[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4670 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4670

    To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act regarding 
     employer-directed skills development, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 11 (legislative day, July 10), 2024

   Mr. Budd introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act regarding 
     employer-directed skills development, 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 ``Employer-Directed Skills Act''.

SEC. 2. EMPLOYER-DIRECTED SKILLS DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) Employer-Directed Skills Development.--
            (1) In general.--Section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 
        Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102) is amended--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (14);
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (15) through (18) 
                as paragraphs (14) through (17), respectively; and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (17), the 
                following:
            ``(18) Employer-directed skills development.--The term 
        `employer-directed skills development' means a program--
                    ``(A) that is selected or designed to meet the 
                specific skill demands of an employer (including a 
                group of employers);
                    ``(B) that is conducted pursuant to the terms and 
                conditions provided under an employer-directed skills 
                contract described in section 134(c)(3)(I), including 
                the commitment by the employer to employ an individual 
                upon successful completion of the program; and
                    ``(C) for which the employer pays a portion of the 
                cost of the program that is--
                            ``(i) determined by the local board 
                        involved; and
                            ``(ii) not less than--
                                    ``(I) 10 percent of the cost, in 
                                the case of an employer with 50 or 
                                fewer employees;
                                    ``(II) 25 percent of the cost, in 
                                the case of an employer with more than 
                                50 but fewer than 100 employees; and
                                    ``(III) 50 percent of the cost, in 
                                the case of an employer with 100 or 
                                more employees.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 108(b)(4)(B) of the 
        Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 
        3123(b)(4)(B)) is amended by striking ``customized training 
        programs'' and inserting ``employer-directed skills 
        development''.
    (b) Primary Indicators of Performance.--Section 116(b)(2)(A) of the 
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3141(b)(2)(A)) is 
amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by striking subclause (VI) and inserting 
        the following:
                                    ``(VI) the ratio of--
                                            ``(aa) the number of 
                                        program participants who, 
                                        before exiting the program 
                                        during a program year, 
                                        completed on-the-job training 
                                        or employer-directed skills 
                                        development; to
                                            ``(bb) the total number of 
                                        program participants who 
                                        received training services and 
                                        who exited the program during 
                                        that program year.'' ; and
            (2) by striking clause (iv).
    (c) On the Job Training, Employer-Directed Skills Development, 
Incumbent Worker Training, and Other Training Exceptions.--Section 
122(h) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 
3152(h)) is amended--
            (1) in the heading, by striking ``Customized Training'' and 
        inserting ``Employer-Directed Skills Development'' ;
            (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ``customized training'' 
        and inserting ``employer-directed skills development''; and
            (3) in paragraph (2), by striking the first sentence and 
        inserting ``A one-stop operator in a local area shall collect 
        the minimum amount of information from providers of on-the-job 
        training, employer-directed skills development, incumbent 
        worker training, internships, paid or unpaid work experience 
        opportunities, and transitional employment as is necessary to 
        enable the use of State administrative data to generate such 
        performance information as the Governor may require.''
    (d) Statewide Employment and Training Activities.--Section 
134(a)(2)(B)(v)(II) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 
U.S.C. 3174(a)(2)(B)(v)(II)) is amended by striking ``customized 
training'' and inserting ``employer-directed skills development''.
    (e) Allowable Statewide Employment and Training Activities.--
Section 134(a)(3)(A)(i) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
(29 U.S.C. 3174(a)(3)(A)(i)) is amended by striking ``customized 
training'' and inserting ``employer-directed skills development''.
    (f) Employer Referral.--Section 134(c)(3) of the Workforce 
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3174(c)(3)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) in clause (i), in the matter preceding 
                subclause (I), by striking ``clause (ii)'' and 
                inserting ``clauses (ii) and (iii)'';
                    (B) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (iv); 
                and
                    (C) by inserting after clause (ii) the following:
                            ``(iii) Employer referral.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--A one-stop 
                                operator or one-stop partner shall not 
                                be required to conduct an interview, 
                                evaluation, or assessment of an 
                                individual under clause (i)(I) if such 
                                individual--
                                            ``(aa) is referred by an 
                                        employer to receive on-the-job 
                                        training or employer-directed 
                                        skills development in 
                                        connection with that employer; 
                                        and
                                            ``(bb) has been certified 
                                        by the employer as being in 
                                        need of training services to 
                                        obtain unsubsidized employment 
                                        with such employer and having 
                                        the skills and qualifications 
                                        to successfully participate in 
                                        the selected program of 
                                        training services.
                                    ``(II) Priority.--A one-stop 
                                operator or one-stop partner shall 
                                follow the priority described in 
                                subparagraph (E) to determine whether 
                                an individual that meets the 
                                requirements of subclause (I) of this 
                                clause is eligible to receive training 
                                services.'';
            (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking clause (xi) and 
        inserting the following:
                            ``(xi) employer-directed skills 
                        development.'';
            (3) in subparagraph (G)(ii)(II), by striking ``customized 
        training'' and inserting ``employer-directed skills 
        development''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(I) Employer-directed skills development.--An 
                employer may receive a contract from a local board to 
                provide employer-directed skills development to a 
                participant if the employer submits to the local board 
                an application that provides--
                            ``(i) the provider of the skills 
                        development program, which may be the employer;
                            ``(ii) the length of the skills development 
                        program;
                            ``(iii) the recognized postsecondary 
                        credential that will be awarded to, or any 
                        occupational skill that will be gained by, the 
                        program participant;
                            ``(iv) the cost of the skills development 
                        program;
                            ``(v) the amount of such cost that will be 
                        paid by the employer (as described in section 
                        3(19)(C)); and
                            ``(vi) a commitment by the employer to 
                        employ the participating individual upon 
                        successful completion of the program.''.
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