1.This Act may be cited as the
Worker Ownership, Readiness, and
Knowledge Act
or the WORK Act
.
2.Worker
ownership, readiness, and knowledge
(a)In
this section:
(1)The term existing program means a program,
designed to promote employee ownership and employee participation in business
decisionmaking, that exists on the date the Secretary is carrying out a
responsibility authorized by this section.
(2)The
term Initiative means the Employee Ownership and Participation
Initiative established under subsection (b).
(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 Secretary is carrying out a
responsibility authorized by this section.
(4)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Labor, acting through the
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
(5)The
term State means any of the 50 States within the United States of
America.
(b)Employee
Ownership and Participation Initiative
(1)The Secretary of Labor shall establish
within the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor an
Employee Ownership and Participation Initiative to promote employee ownership
and employee participation in business decisionmaking.
(2)In
carrying out the Initiative, the Secretary shall—
(A)support within
the States existing programs designed to promote employee ownership and
employee participation in business decisionmaking; and
(B)facilitate within
the States the formation of new programs designed to promote employee ownership
and employee participation in business decisionmaking.
(3)To
carry out the functions enumerated in paragraph (2), the Secretary
shall—
(A)support new
programs and existing programs by—
(i)making Federal
grants authorized under subsection (d); and
(ii)(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 Employment and Training Administration;
and
(B)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.
(c)Programs
regarding employee ownership and participation
(1)Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program to encourage new and existing
programs within the States, designed to foster employee ownership and employee
participation in business decisionmaking throughout the United States.
(2)The purpose of the program established under paragraph
(1) is to encourage new and existing programs within the States that focus
on—
(A)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;
(B)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;
(C)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
(D)training other
entities to apply for funding under this subsection, to establish new programs,
and to carry out program activities.
(3)The Secretary may include, in the program established
under paragraph (1), provisions that—
(A)in the case of
activities under paragraph (2)(A)—
(i)target key groups
such as retiring business owners, senior managers, unions, trade associations,
community organizations, and economic development organizations;
(ii)encourage
cooperation in the organization of workshops and conferences; and
(iii)prepare and
distribute materials concerning employee ownership and participation, and
business ownership succession planning;
(B)in the case of
activities under paragraph (2)(B)—
(i)provide
preliminary technical assistance to employee groups, managers, and retiring
owners exploring the possibility of employee ownership;
(ii)provide for the
performance of preliminary feasibility assessments;
(iii)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
(iv)provide a data
bank to help employees find legal, financial, and technical advice in
connection with business ownership;
(C)in the case of
activities under paragraph (2)(C)—
(i)provide for
courses on employee participation; and
(ii)provide for the
development and fostering of networks of employee-owned companies to spread the
use of successful participation techniques; and
(D)in the case of
training under paragraph (2)(D)—
(i)provide for
visits to existing programs by staff from new programs receiving funding under
this section; and
(ii)provide
materials to be used for such training.
(4)The
Secretary shall issue formal guidance, for recipients of grants awarded under
subsection (d) and one-stop partners affiliated with the statewide workforce
investment systems described in section 106 of the Workforce Investment Act of
1998 (29 U.S.C. 2881), proposing that programs and other activities funded
under this section be—
(A)proactive in
encouraging actions and activities that promote employee ownership of, and
participation in, businesses; and
(B)comprehensive in
emphasizing both employee ownership of, and participation in, businesses so as
to increase productivity and broaden capital ownership.
(d)
(1)In carrying out the program established under subsection
(c), the Secretary may make grants for use in connection with new programs and
existing programs within a State for any of the following activities:
(A)Education and
outreach as provided in subsection (c)(2)(A).
(B)Technical
assistance as provided in subsection (c)(2)(B).
(C)Training
activities for employees and employers as provided in subsection
(c)(2)(C).
(D)Activities
facilitating cooperation among employee-owned firms.
(E)Training as
provided in subsection (c)(2)(D) for new programs provided by participants in
existing programs dedicated to the objectives of this section, 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
section.
(2)The Secretary shall determine the amount and any
conditions for a grant made under this subsection. The amount of the grant
shall be subject to paragraph (6), and shall reflect the capacity of the
applicant for the grant.
(3)Each
entity desiring a grant under this subsection shall submit an application to
the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information
as the Secretary may reasonably require.
(4)Each State may sponsor and submit an application
under paragraph (3) 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 section.
(5)
(A)If a State fails to support or establish a program
pursuant to this section during any fiscal year, the Secretary shall, in the
subsequent fiscal years, allow local entities described in paragraph (4) from
that State to make applications for grants under paragraph (3) on their own
initiative.
(B)Any State failing to support or establish a program
pursuant to this section during any fiscal year may submit applications under
paragraph (3) in the subsequent fiscal years but may not screen applications by
local entities described in paragraph (4) before submitting the applications to
the Secretary.
(6)A
recipient of a grant made under this subsection shall not receive, during a
fiscal year, in the aggregate, more than the following amounts:
(A)For fiscal year
2013, $300,000.
(B)For fiscal year
2014, $330,000.
(C)For fiscal year
2015, $363,000.
(D)For fiscal year
2016, $399,300.
(E)For fiscal year
2017, $439,200.
(7)For each year, each recipient of a grant under this
subsection shall submit to the Secretary a report describing how grant funds
allocated pursuant to this subsection were expended during the 12-month period
preceding the date of the submission of the report.
(e)The Secretary is authorized to reserve not
more than 10 percent of the funds appropriated for a fiscal year to carry out
this section, for the purposes of conducting evaluations of the grant programs
identified in subsection (d) and to provide related technical
assistance.
(f)Not later than the expiration of the
36-month period following the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
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 section.
(g)Authorizations
of Appropriations
(1)There are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose
of making grants pursuant to subsection (d) the following:
(A)For fiscal year
2013, $3,850,000.
(B)For fiscal year
2014, $6,050,000.
(C)For fiscal year
2015, $8,800,000.
(D)For fiscal year
2016, $11,550,000.
(E)For fiscal year
2017, $14,850,000.
(2)There are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose
of funding the administrative expenses related to the Initiative, for each of
fiscal years 2013 through 2017, an amount not in excess of—
(A)$350,000;
or
(B)5.0 percent of
the maximum amount available under paragraph (1) for that fiscal year.