118 HR 5960 IH: Opportunity to Compete Act U.S. House of Representatives 2023-10-25 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I118th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 5960IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESOctober 16, 2023Mr. Krishnamoorthi (for himself and Mr. James) introduced the following billOctober 25, 2023Referred to the Committee on Education and the WorkforceA BILLTo amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to impose restrictions relating to prospective employees’ educational credentials, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Opportunity to Compete Act.

2.

Restrictions relating to prospective employees’ educational credentials

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 7 the following new section:

8.

Guidance relating to educational credentials

(a)

In general

Except as provided in subsection (b), an employer may only use, in the consideration of prospective employees for a position of employment, a computerized hiring system if such system—(1)discloses to the prospective employee the median years or expected years of experience required for a position, which may include experience received through military service, community college, training programs, and some college; and(2)if the employer requires a bachelor’s degree for the position, considers a prospective employee who has the required years of experience described in paragraph (1) as meeting the degree requirement.(b)

Waiver of requirement

(1)

In general

The Secretary of Labor shall provide an exemption to the requirements under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) with respect to certain positions of employment with an employer if such employer demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that—(A)the skills and knowledge required for such position of employment cannot reasonably be obtained without a bachelor’s degree; and(B)the employer discloses the requirement of a bachelor’s degree to all prospective employees in a timely manner.(2)

Application for exemption

An employer seeking an exemption under this subsection shall submit an application for such exemption to the Secretary of Labor at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require.(3)

Timeline for exemption application

The Secretary of Labor shall—(A)not later than 7 days after receiving an application for an exemption, notify the employer submitting such application that the Secretary of Labor has received their application; and(B)not later than 14 days after receiving such an application, notify such employer whether the application has been accepted or denied.(c)

Exemption for certain employers

An employer that employs less than 500 employees shall not be subject to the requirements of this section.(d)

Enforcement

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Opportunity to Compete Act, the Secretary of Labor shall establish appropriate procedures for the enforcement of this section.(e)

Computerized hiring system defined

For the purposes of this section, the term computerized hiring system means a recruitment management system, recruitment marketing system, applicant tracking system, or any other computer-based system that receives, manages, tracks, evaluates, or responds to applications for employment.

.