A proposal to outlaw the practice of what is known as “salting” in the workplace has been introduced in the House of Representatives.
Georgia Congressman Rick Allen says his legislation, called the Truth in Employment Act, seeks to make illegal a practice that he says is often used against business owners.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, salting occurs when a labor union pays an individual to apply for a job. Once the job is secured, that person begins the process of gathering information about the company from the inside in an effort to form a union.
A notice from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce last year asserted that “employers are not allowed to ask if a job candidate is affiliated with a union, but union salts may make their intentions known during the hiring process.”
“If they do,” the Chamber directive continues, “simply not hiring them may seem like a reasonable option but following that path could place the employers in legal jeopardy by establishing an anti-union animus to be used against it later.”
In a statement, Allen has charged that salting “has become more common across the country and is nothing more than a desperate attempt to strong arm non-union employers into unionizing their workforce.”
Allen added that salting results in companies having to let their workforce be unionized “without a vote or forcing them to shut their doors.”
If successful, Allen’s legislation, HR 4320, would amend the National Labor Relations Act, declaring that employers would not be legally required to hire a person who is identified as a union organizer.
The measure has won the support of various industry organizations, including the American Builders and Contractors, which has characterized salting as “not merely an organizing tool—it has become an instrument of economic destruction aimed at nonunion companies.”
Last month Chris Townsend, a former representative for the United Electrical Workers, wrote in the publication Labor Notes that “when workers are fired and victimized by the tens of thousands for exercising their right to unionize, salting is the completely justified response.”
Salting, Townsend added, serves as a “catalyst for the workers already on the job who are frequently supportive of unions,” while at the same time “terrified of organizing, for fear of retaliation.”
According to labor historians, salting was first implemented during the 1930s when the national union movement made its most significant gains.
Allen originally introduced the Truth in Employment Act in 2021, before it died for lack of action. The re-introduced version of the legislation is now under review in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
By Garry Boulard
