In This Issue

Stakeholder Activity

Legislation

In the month of June, Lobbyit focused on the biggest game in town, the appropriations process. Lobbyit and NCISS worked in conjunction with like interests to hit Congress hard to encourage legislators to act to restrain the Department of Labor from implementing a host of harmful rules. Lobbyit and NCISS also composed and sent out an Advocacy Hub message (which is currently active) asking NCISS members to write their legislators and encourage them to cement the hard-fought gains achieved in the appropriations process, and vote for final passage of both the House and Senate versions. Rarely has Congress spoken in one strong voice like we now see in the the Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) appropriations bill. Lobbyit and NCISS are proud to have played an important role in making these bills a reality. We encourage all NCISS members to weigh in through the Advocacy Hub. Your voice clearly makes a difference.

Stakeholder Activity

LHHS Appropriations

The month of June was largely dominated by appropriations activity, with the House and Senate passing each Chamber's respective version of Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) appropriations legislation. As the funding entities for the Department of Labor, including the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), we focused our advocacy efforts on these committees, hoping to include language blunting DOL's recent activity in a variety of areas.

As passed out of Committee, both the House and Senate versions of LHHS approps contained important language prohibiting the Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing several problematic regulations for NCISS members, especially on the Security Service side.(More on this below)

Lobbyit and NCISS consider this a huge victory,even if the job is not fully done.

Lobbyit worked in conjunction with several other similarly situated interest groups to meet with key members of the House and Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee to drive home the importance of restraining a runaway Department of Labor. Key to Lobbyit's advocacy was the clear imbalance such rules would create in the workplace, including the revelation of sensitive information to labor organizers, the fracturing of the workforce into disparate elements, the prohibition on sharing information with employees, and the introduction of greater opportunities for fear and intimidation tactics into the workplace.

In a welcome surprise, Congress exercised its Constitutional authority of the purse, and both the House and Senate included strong language prohibiting the Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing the the "ambush" rule, which drastically changes the process for union representation elections and severely limits worker access to information needed to make an informed decision about whether or not to vote in favor of a union. The language would allow employers to communicate with their employees prior to a representation election, while providing employees with an opportunity to receive balanced information with which to make their decision. It would also prohibit the use of funds to implement any regulations or decisions of the NLRB expanding or otherwise modifying an employer's legal obligation to provide a union with a list of names and home addresses of employees eligible to vote in a union representation election. Required disclosure of personal email addresses and phone numbers is an unprecedented, improper intrusion on employee privacy rights.

Second, these bills address the "micro-union" issue pursuant to the Board's August 2011 decision in Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center of Mobile and United Steelworkers, District 9, 357 NLRB No. 83 (2011)., which opened the door to proliferation of micro-unions within a workplace. In Specialty Healthcare, the NLRB radically changed the standard for determining an appropriate bargaining unit for all of the estimated six million workplaces covered by the NLRA. Unions can now gerrymander representation elections and organize bargaining units that purposely exclude similarly-situated employees who oppose unionization, leaving them effectively disenfranchised while greatly benefitting organizing drives. Prior to the Specialty Healthcare decision, bargaining units had to include employees with a shared "community of interest." Less inclusive units were permissible only where the Board found a group of employees had interests that were "sufficiently distinct from those of other employees to warrant the establishment of a separate unit."

Now, under the Specialty Healthcare ruling, businesses face the possibility of having to manage multiple bargaining units of similarly situated employees with increased chances of work stoppages, as well as potentially different pay scales, benefits, work rules and bargaining schedules. As a result of workplace "silos" that multiple bargaining units create, employees will have much less flexibility to cross-train and gain new skills outside their own unit, and employers could find themselves unable to meet customer and client demands through lean, flexible staffing. Not surprisingly, employees could experience reduced job opportunities, as promotions and transfers will be hindered by organizational unit barriers.

That both the House and Senate have included these rules in their appropriations bills demonstrates the gravity of these concerns for employers.

Legislation

S 177 -- Data Security and Breach Notification Act

Official Title: A bill to protect consumers by requiring reasonable security policies and procedures to protect data containing personal information, and to provide for nationwide notice in the event of a breach of security.

S 237 -- Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance Act

Official Title: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to specify the circumstances in which a person may acquire geolocation information and for other purposes.

S 288 -- National Labor Relations Board Reform Act

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to reform the National Labor Relations Board, the Office of the General Counsel, and the process for appellate review, and for other purposes.

S 356 -- Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act

Official Title: A bill to improve the provisions relating to the privacy of electronic communications.

S 407 -- Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act

Official Title: A bill to regulate large capacity ammunition feeding devices.

S 498 -- Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act

Official Title: A bill to allow reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms.

S 512 -- The Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Abroad Act

Official Title: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to safeguard data stored abroad from improper government access, and for other purposes.

S 668 -- Data Broker Accountability and Transparency Act

Official Title: A bill to require data brokers to establish procedures to ensure the accuracy of collected personal information, and for other purposes.

S 740

Official Title: A bill to improve the coordination and use of geospatial data.

S 754 -- Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act

Official Title: An original bill to improve cybersecurity in the United States through enhanced sharing of information about cybersecurity threats, and for other purposes.

S 801

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to provide for appropriate designation of collective bargaining units.

S 1023

Official Title: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide a refundable credit for costs associated with Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations.

S 1027

Official Title: A bill to require notification of information security breaches and to enhance penalties for cyber criminals, and for other purposes.

S 1123

Official Title: A bill to reform the authorities of the Federal Government to require the production of certain business records, conduct electronic surveillance, use pen registers and trap and trace devices, and use other forms of information gathering for foreign intelligence, counterterrorism, and criminal purposes, and for other purposes.

S 1158

Official Title: A bill to ensure the privacy and security of sensitive personal information, to prevent and mitigate identity theft, to provide notice of security breaches involving sensitive personal information, and to enhance law enforcement assistance and other protections against security breaches, fraudulent access, and misuse of personal information.

HR 47

Official Title: A bill to ensure secure gun storage and gun safety devices.

HR 491 -- Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance Act

Official Title: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to specify the circumstances in which a person may acquire geolocation information and for other purposes.

HR 580 -- Data Accountability and Trust Act

HR 612 -- National Right-to-Work Act

Official Title: A bill to preserve and protect the free choice of individual employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, or to refrain from such activities.

HR 656 -- Online Communications and Geolocation Protection Act

Official Title: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to disclosures to governments by communications-related service providers of certain information consisting of or relating to communications, and for other purposes.

HR 689 -- Surveillance Order Reporting Act

Official Title: A bill to permit periodic public reporting by electronic communications providers and remote computer service providers of certain estimates pertaining to requests or demands by Federal agencies under the provisions of certain surveillance laws where disclosure of such estimates is, or may be, otherwise prohibited by law.

HR 699 -- Email Privacy Act

Official Title: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to update the privacy protections for electronic communications information that is stored by third-party service providers in order to protect consumer privacy interests while meeting law enforcement needs, and for other purposes.

HR 719 -- TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act

Official Title: A bill to require the Transportation Security Administration to conform to existing Federal law and regulations regarding criminal investigator positions, and for other purposes.

HR 752 -- Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act

Official Title: A bill to prohibit the transfer or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices, and for other purposes.

HR 791 -- Cell Phone Freedom Act

Official Title: A bill to prohibit the unauthorized remote shut down of a cellular phone.

HR 798 -- Responsible Skies Act

Official Title: A bill to amend the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to prohibit the flying of unmanned recreational aircraft near commercial airports.

HR 827 -- Robo Calls Off Phones (Robo COP) Act

Official Title: A bill to direct the Federal Trade Commission to revise the regulations regarding the Do-not-call registry to prohibit politically-oriented recorded message telephone calls to telephone numbers listed on that registry.

HR 950 -- Prohibiting Automated Traffic Enforcement Act

Official Title: A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to prohibit automated traffic enforcement, and for other purposes.

HR 1385

Official Title: A bill to provide for a legal framework for the operation of public unmanned aircraft systems, and for other purposes.

HR 1431

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to prohibit the preemption of State stalking laws.

HR 1432

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to prohibit the preemption of State identity theft laws.

HR 1560 -- Protecting Cyber Networks Act

Official Title: A bill to improve cybersecurity in the United States through enhanced sharing of information about cybersecurity threats, and for other purposes.

HR 1646 -- Homeland Security Drone Assessment and Analysis Act

Official Title: A bill to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to research how small and medium sized unmanned aerial systems could be used in an attack, how to prevent or mitigate the effects of such an attack, and for other purposes.

HR 1704 -- Personal Data Notification and Protection Act

Official Title: A bill to establish a nation data breach notification standard, and for other purposes.

HR 1731 -- National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act

Official Title: A bill to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance multi-directional sharing of information related to cybersecurity risks and strengthen privacy and civil liberties protections, and for other purposes.

HR 1746 -- Truth in Employment Act

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to protect employer rights.

HR 1766

Official Title: A bill to amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to repeal a small business loan data collection requirement.

HR 1767

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to require that lists of employees eligible to vote in organizing elections be provided to the National Labor Relations Board.

HR 1768

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act with respect to the timing of elections and pre-election hearings and the identification of pre-election issues.

HR 1770

Official Title: A bill to require certain entities who collect and maintain personal information of individuals to secure such information and to provide notice to such individuals in the case of a breach of security involving such information, and for other purposes.

HR 1893

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to modify the authority of the National Labor Relations Board with respect to rulemaking, issuance of complaints, and authority over unfair labor practices.

HR 1939

Official Title: A bill to amend the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to establish prohibitions to prevent the use of an unmanned aircraft system as a weapon while operating in the national airspace system, and for other purposes.

HR 2246

Official Title: A bill to amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to update certain procedures applicable to commerce in firearms and remove certain Federal restrictions on interstate firearms transactions.

HR 2283

Official Title: A bill to require face to face purchases of ammunition, to require licensing of ammunition dealers, and to require reporting regarding bulk purchases of ammunition.

Provided for NCISS by ...

Please contact Francie Koehler for questions or issues regarding private

investigators and Brad Duffy re the same for security professionals.

Francie Koehler - Investigations -- or -- Brad Duffy - Security

Permission granted to repost

Until next month,