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

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.