Relaunching America’s Workforce Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 200 To provide State and local workforce and career and technical education systems the support to respond to the COVID–19 national emergency. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 3, 2021 Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. KAINE, Ms. SMITH, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. REED, Mr. COONS, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) in- troduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To provide State and local workforce and career and tech- nical education systems the support to respond to the COVID–19 national emergency. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Relaunching America’s Workforce Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is 6 as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. Rule of construction. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S200.IS S200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 200 IS TITLE I—WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT Sec. 101. Definitions and WIOA requirements. Subtitle A—Workforce Development Activities in Response to the COVID–19 National Emergency Sec. 111. Workforce response activities. Sec. 112. National dislocated worker grants. Sec. 113. State dislocated worker activities responding to the COVID–19 emer- gency. Sec. 114. Youth workforce investment activities responding to the COVID–19 national emergency. Sec. 115. Adult employment and training activities responding to the COVID– 19 national emergency. Subtitle B—Employment Service COVID–19 National Emergency Response Fund Sec. 121. Employment service. Subtitle C—Job Corps Response to the COVID–19 National Emergency Sec. 131. Job Corps response to the COVID–19 national emergency. Subtitle D—National Programs Sec. 141. Native American programs responding to the COVID–19 national emergency. Sec. 142. Migrant and seasonal farmworker program response. Sec. 143. YouthBuild activities responding to the COVID–19 national emer- gency. Sec. 144. Reentry employment opportunities responding to the COVID–19 na- tional emergency. Sec. 145. Registered apprenticeship opportunities responding to the COVID–19 national emergency. Subtitle E—Adult Education and Literacy COVID–19 National Emergency Response Sec. 151. Definitions. Sec. 152. Adult education and literacy response activities. Sec. 153. Distribution of funds. Subtitle F—Community College and Industry Partnership Grants Sec. 161. Community college and industry partnership grants. Subtitle G—General Provisions Sec. 171. General provisions. TITLE II—CARL D. PERKINS CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION ACT OF 2006 Sec. 201. Definitions and Perkins CTE requirements. Sec. 202. Perkins career and technical education. Sec. 203. General provisions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S200.IS S200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 200 IS SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) APPRENTICESHIP; APPRENTICESHIP PRO- 3 GRAM.—The terms ‘‘apprenticeship’’ and ‘‘appren- 4 ticeship program’’ mean, respectively, an apprentice- 5 ship in an apprenticeship program, and an appren- 6 ticeship program, registered by the Office of Appren- 7 ticeship or a State apprenticeship agency under the 8 Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the 9 ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’) (50 Stat. 664, chap- 10 ter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), including, as in effect 11 on December 30, 2019, any requirement, standard, 12 or rule promulgated under that Act. 13 (2) CORONAVIRUS.—The term ‘‘coronavirus’’ 14 means coronavirus as defined in section 506 of the 15 Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supple- 16 mental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116– 17 123). 18 (3) COVID–19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—The 19 term ‘‘COVID–19 national emergency’’ means the 20 national emergency declared by the President under 21 the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et 22 seq.) on March 13, 2020, with respect to the 23 coronavirus. 24 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S200.IS S200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 200 IS (A) as such term is used in subtitles A 1 through D, and subtitle F, of title I, means the 2 Secretary of Labor; and 3 (B) as such term is used in subtitle E of 4 title I and title II, means the Secretary of Edu- 5 cation. 6 SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 7 Any funds made available under this Act that are 8 used to fund an apprenticeship or apprenticeship program 9 shall only be used for, or provided to, an apprenticeship, 10 or apprenticeship program, that meets the definition of the 11 term involved in section 2 of this Act, including any funds 12 awarded for the purposes of grants, contracts, or coopera- 13 tive agreements, or the development, implementation, or 14 administration, of an apprenticeship or an apprenticeship 15 program. 16 TITLE I—WORKFORCE INNOVA- 17 TION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT 18 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS AND WIOA REQUIREMENTS. 19 Except as otherwise provided, in this title, other than 20 subtitle E— 21 (1) the terms have the meanings given the 22 terms in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 23 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S200.IS S200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 200 IS (2) an allotment, allocation, or other provision 1 of funds made in accordance with a provision of the 2 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 3 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) shall be made in compliance 4 with the applicable requirements of such Act (29 5 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), including the applicable re- 6 quirements of section 182(e) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 7 3242(e)) unless otherwise provided for in this Act. 8 Subtitle A—Workforce Develop- 9 ment Activities in Response to 10 the COVID–19 National Emer- 11 gency 12 SEC. 111. WORKFORCE RESPONSE ACTIVITIES. 13 (a) FUNDS FOR ADULTS AND DISLOCATED WORK- 14 ERS.—With respect to funds appropriated under section 15 113(d) or 115(c) and allotted to a State under subtitle 16 B of title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 17 Act (29 U.S.C. 3151 et seq.) for adult or dislocated work- 18 er workforce development activities, allocated to a local 19 area for adult workforce development activities in accord- 20 ance with paragraph (2)(A) or paragraph (3) of section 21 133(b) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 22 (29 U.S.C. 3173(b)), or allocated to a local area for dis- 23 located worker workforce development activities in accord- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S200.IS S200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 200 IS ance with section 133(b)(2)(B) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1 3173(b)(B)), the following shall apply: 2 (1) ELIGIBILITY OF ADULTS AND DISLOCATED 3 WORKERS.—To be eligible to receive services 4 through those funds, an adult or dislocated work- 5 er— 6 (A) shall not be required to meet the re- 7 quirements of section 134(c)(3)(B) of the 8 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 9 U.S.C. 3174(c)(3)(B)); 10 (B) may include, as determined by the 11 Governor or local board involved, an individual 12 described in section 2102(a)(3)(A) of the 13 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security 14 Act (15 U.S.C. 9021(a)(3)(A)) who, for the 15 purposes of this section, may be considered by 16 the Governor or board to be an adult or a dis- 17 located worker; and 18 (C) shall include individuals with barriers 19 to employment, including individuals with dis- 20 abilities, not less than age 18 who, for the pur- 21 poses of this section, shall be considered to be 22 adults and dislocated workers. 23 (2) INDIVIDUALIZED CAREER SERVICES.—Such 24 funds may be used to provide individualized career 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S200.IS S200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 200 IS services described in section 134(c)(2)(A)(xii) of the 1 Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (29 2 U.S.C. 3174(c)(2)(A)(xii)) to any such eligible adult 3 and dislocated worker. 4 (3) INCUMBENT WORKER TRAINING.—In a case 5 in which the local board for such local area provides 6 to the Secretary an assurance that the local area will 7 use such allocated funds (allocated for adult or dis- 8 located worker activities) to provide the work sup- 9 port activities designed to assist low-wage workers in 10 retaining and enhancing employment in accordance 11 with section 134(d)(1)(B) of the Workforce Innova- 12 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 13 3174(d)(1)(B)), such local board may— 14 (A) use not more than 40 percent of such 15 allocated funds for a training program for in- 16 cumbent workers described in section 17 134(d)(4)(A)(i) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 18 3174(d)(4)(A)(i)) (for such low-wage workers 19 who are incumbent workers); and 20 (B) consider the economic impact of the 21 COVID–19 national emergency to the employer 22 or participants of such program in determining 23 an employer’s eligibility under section 24 134(d)(4)(A)(ii) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S200.IS S200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 200 IS 3174(d)(4)(A)(ii))) for the Federal share of the 1 cost of such program. 2 (4) TRANSITIONAL JOBS.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The local board for 4 such local area may use not more than 40 per- 5 cent of such allocated funds to provide transi- 6 tional jobs in accordance with section 134(d)(5) 7 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 8 Act (29 U.S.C. 3174(d)(5)). 9 (B) CLARIFICATION.—Section 194(10) of 10 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 11 (29 U.S.C. 3254(10)) shall not apply with re- 12 spect to the funds used under subparagraph 13 (A). 14 (5) ON-THE-JOB TRAINING.—The Governor for 15 the State or the local board for such area may take 16 into account the impact of the COVID–19 national 17 emergency as a factor in determining whether to in- 18 crease the amount of a reimbursement to an amount 19 up to 75 percent of the wage rate of a participant 20 in accordance with 134(c)(3)(H) of the Workforce 21 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 22 3174(c)(3)(H)). 23 (6) CUSTOMIZED TRAINING.—The Governor for 24 the State or local board for such area may take into 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S200.IS S200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 200 IS account the impact of the COVID–19 national emer- 1 gency as a factor in determining the portion of the 2 cost of training an employer shall provide in accord- 3 ance with section 3(14) of the Workforce Innovation 4 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102(14)). 5 (b) GOVERNOR’S RESERVE.—With respect to funds 6 appropriated under section 113(d), 114(d), or 115(c) and 7 allotted under section 127 or 132 of the Workforce Inno- 8 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3162; 3172) to 9 a State in accordance with section 127(b)(1)(C) and para- 10 graphs (1)(B) and (2)(B) of section 132(b) of the Work- 11 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 12 3162(b)(1)(C); 3172(b)), the Governor— 13 (1) shall make the reservations under section 14 128(a) and 133(a)(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 15 3163(a); 3173(a)(1)) and use the reserved funds for 16 statewide activities described in section 129(b) or 17 paragraph (2)(B) or (3) of section 134(a) of such 18 Act (29 U.S.C. 3164(b); 3174(a)) related to the 19 COVID–19 national emergency; and 20 (2) may make a reservation (in addition to the 21 reservations described in paragraph (1)) of not more 22 than 10 percent for activities related to responding 23 to the COVID–19 national emergency if such re- 24 served funds are used for activities benefitting the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S200.IS S200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 200 IS local areas within such State most impacted by the 1 COVID–19 national emergency, which activities may 2 include providing— 3 (A) training for health care workers, public 4 health workers, personal care attendants, direct 5 service providers, home health workers, and 6 frontline workers; 7 (B) resources to support, allow for, or pro- 8 vide access to, online services, including coun- 9 seling, case management, and employment re- 10 tention supports, and delivery by local boards, 11 one-stop centers, one-stop operators, or training 12 services by providers eligible under section 122; 13 or 14 (C) additional resources to such local areas 15 to provide career services and supportive serv- 16 ices for eligible individuals. 17 (c) STATE WORKFORCE COVID–19 RECOVERY 18 PLAN.—Not later than 60 days after a State receives 19 funds appropriated under section 113(d), 114(d), or 20 115(c), the Governor shall submit to the Secretary, as a 21 supplement to the State plan submitted under section 22 102(a) or 103(a) of the Workforce Investment and Oppor- 23 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3112(a); 3113(a)), a workforce plan 24 that responds to the COVID–19 national emergency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S200.IS S200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 200 IS SEC. 112. NATIONAL DISLOCATED WORKER GRANTS. 1 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From the funds appro- 2 priated under subsection (e), the Secretary shall award, 3 in accordance with section 170 of the Workforce Innova- 4 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3225), national dis- 5 located worker grants to the entities that meet the require- 6 ments for the grants under such section to carry out the 7 activities described in such section and in subsection (d) 8 of this section. 9 (b) PLAN.—The Secretary shall submit to the Com- 10 mittee on Education and Labor of the House of Rep- 11 resentatives and the Committee on Health, Education, 12 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the Committees 13 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 14 Senate, not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 15 of this Act, a plan for awarding of grants under this sec- 16 tion. 17 (c) TIMING.—Subject to the availability of appropria- 18 tions to carry out this section, not later than 60 days after 19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secreta [Text truncated for display. 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