Portable Benefits for Independent Workers Pilot Program Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4016 To require the Secretary of Labor to establish a pilot program for providing portable benefits to eligible workers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 25, 2019 Ms. DELBENE (for herself, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. HIMES, Mr. PETERS, Mr. FOSTER, and Ms. SPANBERGER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To require the Secretary of Labor to establish a pilot pro- gram for providing portable benefits to eligible workers, and for other purposes. 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Portable Benefits for 4 Independent Workers Pilot Program Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Many independent workers, constituting a 8 growing percentage of the workforce in the United 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4016.IH H4016 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4016 IH States, do not have access to benefits and protec- 1 tions typically provided through traditional full-time 2 employment. 3 (2) These independent workers are independent 4 contractors, temporary workers, self-employed, or 5 work pursuant to other contingent or alternative 6 work arrangements. 7 (3) According to a 2015 study by the Comp- 8 troller General of the United States, the size of the 9 contingent workforce grew from 35 percent of em- 10 ployed workers in 2006 to 40 percent of employed 11 workers in 2010. 12 (4) According to a 2016 study by economists 13 Lawrence Katz and Alan Krueger, 94 percent of net 14 employment growth in the United States economy 15 from 2005 to 2015 occurred in alternative work ar- 16 rangements. 17 (5) As the population of independent workers 18 grows, it is increasingly important that workers are 19 provided portable benefits. 20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 21 In this Act: 22 (1) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘eligi- 23 ble organization’’ means any State or local govern- 24 ment or any nonprofit organization. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4016.IH H4016 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4016 IH (2) ELIGIBLE WORK.—The term ‘‘eligible work’’ 1 means any work performed that is not in connection 2 with traditional full-time employment. 3 (3) ELIGIBLE WORKER.—The term ‘‘eligible 4 worker’’ means any worker who is not a traditional 5 full-time employee of the entity hiring the worker for 6 the eligible work, including any independent con- 7 tractor, contract worker, self-employed individual, 8 freelance worker, temporary worker, or contingent 9 worker. 10 (4) PORTABLE BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘portable 11 benefits’’— 12 (A) means work-related benefits that are 13 provided to eligible workers for eligible work in 14 a manner that allows the worker to maintain 15 the benefits upon changing jobs; and 16 (B) includes— 17 (i) contributions on behalf of the eligi- 18 ble worker made by an entity (including 19 multiple entities, if applicable) in connec- 20 tion with eligible work performed by the 21 worker for the entity, including entities 22 that facilitate the sale of such work; 23 (ii) contributions made by the eligible 24 worker; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4016.IH H4016 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4016 IH (iii) a combination of the contribu- 1 tions described in clauses (i) and (ii). 2 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 3 the Secretary of Labor. 4 (6) WORK-RELATED BENEFITS.—The term 5 ‘‘work-related benefits’’ means benefits, including 6 protections, of a type that are commonly provided to 7 traditional full-time employees, such as workers’ 8 compensation, skills training, disability coverage, 9 health insurance coverage, retirement saving, income 10 security, and short-term saving. 11 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PORTABLE BENEFITS PILOT 12 PROGRAM. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 14 with the head of any other relevant Federal agency, shall 15 award grants for fiscal year 2020, on a competitive basis, 16 to eligible organizations to support broad innovation and 17 experimentation with respect to portable benefits. 18 (b) USES OF FUNDS.— 19 (1) TYPES OF GRANTS.—The grants awarded 20 under subsection (a) shall be grants for— 21 (A) the evaluation, or improvement to the 22 design or implementation, of existing models or 23 approaches for providing portable benefits; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4016.IH H4016 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4016 IH (B) the design, implementation, and eval- 1 uation of new models or approaches for pro- 2 viding such benefits. 3 (2) REQUIREMENT REGARDING RETIREMENT- 4 RELATED BENEFITS.—An eligible organization that 5 receives a grant under subsection (a) may not use 6 the grant to fund a model or approach described in 7 paragraph (1) that provides only retirement-related 8 benefits. 9 (c) POTENTIAL FOR NATIONAL APPLICABILITY.—In 10 awarding grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 11 consider the potential of the model or approach described 12 in subsection (b)(1) to be replicated on a large scale or 13 at the national level. 14 (d) APPLICATIONS.—Each eligible organization that 15 desires to receive a grant under subsection (a) shall sub- 16 mit an application to the Secretary, at such time, in such 17 manner, and accompanied by such information as the Sec- 18 retary may require. 19 SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 20 Not later than September 30, 2022, the Comptroller 21 General of the United States shall evaluate the outcome 22 of the grants awarded under section 4(a) and provide a 23 report on such evaluation to Congress. Such report shall 24 include an assessment of the impact of such grants on the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4016.IH H4016 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4016 IH compensation of workers receiving portable benefits under 1 section 4. 2 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 4 priated for fiscal year 2020— 5 (1) $5,000,000 to carry out the grants de- 6 scribed in section 4(b)(1)(A); and 7 (2) $15,000,000 to carry out the grants de- 8 scribed in section 4(b)(1)(B). 9 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated under 10 subsection (a) shall remain available until expended. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4016.IH H4016 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS