[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1792 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1792

   To amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to 
                           improve such Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 16, 2007

  Mr. Brown (for himself, Mr. Obama, and Mrs. Clinton) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to 
                           improve such Act.

    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 ``FOREWARN Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE WORKER ADJUSTMENT AND RETRAINING ACT.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 2(a) of the Worker Adjustment and 
Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``100'' each place that such 
                appears and inserting ``50''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``4,000'' and 
                inserting ``2,000'';
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``50'' and inserting 
        ``25''; and
            (3) in paragraph (3)(B)(ii), by striking ``500'' and 
        inserting ``100''.
    (b) Notice Required.--Section 3 of the Worker Adjustment and 
Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``60-day'' and inserting 
        ``90-day'';
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``60-day'' each place 
        that such appears and inserting ``90-day''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Calendar Days.--All references in this Act to `days' shall be 
deemed to mean calendar days.''.
    (c) Notice to Other Parties and Secretary of Labor.--Section 3(a) 
of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 
2102(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Notice to the Secretary.--Not later than 60 days after a 
plant closing or mass layoff, the employer involved shall submit to the 
Secretary of Labor a notification of the closing or layoff and the 
number of employees involved.''.
    (d) Penalty.--Section 5 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining 
Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2104) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by striking ``back pay'' and 
        inserting ``double the back pay'';
            (2) in the flush matter following subparagraph (B), by 
        striking ``60 days'' and inserting ``90 days''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Authority of Secretary of Labor.--A civil action may be 
brought by the Secretary of Labor (or the appropriate State attorney 
general if the Secretary fails to act within 6 months of the alleged 
violation) on behalf of one or more employees for relief under this 
section. The right provided by this section to bring an action by or on 
behalf of any employee, and the right of any employee to become a party 
plaintiff to any such action, shall terminate upon the filing of an 
action by the Secretary of Labor under this subsection.''.
    (e) Educational Materials.--The Worker Adjustment and Retraining 
Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``SEC. 11. EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS.

    ``The Secretary of Labor shall make educational materials 
concerning employee rights and employer responsibilities under this Act 
available to the general public and employers. Such materials shall be 
available on the Internet website of the Secretary and in written form 
for distribution by employers.''.
                                 <all>