Committee reports major worker‑protections bill out with favorable recommendation

The Committee on Law and Government reported Bill 250065 — labeled in committee as the Power Act — out with a favorable recommendation following a lengthy public hearing, the committee reported during Thursday’s Philadelphia City Council session.

“After one of the longest law and government hearings in recent memory … the Committee on Law and Government is elated to report out one bill with a favorable recommendation,” Majority Leader Catherine Gilmore Richardson said on the floor when presenting the committee’s report. The bill was then advanced for first reading after council suspended the rules.

The bill’s text, as read into the record by the committee, revises and adds multiple chapters to Title 9 of the Philadelphia Code (Regulation of Businesses, Trades and Professions). Provisions listed in the committee report include expansions and clarifications related to wage-theft complaints, protections for domestic workers, remedies for retaliation, elements of proof and procedures for wrongful discharge claims, and administrative and civil enforcement mechanisms. The report also describes a new worker-justice fund to assist victims of retaliation and authorizes record‑keeping rules and annual reporting on enforcement, including noncompliant employers. The committee further recommended granting council authority to seek revocation of city licenses and contracts for employers found in violation and to issue certain certifications on behalf of immigrant workers.

Committee and labor leaders framed the measure as an expansion of local enforcement tools and supports for low-wage and vulnerable workers. The bill’s title in committee and the attached report identify many discrete changes — including employer notice requirements, enhanced remedies for domestic workers, and technical amendments to several existing codes — that the committee said were intended to strengthen enforcement and remedies for workers.

Procedural move

Committee sponsor and the majority leader moved that the rules be suspended to permit the bill’s first reading at the same session; council agreed by voice vote and the bill was placed on the first‑reading calendar. No final‑passage vote occurred; the measure will return for subsequent readings and possible amendment.

Context and next steps

Councilmember Kendra Brooks, the minority leader, cited the bill in brief floor remarks and described the committee hearing as a “major win for Philly workers,” noting broad attendance from domestic workers, restaurant workers, gig workers and labor leaders at the public hearing. The bill will proceed through committee and additional readings; staff and advocates expect follow‑up hearings and testimony as the bill is refined.

What the record does and does not show

• The committee report read an extensive list of proposed statutory revisions into the public record; the full amended text and any technical edits will be posted with the bill in council’s legislative packet. • The committee report and floor motion authorized a first reading; there was no final passage vote on the bill in this session, and the transcript does not record a final roll call on adoption or enactment language.