[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3473 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3473

  To amend the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to allow 
   institutions of higher education to offer faculty members who are 
serving under a contract or arrangement providing for unlimited tenure, 
benefits on voluntary retirement that are reduced or eliminated on the 
                 basis of age, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 17, 1998

 Mr. Fawell  (for himself, Mr. Goodling, Mr. McKeon, Mr. Andrews, Mr. 
    Roemer, and Mr. Petri) introduced the following bill; which was 
        referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to allow 
   institutions of higher education to offer faculty members who are 
serving under a contract or arrangement providing for unlimited tenure, 
benefits on voluntary retirement that are reduced or eliminated on the 
                 basis of age, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE PLANS.

    (a) In General.--Section 4 of the Age Discrimination in Employment 
Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 623) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(m) Notwithstanding subsection (f)(2)(B), it shall not be a 
violation of subsection (a), (b), (c), (e), or (i) solely because a 
plan of an institution of higher education (as defined in section 
1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a))) offers 
employees who are serving under a contract of unlimited tenure (or 
similar arrangement providing for unlimited tenure) additional benefits 
upon voluntary retirement that are reduced or eliminated on the basis 
of age, if--
            ``(1) such institution does not implement with respect to 
        such employees any age-based reduction or elimination of 
        benefits that are not such additional benefits, except as 
        permitted by other provisions of this Act; and
            ``(2) with respect to each of such employees who have, as 
        of the time the plan is adopted, attained the minimum age and 
        satisfied all non-age-based conditions for receiving a benefit 
        under the plan, such employee is not precluded on the basis of 
        age from having 1 opportunity lasting not less than 180-days to 
        elect to retire and to receive the maximum benefit that would 
        be available to a younger employee if such younger employee 
        were otherwise similarly situated to such employee.''.
    (b) Construction.--
            (1) Application.--Nothing in the amendment made by 
        subsection (a) shall be construed to affect the application of 
        section 4 of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 
        (29 U.S.C. 623) with respect to--
                    (A) any employer other than an institution of 
                higher education (as defined in section 1201(a) of the 
                Higher Education Act of 1965); or
                    (B) any plan not described in subsection (m) of 
                section 4 of such Act (as added by subsection (a)).
            (2) Relationship to provisions relating to voluntary early 
        retirement incentive plans.--Nothing in the amendment made by 
        subsection (a) shall be construed to imply that a plan 
        described in subsection (m) of section 4 of such Act (as added 
        by subsection (a)) may not be considered to be a plan described 
        in section 4(f)(2)(B)(ii) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 
        623(f)(2)(B)(ii)).

SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--This Act shall take effect on the date of 
enactment of this Act.
    (b) Effect on Causes of Action Existing Before Date of Enactment.--
The amendment made by section 1(a) shall not apply with respect to any 
cause of action arising under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act 
of 1967 prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>