1.This Act may be cited as the
Work-Life Balance Award Act
.
2.In this Act:
(1)The term employer—
(A)means any person
(as defined in section 3(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
202(a))) engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce;
and
(B)includes any
agency of a State, or political subdivision thereof.
The term
does not include the Government of the United States or any agency thereof.(2)The term
work-life balance policy means a workplace practice designed to
enable employees to achieve a satisfactory work-life balance.
(3)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Labor.
3.
(a)There is established
in the Department of Labor an annual award to be known as the Work-Life Balance
Award (hereinafter referred to as the Award
) for employers that
have developed and implemented work-life balance policies.
(b)The Award shall be evidenced by a plaque
bearing the title Work-Life Balance Award
.
(c)
(1)An employer desiring consideration for an Award shall
submit an application to the Work-Life Balance Advisory Board established under
section 4, at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as
such Board may require.
(2)An employer may reapply for an Award,
regardless of whether the employer has been a previous recipient of such
Award.
(d)The Secretary shall make publically available on its Web
site the names of each recipient of the Award.
(e)After receiving recommendations from the Board established
under section 4, the Secretary (or the Secretary’s designee) shall present
annually the Award to employers that meet the criteria developed under section
4(b)(1).
4.Work-Life Balance
Advisory Board
(a)There
is established within the Department of Labor a Work-Life Balance Advisory
Board (hereinafter referred to as the Board
).
(b)The
Board shall—
(1)subject to the approval by the Secretary,
not later than 180 days after the initial meeting described under subsection
(f)(1)(B), develop criteria to determine recipients of the Award. In developing
such criteria, such Board shall—
(A)identify those work-life balance policies,
which if properly implemented, will permit employees to achieve a work-life
balance;
(B)take into consideration an employer’s
record of compliance, or noncompliance, with Federal and State labor laws;
and
(C)seek input from all
interested parties to assist in making a determination of the recipients of the
Award, including input from stakeholders;
(2)develop a process for receiving and
processing applications;
(3)recommend
recipients of the Award from among those applications submitted to the Board in
accordance with section 3(c);
(4)present to the
Secretary the names of the employers that the Board recommends as recipients of
the Award in accordance with the criteria developed under paragraph (1);
and
(5)set an annual
timetable for fulfilling the duties described under this subsection.
(c)The
Board, subject to the approval of the Secretary, may make revisions, as
appropriate, to the criteria developed under subsection (b)(1) from time to
time.
(d)
(1)Subject to paragraphs (2) through (5), the Board
shall be composed of 9 members appointed by the Secretary as follows:
(A)1 member, who
shall serve as chairperson of the Board, representing the public.
(B)1 member
representing a State or local government.
(C)1 member
representing a nonprofit employer.
(D)2 members
representing private industry or industry organizations.
(E)2 members
representing labor organizations.
(F)2 members
representing families and children.
(2)In appointing any member of the Board under
paragraph (1) who is not the chairperson of such Board, the Speaker and the
minority leader of the House of Representatives, and the majority and minority
leader of the Senate, each shall submit to the Secretary recommendations with
the names of proposed members of the Board, and from such submissions the
Secretary shall appoint the members of the Board in accordance with such
paragraph.
(3)The Secretary may not appoint any Member of
Congress to the Board.
(4)Not more than 4 members of the Board appointed under
paragraph (1) may be of the same political party.
(5)Members of the Board shall be individuals
with knowledge of and experience with work-life balance policies.
(e)
(1)Except as provided
under paragraphs (2) and (3), each member of the Board shall be appointed for 2
years and may be reappointed.
(2)Terms of initial
appointeesAs designated by
the Secretary at the time of appointment, of the members of the Board first
appointed, 4 shall each be appointed for a 2-year term and the remainder shall
each be appointed for a 3-year term.
(3)Any
member of the Board appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration
of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed
only for the remainder of that term. A member may serve after the expiration of
that member’s term until a successor has taken office.
(f)
(1)
(A)Except for the initial meeting of the Board under
subparagraph (B), the Board shall meet at the call of the Chairperson or a
majority of its members.
(B)The Board shall
conduct its first meeting not later than 90 days after the appointment of all
of its members.
(2)A majority of members of the Board shall constitute a
quorum to conduct business. The Board may establish by majority vote any other
rules for the conduct of the business of the Board, if such rules are not
inconsistent with this section or other applicable law.
5.The Secretary may prescribe regulations to
carry out the purposes of this Act.