Relaunching America’s Workforce Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3659 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 MAY 7, 2020 Mr. DURBIN (for Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. KAINE, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. JONES, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. COONS, Ms. HASSAN, and Mr. REED)) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 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 02:14 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S3659.IS S3659 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3659 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. COVID–19 career and technical education response flexibility. Sec. 203. Perkins career and technical education. Sec. 204. General provisions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S3659.IS S3659 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3659 IS SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) APPRENTICESHIP OPPORTUNITY; APPREN- 3 TICESHIP PROGRAM.—The terms ‘‘apprenticeship op- 4 portunity’’ and ‘‘apprenticeship program’’ mean an 5 opportunity in an apprenticeship program, and an 6 apprenticeship program, that is registered by the Of- 7 fice of Apprenticeship or a State apprenticeship 8 agency under the Act of August 16, 1937 (com- 9 monly known as the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’) 10 (50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), 11 including, as in effect on December 30, 2019, any 12 requirement, standard, or rule promulgated under 13 that Act. 14 (2) CORONAVIRUS.—The term ‘‘coronavirus’’ 15 means coronavirus as defined in section 506 of the 16 Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supple- 17 mental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116– 18 123). 19 (3) COVID–19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—The 20 term ‘‘COVID–19 national emergency’’ means the 21 national emergency declared by the President under 22 the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et 23 seq.) on March 13, 2020, with respect to the 24 coronavirus. 25 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3659.IS S3659 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3659 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 If funds awarded under this Act, including all funds 8 awarded for the purposes of grants, contracts or coopera- 9 tive agreements, or the development, implementation, or 10 administration of apprenticeship programs (or apprentice- 11 ship opportunities), are used to fund apprenticeship pro- 12 grams (or apprenticeship opportunities), those funds shall 13 only be provided to apprenticeship programs (or opportu- 14 nities in apprenticeship programs) that meet the definition 15 of an apprenticeship program under section 2 of this Act. 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 02:14 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3659.IS S3659 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3659 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 02:14 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3659.IS S3659 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3659 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)); and 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. 18 (2) INDIVIDUALIZED CAREER SERVICES.—Such 19 funds may be used to provide individualized career 20 services described in section 134(c)(2)(A)(xii) of the 21 Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (29 22 U.S.C. 3174(c)(2)(A)(xii)) to any such eligible adult 23 and dislocated worker. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3659.IS S3659 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3659 IS (3) INCUMBENT WORKER TRAINING.—In a case 1 in which the local board for such local area provides 2 to the Secretary an assurance that the local area will 3 use such allocated funds (allocated for adult or dis- 4 located worker activities) to provide the work sup- 5 port activities designed to assist low-wage workers in 6 retaining and enhancing employment in accordance 7 with section 134(d)(1)(B) of the Workforce Innova- 8 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 9 3174(d)(1)(B)), such local board may— 10 (A) use not more than 40 percent of such 11 allocated funds for a training program for in- 12 cumbent workers described in section 13 134(d)(4)(A)(i) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 14 3174(d)(4)(A)(i)) (for such low-wage workers 15 who are incumbent workers); and 16 (B) consider the economic impact of the 17 COVID–19 national emergency to the employer 18 or participants of such program in determining 19 an employer’s eligibility under section 20 134(d)(4)(A)(ii) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 21 3174(d)(4)(A)(ii))) for the Federal share of the 22 cost of such program. 23 (4) TRANSITIONAL JOBS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3659.IS S3659 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3659 IS (A) IN GENERAL.—The local board for 1 such local area may use not more than 40 per- 2 cent of such allocated funds to provide transi- 3 tional jobs in accordance with section 134(d)(5) 4 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 5 Act (29 U.S.C. 3174(d)(5)). 6 (B) CLARIFICATION.—Section 194(10) of 7 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 8 (29 U.S.C. 3254(10)) shall not apply with re- 9 spect to the funds used under this paragraph. 10 (5) ON-THE-JOB TRAINING.—The Governor for 11 the State or the local board for such area may take 12 into account the impact of the COVID–19 national 13 emergency as a factor in determining whether to in- 14 crease the amount of a reimbursement to an amount 15 up to 75 percent of the wage rate of a participant 16 in accordance with 134(c)(3)(H) of the Workforce 17 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 18 3174(c)(3)(H)). 19 (6) CUSTOMIZED TRAINING.—The Governor for 20 the State or local board for such area may take into 21 account the impact of the COVID–19 national emer- 22 gency as a factor in determining the portion of the 23 cost of training an employer shall provide in accord- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3659.IS S3659 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3659 IS ance with section 3(14) of the Workforce Innovation 1 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102(14)). 2 (b) YOUTH.—With respect to funds appropriated 3 under section 114(d) and allotted or allocated under sub- 4 title B of title I of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor- 5 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3151 et seq.) for the activities de- 6 scribed in chapter 2 of subtitle B of title I of the Work- 7 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3161 et 8 seq.) for out-of-school youth and in-school youth (as such 9 terms are defined in section 129(a)(1) of the Workforce 10 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3164(a)(1))), 11 the Governor or local board involved may determine that— 12 (1) in the case of an individual described in sec- 13 tion 2102(a)(3)(A) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, 14 and Economic Security Act (15 U.S.C. 15 9021(a)(3)(A))) who meets the requirements of 16 clauses (i) and (ii) of section 129(a)(1)(B) of the 17 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 18 U.S.C. 3164(a)(1)(B)), such individual meets the 19 definition of an out-of-school youth in such section 20 129(a)(1)(B); and 21 (2) in the case of an individual described in sec- 22 tion 2102(a)(3)(A) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, 23 and Economic Security Act who meets the require- 24 ments of clauses (i) through (iii) of section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3659.IS S3659 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3659 IS 129(a)(1)(C) of the Workforce Innovation and Op- 1 portunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3164(a)(1)(C)), such indi- 2 vidual meets the definition of an in-school youth in 3 such section 129(a)(1)(C). 4 (c) GOVERNOR’S RESERVE.—With respect to funds 5 appropriated under section 113(d), 114(d), or 115(c) and 6 allotted under subtitle B of title I of the Workforce Inno- 7 vation and Opportunity Act to a State in accordance with 8 section 127(b)(1)(C) and paragraphs (1)(B) and (2)(B) 9 of section 132(b) of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor- 10 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3162(b)(1)(C); 3172(b)), the Gov- 11 ernor— 12 (1) shall make the reservations under section 13 128(a) and 133(a)(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 14 3163(a); 3173(a)(1)) and use the reserved funds for 15 statewide activities described in section 129(b) or 16 paragraph (2)(B) or (3) of section 134(a) of such 17 Act (29 U.S.C. 3164(b); 3174(a)) related to the 18 COVID–19 national emergency; and 19 (2) may make a reservation (in addition to the 20 reservations described in paragraph (1)) of not more 21 than 10 percent for activities related to responding 22 to the COVID–19 national emergency if such re- 23 served funds are used for activities benefitting the 24 local areas within such State most impacted by the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 May 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3659.IS S3659 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3659 IS COVID–19 national emergency, which activities may 1 include providing— 2 (A) training for health care workers, public 3 health workers, personal care attendants, direct 4 service providers, home health workers, and 5 frontline workers; 6 (B) resources to support, or allow for and 7 provide access to, online services, including 8 counseling, case management, and employment 9 retention services, and training delivery by local 10 boards, one-stop centers, one-stop operators, or 11 eligible training services providers; or 12 (C) additional resources to such local areas 13 to provide career services and supportive serv- 14 ices for eligible individuals. 15 (d) STATE WORKFORCE COVID–19 RECOVERY 16 PLAN.—Not later than 60 days after a State receives 17 funds appropriated under section 113(d), 114(d), or 18 115(c), the Governor shall submit to the Secretar [Text truncated for display. 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