Congressman Tim Ryan Votes to Protect American Workers from Outsourcing

Washington, DC – Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-13) today helped protect American workers from outsourcing. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3624, the Outsourcing Accountability Act which requires public companies to disclose the number of employees they have in each state, territory and foreign country – as well as the percentage change from the previous year. Currently, public companies must disclose their total number of employees, but they are not required to disclose where those employees are geographically located. This makes it difficult for consumers to know if the companies they are supporting are creating and protecting American jobs. In fact, companies frequently go to great lengths to hide when they ship jobs overseas.

“Every day, companies are shipping American jobs overseas—putting profit over people. We need to put our workers first, and the Outsourcing Accountability Act is a strong step in the right direction. This important legislation allows the American people to see where companies are hiring their workers. I’m proud to join my House colleagues in creating much-needed transparency to protect American workers from outsourcing and hold companies accountable,” said Congressman Ryan.

H.R. 3624 would require publicly traded companies that file annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to disclose the number of workers they employ within the United States and overseas, specifically within each state, territory and foreign country, and calculate the percentage year-over-year changes. There is a narrow exemption for newly public companies with less than $1 billion in revenue. This bill would also make it easier for American workers who have lost their jobs to outsourcing to prove that their former employer moved their job overseas – allowing the affected worker to qualify for support and training through the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program (TAA).