[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6485 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6485

  To direct the Secretary of Labor to carry out a Federal subsidized 
              employment program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 24, 2018

 Mr. Khanna (for himself, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Wilson of Florida, 
    Ms. Moore, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Pocan, Mr. 
  Serrano, and Mr. Thompson of Mississippi) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
                               Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Labor to carry out a Federal subsidized 
              employment program, 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 ``Job Opportunities for All Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to carry out a program--
            (1) to provide access to a job through federally subsidized 
        employment for individuals who are unemployed, underemployed, 
        and jobless but want to work;
            (2) to assist such individuals in coping with structural 
        unemployment in their communities, job displacement resulting 
        from deindustrialization, trade, automation, and artificial 
        intelligence, as well as societal barriers that separate the 
        most vulnerable jobless from employment;
            (3) to provide for credentialing and certificates that 
        employers recognize and help provide both low-income and 
        middle-class jobseekers with concrete pathways to good paying, 
        skilled jobs; and
            (4) to expand services automatically during economic 
        downturns to address unemployment and stabilize the national 
        economy and State economies.

SEC. 3. FUNDING.

    (a) Federal Subsidized Employment Program.--
            (1) State allocations.--
                    (A) In general.--From amounts appropriated under 
                subsection (b)(1), the Secretary of Labor shall pay to 
                each State that has an application approved under 
                section 6, for each quarter, beginning with the quarter 
                beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this 
                Act, an amount equal to the Federal percentage of the 
                total amount expended by the State during such quarter 
                under--
                            (i) the Federal subsidized employment 
                        program under section 4;
                            (ii) the program of block grants to States 
                        for temporary assistance for needy families 
                        established under part A of title IV of the 
                        Social Security Act;
                            (iii) any program under the Workforce 
                        Innovation and Opportunity Act; and
                            (iv) any other Federal program under which 
                        Federal funding is provided to subsidize 
                        employment.
                    (B) Federal percentage.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A), the Federal percentage for any State 
                shall be 100 percent less the State percentage, and the 
                State percentage shall be that percentage that bears 
                the same ratio to 45 percent as the square of the per 
                capita income of such State bears to the square of the 
                per capita income of the continental United States, 
                including Alaska and Hawaii, except that the Federal 
                percentage shall in no case be less than 75 percent or 
                more than 100 percent. Such Federal percentage shall be 
                increased each quarter by the year-over-year percentage 
                point increase, if any, in the three-month average 
                unemployment rate of the State.
            (2) Local entity allocations.--
                    (A) In general.--From amounts made available under 
                subsection (b)(2), the Secretary of Labor shall award 
                grants, on a competitive basis and in an amount 
                determined under subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) to local entities to carry out the 
                        Federal subsidized employment program under 
                        section 4; and
                            (ii) to not more than 15 local entities to 
                        carry out a jobs guarantee program in 
                        accordance with section 5.
                    (B) Amount of grant.--In determining the amount a 
                grant awarded to a local entity under subparagraph (A), 
                the Secretary of Labor shall ensure that the grant 
                amount is adequate to reach each community served by 
                the local entity.
    (b) Mandatory Funding.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), there are 
        authorized to be appropriated, and there are appropriated (in 
        addition to any other amounts appropriated to carry out this 
        Act and out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 
        appropriated) such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 
        Act.
            (2) Competitive grant programs.--The amount of funds that 
        shall be made available for the competitive grants under 
        subsection (a)(2) for a fiscal year shall be equal to the 
        result obtained by multiplying--
                    (A) the difference between--
                            (i) the number of individuals counted under 
                        the U-6 measure of unemployment and 
                        underemployment most recently published by the 
                        Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 
                        Labor; and
                            (ii) the number of individuals 
                        participating in the program carried out under 
                        subsection (a)(1); and
                    (B) average cost for each participant under such 
                program.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL SUBSIDIZED EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM.

    Each grantee receiving funds under paragraph (1) or (2)(A)(i) of 
section 3(a) shall carry out, or expand, a program that provides access 
to federally subsidized employment for all eligible individuals as 
follows:
            (1) Participating employers.--
                    (A) Amount of subsidies.--A grantee shall provide 
                each participating employer with a subsidy in an amount 
                that--
                            (i) covers up to 150 percent of the wages 
                        that the employer pays to eligible individuals 
                        who are employed in a position covered by a 
                        collective-bargaining agreement in effect with 
                        the employer; and
                            (ii) covers up to 120 percent of the wages 
                        that the employer pays to eligible individuals 
                        who are employed under the program in a 
                        position not covered by a collective-bargaining 
                        agreement in effect with the employer.
                    (B) Hiring requirements.--
                            (i) Workforce.--
                                    (I) In general.--To remain eligible 
                                to receive additional placements of 
                                subsidized employees under this Act, a 
                                participating employer who seeks to 
                                employ, on a cumulative basis, more 
                                than 15 eligible individuals under the 
                                program shall be required to hire, in 
                                an unsubsidized capacity, not less than 
                                the greater of 4 employees or 25 
                                percent of the employees who were 
                                previously placed with the employer 
                                through the subsidized job program.
                                    (II) Exception.--The requirements 
                                of subclause (I) shall not apply during 
                                a period that is an economic recession.
                            (ii) Nondisplacement of unsubsidized 
                        employees.--The grantee may not employ an 
                        individual under the program, if--
                                    (I) employing such individual will 
                                result in the layoff or partial 
                                displacement (such as a reduction in 
                                hours, wages, or employee benefits) of 
                                an existing employee of the grantee who 
                                was not hired under the program, or 
                                will result in infringing upon the 
                                promotional opportunities of such 
                                existing employee; or
                                    (II) such individual will perform 
                                the same or substantially similar work 
                                that had previously been performed by 
                                such an existing employee who--
                                            (aa) has been laid off or 
                                        partially displaced; and
                                            (bb) has not been offered 
                                        by the employer, to be restored 
                                        to the position the employee 
                                        had immediately prior to being 
                                        laid off or partially 
                                        displaced.
                            (iii) Elimination of position.--
                                    (I) In general.--Clause (ii) shall 
                                not apply to any position that has been 
                                eliminated by a grantee.
                                    (II) Description.--For purposes of 
                                this clause, a position shall be 
                                considered to have been eliminated by a 
                                grantee if the position has remained 
                                unfilled and the grantee has not sought 
                                to fill such position for at least a 
                                period of one month.
                            (iv) Nondisplacement of state or local 
                        government services.--The grantee may not 
                        employ an individual under the program to 
                        provide services or functions that are 
                        customarily provided by the grantee.
                            (v) Consent of union.--An employer that has 
                        a collective-bargaining agreement in effect 
                        with a labor organization, or an employer whose 
                        employees are represented by a labor 
                        organization for purposes of collective 
                        bargaining, shall seek the consent of the labor 
                        organization representing its employees to 
                        participate in the program under this Act.
                            (vi) Other participating employers.--In 
                        addition to other entities that may serve as 
                        participating employers under this section, 
                        nonprofit entities, local government entities 
                        (except as provided in clause (iv)), and labor 
                        organizations may serve as participating 
                        employers, administrators, or intermediaries 
                        under this section.
            (2) Technical training.--
                    (A) Employees in-demand industry sectors or 
                occupations.--With respect to an eligible individual 
                employed under the program by an employer in an in-
                demand industry sector or occupation, subject to the 
                administrator of the job placement entity selected by 
                the grantee and upon completion of 3 months of 
                satisfactory job performance, the employer may receive 
                additional funds under the program to enable such 
                individual to pursue a general equivalency diploma, or 
                a year of career and technical education that leads to 
                a recognized postsecondary credential required for 
                continued employment in such sector or occupation.
                    (B) Other employees.--With respect to an eligible 
                individual employed under the program who is not 
                employed in an industry sector or occupation described 
                in subparagraph (A), subject to the administrator of 
                the job placement entity selected by the grantee and 
                upon completion of 3 months of satisfactory job 
                performance, such individual may be provided with an 
                opportunity to pursue up to a year of career and 
                technical education.
            (3) Eligible individual.--To participate in the program an 
        individual shall--
                    (A) be at least 18 years of age; and
                    (B)(i) have been unemployed for more than 90 days 
                by demonstrating to the program administrator selected 
                by the grantee involved--
                            (I) that the individual has been registered 
                        as unemployed for more than 90 days under a 
                        State unemployment insurance system; or
                            (II) through submission of a self-affidavit 
                        that demonstrates that the individual has been 
                        so unemployed; or
                    (ii) have had earnings for the previous 6 months 
                that are below the poverty line.
            (4) Placement length.--
                    (A) In general.--A period of employment with a 
                participating employer under the program for an 
                individual shall be not longer than 18 months, and not 
                less than 3 months, except that such period--
                            (i) may be shorter in the case of 
                        termination of the individual for 
                        unsatisfactory performance;
                            (ii) may be extended--
                                    (I) for an additional 12-month 
                                period in a case in which the eligible 
                                individual is pursuing the career and 
                                technical education described in 
                                paragraph (2); or
                                    (II) in the case of an individual 
                                with a barrier to employment; and
                            (iii) shall not be applicable during a 
                        period that is an economic recession.
                    (B) Maximum participation.--
                            (i) In general.--During a 10-year period, 
                        an eligible individual may have not more than 3 
                        separate periods of employment under the 
                        program.
                            (ii) Different employers.--Each period of 
                        employment shall be with a different 
                        participating employer.
                            (iii) Continued eligibility.--An eligible 
                        individual shall become eligible for a new 
                        period of employment under the program if the 
                        individual is unemployed not less than 4 weeks 
                        after the conclusion of the individual's 
                        previous employment period under the program.
                            (iv) Inapplicability.--This subparagraph 
                        shall not apply during a period of economic 
                        recession or for individuals with barriers to 
                        employment.
            (5) Wraparound services.--Any wraparound services (such as 
        screening, matching, and job preparation services, and 
        transportation, childcare, and counseling) provided with funds 
        under this Act shall be minimal and may only be used--
                    (A) for the individuals with barriers to employment 
                and who shall be made aware of similar opportunities 
                available through local, State, or Federal social 
                welfare programs; and
                    (B) with an evidence-based approach regarding the 
                impact and importance of such services to the job 
                placement of the individual, as determined by the 
                Secretary of Labor.
            (6) Outreach.--
                    (A) Grantees.--Each grantee shall make available, 
                on a publicly available website of the grantee, 
                information on program opportunities for potential 
                employees and employers.
                    (B) Website.--The Secretary of Labor shall create a 
                publicly available website to provide information 
                connecting prospective employees with program 
                administrators.

SEC. 5. JOBS GUARANTEE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Labor shall carry out a pilot 
program under which the Secretary makes grants, on a competitive basis, 
to not more than 5 local entities to assist such entities in carrying 
out a jobs guarantee program as described in subsection (b).
    (b) Use of Funds.--A local entity that receives a grant under 
subsection (a) shall use the grant to carry out a program that provides 
jobs that--
            (1) are available to all individuals who--
                    (A) are 18 years of age or older; and
                    (B) reside in the area served under the program, 
                except that participants in the program may be 
                disciplined, released, or suspended from further 
                participation in jobs under the program if they are 
                found to be negligent, or generally disruptive to the 
                workplace involved under procedures established by the 
                Secretary of Labor that provide for an opportunity for 
                a review of such determinations;
            (2) are, with respect to individual participants, included 
        as part of an established bargaining unit and covered by any 
        applicable collective bargaining agreement in effect if 
        similarly situated employees part of such unit and represented 
        by an exclusive bargaining representative;
            (3) are available for the duration of the pilot program;
            (4) provide a wage of not less than the greater of--
                    (A) the hourly wage provided for under the 
                provisions of S. 1242 (115th Congress), as introduced;
                    (B) the prevailing wage in the area involved for a 
                similar job as required by chapter 67 of title 41, 
                United States Code, and other related laws; or
                    (C) the applicable wage under an applicable 
                collective bargaining agreement as provided for under 
                subparagraph (B);
            (5) provide for coverage of the worker under a health 
        insurance program that is comparable to that offered to Federal 
        employees under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program; 
        and
            (6) provide, at a minimum--
                    (A) paid family leave consistent with the 
                provisions of S. 337 (111th Congress), as introduced, 
                and applicable State law; and
                    (B) paid sick leave consistent with the provision 
                of S. 1152 (115th Congress), as introduced, and 
                applicable State law.

SEC. 6. APPLICATIONS.

    (a) State Applications.--To receive an allocation under this Act a 
State shall submit to the Secretary of Labor, a plan at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may 
require, which shall include a description of how the State will use 
the allocation--
            (1) to use funds to carry out the program in areas in the 
        State proportionate to the rates of joblessness, 
        underemployment, and poverty in such areas, as determined by 
        the Secretary; and
            (2) to target individuals with barriers to employment.
    (b) Local Applications.--
            (1) In general.--To receive a grant under this Act, a local 
        entity shall submit to the Secretary of Labor, a plan, at such 
        time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
        Secretary may require, which shall include a demonstration of 
        the local entity's ability to meet the purposes described in 
        section 2.
            (2) Priority.--In awarding grants under this Act to local 
        entities, the Secretary of Labor shall give priority to local 
        entities that will use the grant to--
                    (A) serve areas that are facing acute challenges, 
                including persistent racial unemployment gap, drug 
                addiction epidemics, or high mortality rates, as 
                determined by the Secretary of Labor; and
                    (B) carry out programs that provide participating 
                individuals with general equivalency diplomas, 
                recognized postsecondary credentials, and paid 
                apprenticeships.
    (c) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary of Labor may reserve a 
portion of the funds appropriated under this Act to provide technical 
assistance to local entities that seek to apply for a grant under this 
Act. In providing such technical assistance, the Secretary shall give 
priority to local entities that the Secretary determines have the 
greatest need for such assistance.

SEC. 7. EVALUATION AND EXPANSION, AND REPORT.

    (a) Evaluation and Expansion.--Not later than 18 months after the 
date on which the first grant or allocation is awarded under this Act, 
and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Labor shall--
            (1) develop a strategy (which shall include annual, 
        representative, and random surveys of employees and employers 
        under the programs)--
                    (A) to determine whether the programs under this 
                Act are accomplishing the purposes described in section 
                2; and
                    (B) to improve the programs to better accomplish 
                such purposes; and
            (2) expand the programs under this Act until a 
        determination is made that equal rates of joblessness in all 
        regions and among all demographic groups have been achieved.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the first grant is 
awarded under this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Labor 
shall submit to Congress a report that includes the information 
described in subsection (a) for the purpose of providing Congress with 
an informed opportunity to update this Act and to effectively achieve 
the purposes described in section 2.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Career and technical education.--The term ``career and 
        technical education'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 
        2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302).
            (2) Grantee.--The term ``grantee'' means a State that 
        receives an allocation under section 3(a)(1) or a local entity 
        that receives a grant under section 3(a)(2).
            (3) Individual with a barrier to employment.--The term 
        ``individual with a barrier to employment'' means a member of 
        one or more of the following populations:
                    (A) Displaced homemakers.
                    (B) Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, 
                as such terms are defined in section 166 of the 
                Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
                    (C) Individuals with disabilities, including youth 
                who are individuals with disabilities.
                    (D) Older individuals.
                    (E) Ex-offenders.
                    (F) Homeless individuals (as defined in section 
                41403(6) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 
                U.S.C. 14043e-2(6))), or homeless children and youths 
                (as defined in section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento 
                Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2))).
                    (G) Individuals who are English language learners, 
                individuals who have low levels of literacy or who have 
                not more than a high school diploma or the equivalent, 
                and individuals facing substantial cultural barriers.
                    (H) Individuals within 2 years of exhausting 
                lifetime eligibility under part A of title IV of the 
                Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
                    (I) Single parents (including single pregnant 
                women).
                    (J) Long-term unemployed individuals.
                    (K) Such other groups as the Secretary of Labor 
                determines to have barriers to employment.
            (4) Local entity.--The term ``local entity'' means a unit 
        of general local government or a nonprofit or other 
        organization serving such a unit.
            (5) Period of economic recession.--The term ``period of 
        economic recession'' means not less than a consecutive 3-month 
        period of decline in national payroll employment, which shall 
        be determined to have ended on the date on which the national 
        payroll employment reaches the level reported by the Bureau of 
        Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor in the highest 
        month of national payroll employment prior to such period of 
        decline.
            (6) WIOA terms.--The terms ``in-demand industry sector or 
        occupation'', ``poverty line'', ``recognized postsecondary 
        credential'', ``State'', and ``unit of general local 
        government'' have the meanings given the terms in section 3 of 
        the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
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