State legislative efforts could protect 63.9 million workers from "captive audience" meetings: State legislation and employment levels by state, 2006–2024
| State | Year | Bills and statutes | Status | Total employment | Private sector employment | Public sector employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enacted legislation | ||||||
| Alaska | 2024 | Ballot Measure 1 | Enacted | 304,000 | 221,000 | 83,000 |
| California | 2023 | SB 399 | Enacted | 16,434,000 | 13,894,000 | 2,540,000 |
| Connecticut | 2022 | SB 163 | Enacted | 1,641,000 | 1,384,000 | 257,000 |
| Hawaii | 2024 | SB 2715 | Enacted | 575,000 | 439,000 | 137,000 |
| Illinois | 2024 | SB 3649 | Enacted | 5,584,000 | 4,881,000 | 703,000 |
| Maine | 2023 | SP 702 / LD 1756 | Enacted | 569,000 | 485,000 | 84,000 |
| Minnesota | 2023 | HF 2442 | Enacted | 2,691,000 | 2,331,000 | 359,000 |
| New Jersey‡ | 2006 | §34:19-10 | Enacted | 4,200,000 | 3,650,000 | 549,000 |
| New York | 2023 | S.4982/A.6604 | Enacted | 8,309,000 | 6,917,000 | 1,392,000 |
| Oregon | 2010 | ORS 659.785 | Enacted | 1,802,000 | 1,523,000 | 279,000 |
| Vermont | 2023 | S. 102 | Enacted | 295,000 | 249,000 | 46,000 |
| Washington | 2024 | SB 5778 | Enacted | 3,476,000 | 2,915,000 | 561,000 |
| Workers with protections: | 45,880,000 | 38,889,000 | 6,990,000 | |||
| Legislation under consideration | ||||||
| Massachusetts | 2023 | S.958 | Introduced | 3,285,000 | 2,892,000 | 393,000 |
| Michigan | 2023 | HB 4236 | Introduced | 4,411,000 | 3,931,000 | 479,000 |
| New Jersey‡ | 2024 | A 4429 | Introduced | – | – | – |
| Pennsylvania | 2024 | HB 2540 | Introduced | 5,766,000 | 5,105,000 | 660,000 |
| Rhode Island | 2023 | H 7106 | Introduced | 499,000 | 437,000 | 63,000 |
| Virginia | 2024 | SB 485 | Introduced | 4,043,000 | 3,132,000 | 911,000 |
| Workers pending protections: | 18,004,000 | 15,497,000 | 2,506,000 | |||
| Total potentially protected workers: | 63,884,000 | 54,386,000 | 9,496,000 | |||
Notes:
‡ Under New Jersey statute §34:19-10, labor union communications are not classified as "political matters," allowing anti-union captive audience meetings. Bill A 4429 (2024) proposes to redefine labor union communications as "political matters."
Employment data refer to workers ages 16+. Self-employed and self-incorporated workers are excluded. Data are not seasonally adjusted.
Source: Authors' analysis of state legislation and 2023 employment data from the BLS Current Population Survey, accessed via Economic Policy Institute. 2024. Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 1.0.49, https://microdata.epi.org.