[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3796 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3796

   To amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to 
 minimize the adverse effects of employment dislocation, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 10, 2007

 Mr. George Miller of California (for himself, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Kildee, 
Mr. Bishop of New York, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. 
    Kucinich, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Grijalva, and Ms. Woolsey) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to 
 minimize the adverse effects of employment dislocation, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Early Warning and Health Care for 
Workers Affected by Globalization Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE WARN ACT.

    (a) Definitions.--
            (1) Employer, plant closing, and mass layoff.--Paragraphs 
        (1) through (3) of section 2(a) of the Worker Adjustment and 
        Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101(a)(1)-(3)) are 
        amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) the term `employer' means any business enterprise 
        that employs 100 or more employees;
            ``(2) the term `plant closing' means--
                    ``(A) the permanent or temporary shutdown of a 
                single site of employment, or of one or more facilities 
                or operating units within a single site of employment, 
                which results in an employment loss at such site, 
                during any 30-day period, for 25 or more employees; or
                    ``(B) the permanent or temporary shutdown of 
                multiple sites of employment, or of one or more 
                facilities or operating units within such sites, which 
                results in an employment loss, during any 30-day 
                period, for 100 or more employees.
            ``(3) the term `mass layoff' means--
                    ``(A) a reduction in force at a single site of 
                employment which results in an employment loss at such 
                site, during any 30-day period, for 25 or more 
                employees; or
                    ``(B) a reduction in force at multiple sites of 
                employment which results in an employment loss, during 
                any 30-day period, for 100 or more employees.''.
            (2) Secretary of labor.--
                    (A) Definition.--Paragraph (8) of such section is 
                amended to read as follows:
            ``(8) the term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Labor or 
        a representative of the Secretary of Labor.''.
                    (B) Regulations.--Section 8(a) of such Act (29 
                U.S.C. 2107(a)) is amended by striking ``of Labor''.
            (3) Conforming amendments.--
                    (A) Notice.--Section 3(d) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 
                2102(d)) is amended by striking out ``, each of which 
                is less than the minimum number of employees specified 
                in section 2(a)(2) or (3) but which in the aggregate 
                exceed that minimum number,'' and inserting ``which in 
                the aggregate exceed the minimum number of employees 
                specified in section 2(a)(2) or (3)''.
                    (B) Definitions.--Section 2(b)(1) of such Act (29 
                U.S.C. 2101(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``(other than 
                a part-time employee)''.
    (b) Notice.--
            (1) Notice period.--
                    (A) In general.--Section 3 of the Worker Adjustment 
                and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102) is 
                amended by striking ``60-day period'' and inserting 
                ``90-day period'' each place it appears.
                    (B) Conforming amendment.--Section 5(a)(1) of such 
                Act (29 U.S.C. 2104(a)(1)) is amended in the matter 
                following subparagraph (B), by striking ``60 days'' and 
                inserting ``90 days''.
            (2) Recipients.--Section 3(a) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 
        2102(a)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or, if there is 
                no such representative at that time, to each affected 
                employee; and'' and inserting ``and to each affected 
                employee;''; and
                    (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3) 
                and inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) to the Secretary; and''.
            (3) Information regarding benefits and services available 
        to workers and dol notice to congress.--Section 3 of such Act 
        (29 U.S.C. 2102) is further amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(e) Information Regarding Benefits and Services Available to 
Employees.--Concurrent with or immediately after providing the notice 
required under subsection (a)(1), an employer shall provide affected 
employees with information regarding the benefits and services 
available to such employees, as described in the guide compiled by the 
Secretary under section 12.
    ``(f) DOL Notice to Congress.--As soon as practicable and not later 
than 15 days after receiving notification under subsection (a)(2), the 
Secretary of Labor shall notify the appropriate Senators and Members of 
the House of Representatives who represent the area or areas where the 
plant closing or mass layoff is to occur.''.
    (c) Enforcement.--
            (1) Amount.--Section 5(a)(1) of the Worker Adjustment and 
        Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2104(a)(1)) is amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ``and'' at 
                the end thereof;
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
                subparagraph (D);
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the 
                following new subparagraphs:
                    ``(B) interest on the amount described in 
                subparagraph (A) calculated at the prevailing rate;
                    ``(C) an additional amount as liquidated damages 
                equal to the sum of the amount described in 
                subparagraph (A) and the interest described in 
                subparagraph (B); and''; and
                    (D) in the matter following subparagraph (B), by 
                striking ``for the period of the violation, up to a 
                maximum of 60 days'' and inserting ``for the number of 
                workdays that an affected employee would have worked 
                during the period of the violation, up to a maximum of 
                90 days''.
            (2) Exemption.--Section 5(a)(4) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 
        2104(a)(4)) is amended by striking ``reduce the amount of the 
        liability or penalty provided for in this section'' and 
        inserting ``reduce the amount of the liability under 
        subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) and reduce the amount of the 
        penalty provided for in paragraph (3)''.
            (3) Administrative complaint.--Section 5(a)(5) of such Act 
        (29 U.S.C. 2104(a)(5)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``may sue,'' and inserting 
                ``may,'';
                    (B) by inserting after ``both,'' the following: 
                ``(A) file a complaint with the Secretary alleging a 
                violation of section 3, or (B) bring suit''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end thereof the following new 
                sentence: ``A person seeking to enforce such liability 
                may use one or both of the enforcement mechanisms 
                described in subparagraphs (A) and (B).''.
            (4) Action by the secretary.--Section 5 of such Act (29 
        U.S.C. 2104) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 
                (d); and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (a) the following 
                new subsections:
    ``(b) Action by the Secretary.--
            ``(1) Administrative action.--The Secretary shall receive, 
        investigate, and attempt to resolve complaints of violations of 
        section 3 by an employer in the same manner that the Secretary 
        receives, investigates, and attempts to resolve complaints of 
        violations of sections 6 and 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act 
        of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206 and 207).
            ``(2) Subpoena powers.--For the purposes of any 
        investigation provided for in this section, the Secretary shall 
        have the subpoena authority provided for under section 9 of the 
        Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 209).
            ``(3) Civil action.--The Secretary may bring an action in 
        any court of competent jurisdiction to recover on behalf of an 
        employee the backpay, interest, benefits, and liquidated 
        damages described in subsection (a).
            ``(4) Sums recovered.--Any sums recovered by the Secretary 
        on behalf of an employee under subparagraphs (A), (B), and (D) 
        of section 5(a)(1) shall be held in a special deposit account 
        and shall be paid, on order of the Secretary, directly to each 
        employee affected. Any such sums not paid to an employee 
        because of inability to do so within a period of 3 years, and 
        any sums recovered by the Secretary under subparagraph (C) of 
        section 5(a)(1), shall be credited as an offsetting collection 
        to the appropriations account of the Secretary of Labor for 
        expenses for the administration of this Act and shall remain 
        available to the Secretary until expended.
            ``(5) Action to compel relief by secretary.--The district 
        courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction, for cause 
        shown, over an action brought by the Secretary to restrain the 
        withholding of payment of back pay, interest, benefits, or 
        other compensation, plus interest, found by the court to be due 
        to employees under this Act.
    ``(c) Limitations.--
            ``(1) Limitations period.--An action may be brought under 
        this section not later than 2 years after the date of the last 
        event constituting the alleged violation for which the action 
        is brought.
            ``(2) Commencement.--In determining when an action is 
        commenced under this section for the purposes of paragraph (1), 
        it shall be considered to be commenced on the date on which the 
        complaint is filed.
            ``(3) Limitation on private action while action of 
        secretary is pending.--If the Secretary has instituted an 
        enforcement action or proceeding under subsection (b), an 
        individual employee may not bring an action under subsection 
        (a) during the pendency of the proceeding against any person 
        with respect to whom the Secretary has instituted the 
        proceeding.''.
    (d) Posting of Notices; Penalties.--Section 11 of the Worker 
Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 note) is 
amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 11. POSTING OF NOTICES; PENALTIES.

    ``(a) Posting of Notices.--Each employer shall post and keep posted 
in conspicuous places upon its premises where notices to employees are 
customarily posted a notice to be prepared or approved by the Secretary 
setting forth excerpts from, or summaries of, the pertinent provisions 
of this chapter and information pertinent to the filing of a complaint.
    ``(b) Penalties.--A willful violation of this section shall be 
punishable by a fine of not more than $500 for each separate 
offense.''.
    (e) Information Regarding Benefits and Services Available to 
Employees.--Such Act is further amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 12. INFORMATION REGARDING BENEFITS AND SERVICES AVAILABLE TO 
              WORKERS.

    ``The Secretary of Labor shall maintain a guide of benefits and 
services which may be available to affected employees, including 
unemployment compensation, trade adjustment assistance, COBRA benefits, 
and services available under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Such 
guide shall be available on the Internet website of the Department of 
Labor and shall include a description of the benefits and services, the 
eligibility requirements, and the means of obtaining such benefits and 
services. Upon receiving notice from an employer under section 3(a)(2), 
the Secretary shall immediately transmit such guide to such 
employer.''.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF COBRA BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS CERTIFIED 
              AS TAA ELIGIBLE.

    (a) Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
1974.--
            (1) Special rule for qualified taa eligible employees.--
                    (A) In general.--Section 602(2)(A) of the Employee 
                Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 
                1162(2)(A)) is amended--
                            (i) by moving clause (v) to after clause 
                        (iv) and before the flush left sentence 
                        beginning with ``In the case of a qualified 
                        beneficiary''; and
                            (ii) by inserting after clause (v) the 
                        following new clause:
                            ``(vi) Special rule for qualified taa 
                        eligible employees.--In the case of a 
                        qualifying event described in section 603(2), 
                        clauses (i) and (ii) shall not apply to a 
                        qualified TAA eligible employee (as defined in 
                        section 607(6)).''.
                    (B) Qualified taa eligible employee defined.--
                Section 607 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1167) is amended by 
                adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(6) Qualified taa eligible employee.--The term `qualified 
        TAA eligible employee' means a covered employee, with respect 
        to a qualifying event, if--
                    ``(A) the qualifying event is attributable to the 
                conditions specified in section 222 of the Trade Act of 
                1974 (19 U.S.C. 2272) based on which the Secretary of 
                Labor has certified a group of workers as eligible to 
                apply for adjustment assistance under subchapter A of 
                chapter 2 of title II of such Act;
                    ``(B) such certification applies to the covered 
                employee; and
                    ``(C) as of the date of such qualifying event the 
                covered employee has attained age 55 or has completed 
                10 or more years of service with the employer.''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--Section 602(2)(A) of such Act 
        (29 U.S.C. 1162(2)(A)) is further amended--
                    (A) in clause (i), by striking ``In the case of'' 
                and inserting ``Subject to clause (vi), in the case 
                of''; and
                    (B) in clause (ii), by striking ``If a qualifying 
                event'' and inserting ``Subject to clause (vi), if a 
                qualifying event''.
    (b) Effective Date.--
            (1) General rule.--The amendments made by this section 
        shall apply for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 
        2008.
            (2) Special rule for collective bargaining agreements.--In 
        the case of a group health plan maintained pursuant to one or 
        more collective bargaining agreements between employee 
        representatives and one or more employers ratified before the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, the amendments made by this 
        section shall not apply to plan years beginning before the 
        earlier of--
                    (A) the later of--
                            (i) the date on which the last of the 
                        collective bargaining agreements relating to 
                        the plan terminates (determined without regard 
                        to any extension thereof agreed to after the 
                        date of the enactment of this Act), or
                            (ii) July 1, 2008, or
                    (B) the date which is 3 years after the date of the 
                enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the provisions of this 
Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on the date 
of the enactment of this Act.
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