elizabeth Warren
MA • D
Sponsored 7/31/2025
Christopher Murphy
CT • D
Sponsored 7/31/2025
Tina Smith
MN • D
Sponsored 7/31/2025
John Fetterman
PA • D
Sponsored 9/17/2025
Ruben Gallego
AZ • D
Sponsored 12/2/2025
Angela Alsobrooks
MD • D
Sponsored 12/10/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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