Philadelphians set to receive more workplace retaliation protections as City Council passes the POWER Act

After passing multiple new worker protection laws in recent years, Philadelphia City Council passed a bill Thursday intended to make those rules more enforceable.

The POWER Act, which stands for “Protect Our Workers, Enforce Rights,” was introduced by Councilmember Kendra Brooks in February, with support from a coalition of worker organizations, while facing pushback from some business entities including the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia.

In the last decade, Philadelphia has passed legislation to protect workers from wage theft, ensure paid sick leave, and codify domestic workers’ rights, yet the Department of Labor needs more tools to adequately enforce them, Brooks said at a Committee on Law and Government hearing on April 25.

“These laws are meaningless unless we have the tools to enforce them,” she said. Brooks, who was formerly a domestic worker, also noted that “workers, especially women of color, who work inside people‘s homes, are exposed to all kinds of abuse, exploitation, and disrespect.”

The bill now heads to Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s desk, where she can sign it into law, veto it, or let it become law without her signature. In committee, Cara Leheny, from the city’s Department of Labor, testified that Parker’s team looks “forward to working with the Council member to achieve the goals of this legislation.”

The legislation will expand workers’ rights when it comes to financial compensation for damages. It also solidifies the city labor department’s ability to certify certain immigration visas and creates a standardized framework for identifying “bad actor” employers and conducting workplace investigations, among other measures.

Brooks, Council minority leader and member of the progressive Working Families Party, has said the bill holds even greater significance as President Donald Trump’s administration rolls back worker protections at the federal level.

Ai-jen Poo, president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, an advocate for the POWER Act, said in March that the legislation recognizes the conditions of being a domestic worker, and noted the opportunity for it to serve as a model for other cities and states.

“Legislation like this — that really asserts that if you work in this country, you have rights, and if those rights are violated, you can count on some accountability for that violation — that seems like one of the most important promises and commitments we make to working people in this country,” Poo said.

In instances of potential employer retaliation, the POWER Act emphasizes that the burden of proof shifts from the employee to the employer if an alleged act of retaliation takes places within 90 days from a worker acting within their rights, such as filing a complaint against the employer or cooperating with an investigation into a potential violation.

An employer can also end up on an expanded “Bad Actor Database” if they meet certain metrics.

After two years have passed since a violation, employers may be removed from the database if they provide written certifications that they’ve notified their workers of their rights and that they won’t violate any worker protection ordinances moving forward.

In Philadelphia, workers can already collect monetary damages in certain instances, but the POWER Act allows for additional liquidated damages to account for the harm inflicted by an employer. For example, if an employee was a victim of a $1,000 wage theft, then they would be eligible to receive the amount they were originally owed plus an additional $1,000.

In instances of retaliation, both the city and the worker can collect damages. Fines and penalties paid to the city go to a “Worker Justice Fund,” which supports victims of workplace retaliation.

The Office of Worker Protections, under the POWER Act, has the authority to investigate an entire workplace even if just one complaint is filed, and will be required to report their efforts to Council annually.

The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, and the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association expressed concerns with the legislation at the April hearing.

Ashley Miscevich, speaking on behalf of the Chamber, said the group supports fair workplace protections but worries the POWER Act will create “significant legal, financial, and operational challenges for employers of all sizes, but particularly small and midsized businesses, while undermining Philadelphia’s competitiveness and job growth.”

“Our central concern is that this bill, even with amendments, still creates a framework that is unfairly tilted against employers, and particularly those without in-house or HR teams,” Miscevich said.

In a statement Wednesday, Shannon Williams, the chamber’s vice president of advocacy, called for Council to establish a task force to review worker protection ordinances and work with stakeholders to create a different framework.

Brooks said Tuesday that she expects the city’s Department of Labor, permanently established by Council in 2020, to carry out the bill “in a way that’s beneficial to both workers and employers.”

In 2023, the department’s Office of Worker Protections found 84 violations and completed 23 mediations, according to Olive Kuhn, assistant compliance director.

The department is looking to fill vacancies, Leheny said at an April hearing on the act. Since the department’s establishment, advocates have also been calling for more funding to staff up the city DOL.

Brooks recognized that funding is even more crucial right now.

“We’ll continue to advocate for more funding and structure around the Department of Labor, because we realize that our federal Department of Labor is not working for us right now,” Brooks said. “So we need to make sure that we protect our constituents on a local level.”

Staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.