[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9190 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9190

 To establish in the Department of Labor an Older Workers' Bureau, to 
     establish a data hub and a technical assistance center at the 
  Department of Labor related to employment of older workers and the 
 effect of older employment on retirement security, to establish grant 
  programs related to the employment of older workers, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2024

    Mr. Beyer (for himself, Ms. Bonamici, and Ms. Garcia of Texas) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                      Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish in the Department of Labor an Older Workers' Bureau, to 
     establish a data hub and a technical assistance center at the 
  Department of Labor related to employment of older workers and the 
 effect of older employment on retirement security, to establish grant 
  programs related to the employment of older workers, 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 ``Older Workers' Bureau Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Of the 7,700,000 workers expected to be added to the 
        United States labor force, more than half--3,800,000--will be 
        older than 55, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
            (2) From 1995 to 2021, the share of older workers in the 
        labor force more than doubled, to nearly 24 percent from 12 
        percent, and is expected to continue to rise.
            (3) About 40 percent of middle-class older workers will be 
        downwardly mobile into poverty or near poverty in the next 10 
        years when they reach their sixties, in part because of lack of 
        employment or low wages.
            (4) Older workers who have less formal education, earn 
        lower wages, or who are Black or Hispanic tend to experience 
        much worse health than those who are more advantaged and need 
        more accommodation at work and safer working conditions.
            (5) Physically and psychologically difficult working 
        conditions are widespread and damaging for older workers.
            (6) Older workers are more likely to be involuntary part 
        time, gig, or temporary workers than prime age workers.
            (7) Nearly 30 percent of older women work in low wage jobs 
        and most are considered working poor.
            (8) Concern about age discrimination amongst older workers 
        has reached its highest level in nearly decades.
            (9) More than 1,000,000 older workers were pushed out or 
        voluntarily left the labor force during the COVID-19 pandemic.
            (10) While some older workers have returned to the labor 
        force since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have 
        struggled to obtain work and others fear returning to unsafe 
        working conditions.
            (11) The labor force participation rate and employment 
        population ratio of older workers both declined due to the 
        COVID-19 pandemic and neither have fully recovered.
            (12) Older workers need specific policy consideration and 
        assistance that could be met by establishing an Older Workers' 
        Bureau within the Department of Labor.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to promote productive, 
inclusive, and welfare-enhancing employment opportunities and 
workplaces for older workers through research, policy development, 
outreach, and grant programs.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act:
            (1) Bureau.--The term ``Bureau'' means the Older Workers' 
        Bureau established under section 4(a).
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Older Workers' Bureau.
            (3) Older worker.--The term ``older worker'' means an 
        individual who--
                    (A) is not younger than 55 years of age; and
                    (B)(i) is employed;
                    (ii) is seeking employment; or
                    (iii) wants employment, is available for 
                employment, and has sought employment within the 
                preceding 12 months.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Labor.

SEC. 4. OLDER WORKER'S BUREAU.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department of Labor 
a bureau to be known as the ``Older Workers' Bureau'', which shall be 
under the direction of the Director of the Older Workers' Bureau.
    (b) Personnel.--
            (1) Director.--
                    (A) Appointment.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the President shall 
                appoint a Director to lead the Bureau.
                    (B) Inclusion in executive schedule.--Section 5315 
                of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
                the end the following:
            ``Director of the Older Workers' Bureau, Department of 
        Labor.''.
            (2) Staff.--The Secretary, acting through the Director, 
        shall employ such staff as the Secretary determines necessary 
        to carry out the functions of the Bureau, at such rates of pay 
        as the Secretary may provide, subject to the provisions of 
        chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title, 
        relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates.
    (c) Functions.--The Director shall promote the welfare and improve 
the working conditions of older workers, increase the efficiency, 
capacity, and coordination of programs serving older workers, and 
advance the employment opportunities of older workers, including by 
carrying out, with respect to older workers, the following:
            (1) Research relating to--
                    (A) public benefits that support--
                            (i) the economic and financial security of 
                        such workers; and
                            (ii) access and retention of safety net 
                        supports for such workers who earn an annual 
                        income that is not more than 200 percent of the 
                        Federal poverty guidelines;
                    (B) access for such workers to--
                            (i) leave under the Family and Medical 
                        Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); and
                            (ii) workplace flexibility opportunities to 
                        support the needs of such workers with respect 
                        to managing personal health and caregiving 
                        responsibilities;
                    (C) tailored, person-centered approaches to job 
                training and adult education (including on soft skills, 
                financial literacy education, and digital literacy) for 
                such workers;
                    (D) access to savings and tax-advantaged 
                opportunities for such workers to provide a path toward 
                a financially secure retirement;
                    (E) age discrimination in the workplace, including 
                how such discrimination is, and could be, addressed and 
                how such discrimination impacts such workers;
                    (F) wages paid to such workers, including whether 
                such wages are commensurate with experience;
                    (G) job security for such workers, including--
                            (i) the probability of job loss; and
                            (ii) resources available to such workers in 
                        the event of job separation;
                    (H) retirement readiness for such workers, 
                including the impact of Federal policies on retirement 
                readiness for such workers; and
                    (I) the impact of Federal policies on the equitable 
                treatment (including with respect to race, sex, sexual 
                orientation, gender identity, education, ability, and 
                residence) of such workers and their retirement.
            (2) Policy development.
            (3) Outreach and education.
            (4) Grant program administration.
            (5) Coordinating Federal research relating to such workers.
            (6) Improving access to data on the economic situation of 
        such workers.
    (d) Office Quarters.--The Secretary shall furnish sufficient 
quarters, office furniture, and equipment as the Secretary determines 
necessary to carry out the functions of the Bureau.
    (e) Report.--The Director--
            (1) shall annually submit to the Secretary a report--
                    (A) on the activities of the Bureau with respect to 
                older workers, including with respect to the functions 
                described in subsection (c);
                    (B) that catalogs Federal programs that support the 
                employment, economic success, and well-being of such 
                workers;
                    (C) that identifies issues with respect to such 
                workers that may be improved with Federal support; and
                    (D) that makes recommendations to promote the 
                welfare and economic and financial security, improve 
                the working conditions, increase the efficiency, 
                capacity, and coordination of programs serving older 
                workers, and advance the employment opportunities of 
                such workers; and
            (2) may publish such report, as directed by the Secretary.
    (f) Consultation.--In carrying out the functions of the Bureau, the 
Secretary, acting through the Director, may consult with--
            (1) Federal agencies that have jurisdiction over matters 
        involving older adults, including--
                    (A) the Social Security Administration, including 
                the Office of Retirement and Disability Policy;
                    (B) the Department of Health and Human Services, 
                including the Administration for Community Living, the 
                Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the 
                National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
                and the National Institute on Aging;
                    (C) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;
                    (D) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
                    (E) the Department of the Treasury, including the 
                Internal Revenue Service; and
                    (F) the Department of Housing and Urban 
                Development; and
            (2) any other Federal agency that the Secretary determines 
        has relevant expertise.
    (g) Applicability.--The Secretary shall take such actions as are 
necessary to ensure the Bureau is operational not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. RESEARCH GRANTS.

    Not later than 180 days after the date on which the Bureau is 
operational, the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall carry 
out a program to award, on a competitive basis, grants to facilitate, 
with respect to older workers, research--
            (1) designed to identify areas that could benefit from 
        additional research for the purposes of--
                    (A) identifying and eliminating barriers to 
                securing employment, job retention, and reemployment 
                for such workers; and
                    (B) identifying policies that the Federal 
                government may implement to assist such workers; and
            (2) as determined appropriate by the Secretary, into the 
        areas identified under paragraph (1).

SEC. 6. GRANTS TO COMBAT STRUCTURAL AGEISM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which 
the Bureau is operational, the Secretary, acting through the Director, 
shall carry out a program to award, on a competitive basis, grants to 
covered institutions to--
            (1) facilitate activities, services, and programs to 
        improve the welfare of older workers;
            (2) combat structural ageism;
            (3) improve employment opportunities for older workers; and
            (4) create a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
    (b) Priority.--In making grants under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall give priority to a covered institution that is located in an area 
that has no training programs specifically targeted to disadvantaged 
older workers.
    (c) Covered Institutions Defined.--For the purposes of this 
section, the term ``covered institution'' means any of the following:
            (1) An employer.
            (2) An employer association.
            (3) A labor organization.
            (4) A nonprofit with expertise in older workers.
            (5) A worker organization.
            (6) Another institution determined appropriate by the 
        Secretary.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    To carry out sections 5 and 6, there is authorized to be 
appropriated $10,000,000 for each fiscal year after fiscal year 2023.
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