Healthcare Stays On During Strikes: New Bill Stops Employers From Cutting Coverage Mid-Dispute

When a labor dispute heats up—whether it’s a strike or an employer-initiated lockout—one of the biggest threats hanging over workers is losing their health insurance. This bill, the Striking and Locked Out Workers Healthcare Protection Act, aims to take that threat off the table entirely. Simply put, it prevents employers from terminating or altering an employee's group health plan coverage during a lawful strike or a lockout initiated by the employer during collective bargaining. This protection is immediate and applies to the same kind of health plans defined under ERISA standards, meaning the coverage you had going in is the coverage you keep during the dispute.

The Health Insurance Sticking Point

For years, the ability to cut off health insurance has been a powerful negotiating chip for employers. Imagine you’re striking for better wages, but your kid has a chronic condition that requires expensive medication. The moment your health coverage is threatened, the pressure to cave becomes immense. This Act essentially neutralizes that tactic. Under Section 2, if you are participating in a lawful strike, or if your employer locks you out to influence bargaining, your health coverage cannot be terminated or changed. This is a crucial shift because it allows workers to engage in protected collective action without risking their family’s medical security. It keeps the focus on the contract terms, not on who can hold out the longest without emergency room coverage.

New Fines and Personal Accountability

This bill doesn't just ask nicely; it backs up the new protection with serious financial teeth, outlined in Section 3. If an employer violates these rules—say, by suddenly canceling coverage during a lockout—they face civil penalties up to $75,000 per violation. If that violation involves firing someone or causing other serious economic harm, the fine can double to $150,000, especially if the employer has a similar violation in the past five years. For striking workers, the fines are slightly lower, starting at $50,000 and potentially doubling to $100,000 for serious or repeat offenses. These penalties are designed to be a strong deterrent, making it financially painful for companies to use health insurance as leverage.

Holding the Bosses Accountable

Perhaps the most significant change in enforcement is the provision allowing the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold individual directors or officers personally responsible for these violations. If an officer was directly involved, or if they knew about the violation—either actually or "constructively"—and had the power to stop it but didn’t, the penalty can be applied directly to them. This is a big deal. Instead of just penalizing the corporation, which can often absorb the cost, this provision introduces individual liability. For corporate leadership, this means they can no longer hide behind the corporate veil when making decisions that illegally jeopardize workers' healthcare during a dispute. This raises the stakes for every executive decision made during a strike or lockout, ensuring that protecting workers' health coverage is taken seriously from the top down.