In the News

House gets Axne bill that would require companies to share info on promotions, benefits

2/28/2020
Des Moines Register

A bill from U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne to require publicly traded companies to share more information about how they treat employees has received approval from the House Financial Services Committee.

The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.

The Workforce Investment Disclosure Act would require companies to report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission information like workforce turnover rates, how much they spend on skills training and health and safety programs, and how employees are compensated. Some of the information would be broken down by race and gender.

While some Republicans on the committee said the bill's requirements are examples of government overreach and would cost companies too much to comply with, Axne, D-Iowa, said the disclosures it would mandate are information investors want to know.

“It’s something that companies are already doing," she said. "They’re already working on it. And really, the very best companies are the ones that are doing the most on this."

This is Axne's fourth bill since last summer that seeks to require publicly traded companies to share more information.

Motivated by layoffs at Wells Fargo's West Des Moines office last spring, Axne also has proposed legislation that would require companies to share information about how many workers they have and how much tax they pay in other countries and whether they replace U.S. employees with workers in foreign countries.

U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Michigan, a critic of Axne's other proposals, said her latest bill would cost too much money.

“It would require companies to spend their capital on regulatory attorneys and accountants instead of reinvesting in their workforces," he said.

U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Arkansas, said Axne's bill would require companies to disclose some information that is difficult to measure, such as spending on work-life balance, and details about the quality of a company's new hires. He said a board of directors should determine whether companies need to disclose the information.

“Congress should not mandate that this information suddenly is material," Hill said.

Axne said the most successful companies already track information about diversity and benefits provided to workers.

“There are companies who aren’t doing this because they don’t understand, possibly, the value," Axne said. "They haven’t been informed about it. They need information from other companies who have said, yes, this is value added.”

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Massachusetts, praised the bill. She said the proposal encourages companies to diversify their workforce and puts pressure on executives to make sure minority workers have a good opportunity to be promoted.

“It also lets us know if we’re making progress in addressing income inequality," she said.