United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 6 D · 1 R cosponsors

S 1381 — Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2025

Last action — Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR S2523-2527)

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced April 09, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 7 sponsors

    1 primary, 6 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (6 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2025This bill establishes limits on executive compensation and provides protections for employee wages and benefits if an employer files for Chapter 11 (reorganization) bankruptcy.First, the bill increases the limit on claims for wages, salaries, other employee benefits, and commissions from $10,000 to $20,000 and eliminates the requirement that such claims must have been earned within 180 days before the filing of the bankruptcy petition.The bill grants certain claims higher priority in the bankruptcy process, including specific types of severance pay; contributions to an employee benefit plan; back pay, civil penalties, or damages arising from certain labor law violations; and certain pension plan withdrawal liabilities.The bill also limits executive compensation under a reorganization plan. For example, insiders (parties with close relationships to the debtor), senior executives, and others as specified by the bill may only receive payments or other distributions that are generally applicable to all full-time employees, subject to certain limits. The bill further restricts the compensation of any insider who continues to be employed by the debtor.A reorganization plan may only be approved if it provides for the recovery of claims relating to retiree benefits or for other financial returns paid under the plan.The bill also provides protections for collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) during bankruptcy proceedings. If a proceeding resulting from a CBA was or could have been commenced before the bankruptcy, the bankruptcy does not act as a stay in such a proceeding.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR S2523-2527)

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 6 co-sponsors · 540 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (6)

Not signed on (540)

540 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 540 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

finance labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 1381 do?
Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2025This bill establishes limits on executive compensation and provides protections for employee wages and benefits if an employer files for Chapter 11 (reorganization) bankruptcy.First, the bill increases the limit on claims for wages, salaries, other employee benefits, and commissions from $10,000 to $20,000 and eliminates the requirement that such claims must have been earned within 180 days before the filing of the bankruptcy petition.The bill grants certain claims higher priority in the bankruptcy process, including specific types of severance pay; contributions to an employee benefit plan; back pay, civil penalties, or damages arising from certain labor law violations; and certain pension plan withdrawal liabilities.The bill also limits executive compensation under a reorganization plan. For example, insiders (parties with close relationships to the debtor), senior executives, and others as specified by the bill may only receive payments or other distributions that are generally applicable to all full-time employees, subject to certain limits. The bill further restricts the compensation of any insider who continues to be employed by the debtor.A reorganization plan may only be approved if it provides for the recovery of claims relating to retiree benefits or for other financial returns paid under the plan.The bill also provides protections for collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) during bankruptcy proceedings. If a proceeding resulting from a CBA was or could have been commenced before the bankruptcy, the bankruptcy does not act as a stay in such a proceeding.
Who sponsors S 1381?
S 1381 is sponsored by Durbin, Richard J. (Democratic), Hawley, Josh (Republican), Schatz, Brian (Democratic), Duckworth, Tammy (Democratic), Klobuchar, Amy (Democratic), Whitehouse, Sheldon (Democratic), and Cortez Masto, Catherine (Democratic).
What is the current status of S 1381?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced April 09, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 1381?
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