1.This Act may be cited as the
Worker Ownership, Readiness and
Knowledge Act
or the WORK Act
.
2.
(a)In this
Act:
(1)The
term Director means the Director of Employee Ownership and
Participation.
(2)The term existing program means a program,
designed to promote employee ownership and employee participation in business
decisionmaking, that exists on the date the Director is carrying out a
responsibility authorized by this Act.
(3)The term new program means a program,
designed to promote employee ownership and employee participation in business
decisionmaking, that does not exist on the date the Director is carrying out a
responsibility authorized by this Act.
(4)The
term Office means the Office of Employee Ownership and
Participation established under section 3.
(5)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Labor.
(6)The
term State means any of the 50 States within the United States of
America.
3.Office of
employee ownership and participation
(a)The
Secretary shall establish within the Department of Labor an Office of Employee
Ownership and Participation to promote employee ownership and employee
participation in business decisionmaking.
(b)The
Secretary shall appoint a Director of Employee Ownership and Participation to
head the Office.
(c)The
functions of the Director are to—
(1)support within
the States existing programs designed to promote employee ownership and
employee participation in business decisionmaking; and
(2)facilitate within
the States the formation of new programs designed to promote employee ownership
and employee participation in business decisionmaking.
(d)To
carry out the functions enumerated in subsection (c), the Director
shall—
(1)support new
programs and existing programs by—
(A)making Federal
grants authorized under section 5; and
(B)(i)acting as a
clearinghouse on techniques employed by new programs and existing programs
within the States, and disseminating information relating to those techniques
to the programs; or
(ii)funding projects for information
gathering on those techniques, and dissemination of that information to the
programs, by groups outside the Office; and
(2)facilitate the
formation of new programs, in ways that include holding or funding an annual
conference of representatives from States with existing programs,
representatives from States developing new programs, and representatives from
States without existing programs.
4.Programs
regarding employee ownership and participation
(a)Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program, administered by the
Director, to encourage new and existing programs within the States, designed to
foster employee ownership and employee participation in business decisionmaking
throughout the United States.
(b)The purpose of the program established under subsection
(a) is to encourage new and existing programs within the States that focus
on—
(1)providing
education and outreach to inform employees and employers about the
possibilities and benefits of employee ownership, business ownership succession
planning, and employee participation in business decisionmaking, including
providing information about financial education, employee teams, open-book
management, and other tools that enable employees to share ideas and
information about how their businesses can succeed;
(2)providing
technical assistance to assist employee efforts to become business owners, to
enable employers and employees to explore and assess the feasibility of
transferring full or partial ownership to employees, and to encourage employees
and employers to start new employee-owned businesses;
(3)training
employees and employers with respect to methods of employee participation in
open-book management, work teams, committees, and other approaches for seeking
greater employee input; and
(4)training other
entities to apply for funding under this section, to establish new programs,
and to carry out program activities.
(c)The Secretary may include, in the program established
under subsection (a), provisions that—
(1)in the case of
activities under subsection (b)(1)—
(A)target key groups
such as retiring business owners, senior managers, unions, trade associations,
community organizations, and economic development organizations;
(B)encourage
cooperation in the organization of workshops and conferences; and
(C)prepare and
distribute materials concerning employee ownership and participation, and
business ownership succession planning;
(2)in the case of
activities under subsection (b)(2)—
(A)provide
preliminary technical assistance to employee groups, managers, and retiring
owners exploring the possibility of employee ownership;
(B)provide for the
performance of preliminary feasibility assessments;
(C)assist in the
funding of objective third-party feasibility studies and preliminary business
valuations, and in selecting and monitoring professionals qualified to conduct
such studies; and
(D)provide a data
bank to help employees find legal, financial, and technical advice in
connection with business ownership;
(3)in the case of
activities under subsection (b)(3)—
(A)provide for
courses on employee participation; and
(B)provide for the
development and fostering of networks of employee-owned companies to spread the
use of successful participation techniques; and
(4)in the case of
training under subsection (b)(4)—
(A)provide for
visits to existing programs by staff from new programs receiving funding under
this Act; and
(B)provide materials
to be used for such training.
(d)The
Secretary shall promulgate regulations pursuant to this Act that require new
and existing programs established or funded under this Act to be—
(1)proactive in
encouraging actions and activities that promote employee ownership of, and
participation in, businesses; and
(2)comprehensive in
emphasizing both employee ownership of, and participation in, businesses so as
to increase productivity and broaden capital ownership.
5.
(a)In carrying out the program established under section 4,
the Director may make grants for use in connection with new programs and
existing programs within a State for any of the following activities:
(1)Education and
outreach as provided in section 4(b)(1).
(2)Technical
assistance as provided in section 4(b)(2).
(3)Training
activities for employees and employers as provided in section 4(b)(3).
(4)Activities
facilitating cooperation among employee-owned firms.
(5)Training as
provided in section 4(b)(4) for new programs provided by participants in
existing programs dedicated to the objectives of this Act, except that, for
each fiscal year, the amount of the grants made for such training shall not
exceed 10 percent of the total amount of the grants made under this Act.
(b)The Director shall determine the amount and any
conditions for a grant made under this section. The amount of the grant shall
be subject to subsection (f), and shall reflect the capacity of the applicant
for the grant.
(c)Each
entity desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the
Director at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as
the Director may reasonably require.
(d)Each State may sponsor and submit an application
under subsection (c) on behalf of any local entity consisting of a unit of
State or local government, State-supported institution of higher education, or
nonprofit organization, meeting the requirements of this Act.
(e)
(1)If a State fails to support or establish a program
pursuant to this Act during any fiscal year, the Director shall, in the
subsequent fiscal years, allow local entities described in subsection (d) from
that State to make applications for grants under subsection (c) on their own
initiative.
(2)Any State failing to support or establish a program
pursuant to this Act during any fiscal year may submit applications under
subsection (c) in the subsequent fiscal years but may not screen applications
by local entities described in subsection (d) before submitting the
applications to the Director.
(f)A
recipient of a grant made under this section shall not receive, during a fiscal
year, in the aggregate, more than the following amounts:
(1)For fiscal year
2010, $300,000.
(2)For fiscal year
2011, $330,000.
(3)For fiscal year
2012, $363,000.
(4)For fiscal year
2013, $399,300.
(5)For fiscal year
2014, $439,200.
(g)For each year, each recipient of a grant under this
section shall submit to the Director a report describing how grant funds
allocated pursuant to this section were expended during the 12-month period
preceding the date of the submission of the report.
6.Not later than the
expiration of the 36-month period following the date of enactment of this Act,
the Director shall prepare and submit to Congress a report—
(1)on progress related to employee ownership
and participation in businesses in the United States; and
(2)containing an analysis of critical costs
and benefits of activities carried out under this Act.
7.Authorizations
of Appropriations
(a)There are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose
of making grants pursuant to section 5 the following:
(1)For fiscal year
2010, $3,500,000.
(2)For fiscal year
2011, $5,500,000.
(3)For fiscal year
2012, $8,000,000.
(4)For fiscal year
2013, $10,500,000.
(5)For fiscal year
2014, $13,500,000.
(b)There are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose
of funding the Office, for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014, an amount
not in excess of—
(1)$350,000;
or
(2)5.0 percent of
the maximum amount available under subsection (a) for that fiscal year.