I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1660

To amend the National Apprenticeship Act to provide that applications relating to apprenticeship programs are processed in a fair and timely manner, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2003

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. HINOJOSA, and Mr. MCKEON) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL

To amend the National Apprenticeship Act to provide that 

applications relating to apprenticeship programs are 

processed in a fair and timely manner, and for other 

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Apprenticeship En5 hancement Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to promote accountability 

8 and fairness in the approval of apprenticeship programs 
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1 and registration of apprentices and to provide for the cer2 tification and registration of all apprenticeship programs 

3 in a timely and efficient manner. 

4 SEC. 3. ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE APPROVAL AND REG5 ISTRATION OF APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. 

6 The National Apprenticeship Act (29 U.S.C. 50 et 

7 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

8 section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND JUDICIAL RE10 VIEW. 

11 ‘‘(a) PROCEDURES REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 

12 Labor shall ensure the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) That for each apprenticeship application 

14 submitted to an entity responsible for rendering de15 cisions with respect to that application (such as a 

16 State Apprenticeship Council or Bureau of Appren17 ticeship and Training)—

18 ‘‘(A) that entity shall render a decision on 

19 that application before the expiration of the pe20 riod of 90 calendar days beginning on the date 

21 on which that application was submitted; or 

22 ‘‘(B) if that entity cannot comply with sub23 paragraph (A), that entity shall provide written 

24 notice to the applicant of the status of the ap25 plication, and render a decision on that applica-
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1 tion before the expiration of the period of 120 

2 calendar days beginning on the date on which 

3 that application was submitted; or 

4 ‘‘(C) if that entity cannot comply with sub5 paragraph (B), the application shall be deemed 

6 a petition for review filed under paragraph (4) 

7 by the applicant on the date after the expiration 

8 of the period referred to in subparagraph (B). 

9 ‘‘(2) That each decision described in paragraph 

10 (1) shall be rendered without sole regard to whether 

11 persons not directly participating in or sponsoring 

12 the application object to the application. 

13 ‘‘(3) That each decision described in paragraph 

14 (1) shall be promptly provided to all concerned par15 ties in a writing that sets forth clearly the factual 

16 and legal basis for the decision. 

17 ‘‘(4) That any applicant aggrieved by a decision 

18 rendered under paragraph (1) shall be entitled to file 

19 a petition for review from that decision before the 

20 Secretary or the Secretary’s designee within the De21 partment of Labor, which shall be independent of 

22 the entity rendering that decision. 

23 ‘‘(5) That in the event of any factual dispute on 

24 a petition for review, the applicant may request an 

25 adjudicatory hearing, which shall be conducted on 
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1 the record pursuant to sections 554, 556, and 557 

2 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 ‘‘(6) That the Secretary (or designee, if applica4 ble) shall, before the expiration of the period of 30 

5 days beginning on the date that the applicant filed 

6 the petition for review (or, if the applicant requested 

7 an adjudicatory hearing, the date of the end of that 

8 hearing), make a final determination and deliver a 

9 copy of that determination to all concerned parties. 

10 Such final determination shall be binding on the en11 tity responsible for rendering the decision under 

12 paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(7) That if the Secretary (or designee, if appli14 cable) fails to make such final determination before 

15 the expiration of such period, such final determina16 tion shall be deemed to be to approve the applica17 tion. 

18 ‘‘(b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A final determination 

19 under subsection (a)(6) shall be binding on the applicant 

20 unless the affected applicant files a petition for judicial 

21 review of that final determination. Judicial review of that 

22 determination shall be on the record on which the final 

23 determination is based. 

24 ‘‘(c) APPRENTICESHIP APPLICATION.—For purposes 

25 of this section, the term ‘apprenticeship application’ in-
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1 cludes any application for approval, certification, or reg2 istration of an apprentice or apprenticeship program.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY. 

4 The amendment made by section 3 of this Act shall 

5 apply to all applications filed after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act.

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