I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4781

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

JUNE 28, 2000

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. FORD, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. GARY MILLER of

California, Mr. WAMP, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. BAKER, and Mr.

CALVERT) 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 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

2 The purpose of this Act is to promote accountability

3 and fairness in the approval of apprenticeship programs

4 and registration of apprentices and to provide for the cer5 tification and registration of all apprenticeship programs

6 in a timely and efficient manner.

7 SEC. 3. ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE APPROVAL AND REG8 ISTRATION OF APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS.

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

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

11 section:

12 ‘‘SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND JUDICIAL RE13 VIEW.

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

15 Labor shall ensure the following:

16 ‘‘(1) That for each apprenticeship application

17 submitted to an entity responsible for rendering de18 cisions with respect to that application (such as a

19 State Apprenticeship Council or Bureau of Appren20 ticeship and Training)—

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

22 that application before the expiration of the pe23 riod of 90 calendar days beginning on the date

24 on which that application was submitted; or

25 ‘‘(B) if that entity cannot comply with sub26 paragraph (A), that entity shall provide written
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1 notice to the applicant of the status of the ap2 plication, and render a decision on that applica3 tion before the expiration of the period of 120

4 calendar days beginning on the date on which

5 that application was submitted; or

6 ‘‘(C) if that entity cannot comply with sub7 paragraph (B), the application shall be deemed

8 a petition for review filed under paragraph (4)

9 by the applicant on the date after the expiration

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

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

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

13 persons not directly participating in or sponsoring

14 the application object to the application.

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

16 (1) shall be promptly provided to all concerned par17 ties in a writing that sets forth clearly the factual

18 and legal basis for the decision.

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

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

21 a petition for review from that decision before the

22 Secretary or the Secretary’s designee within the De23 partment of Labor, which shall be independent of

24 the entity rendering that decision.
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1 ‘‘(5) That in the event of any factual dispute on

2 a petition for review, the applicant may request an

3 adjudicatory hearing, which shall be conducted on

4 the record pursuant to sections 554, 556, and 557

5 of title 5, United States Code.

6 ‘‘(6) That the Secretary (or designee, if applica7 ble) shall, before the expiration of the period of 30

8 days beginning on the date that the applicant filed

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

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

11 hearing), make a final determination and deliver a

12 copy of that determination to all concerned parties.

13 Such final determination shall be binding on the en14 tity responsible for rendering the decision under

15 paragraph (1).

16 ‘‘(7) That if the Secretary (or designee, if appli17 cable) fails to make such final determination before

18 the expiration of such period, such final determina19 tion shall be deemed to be to approve the applica20 tion.

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

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

23 unless the affected applicant files a petition for judicial

24 review of that final determination. Judicial review of that
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1 determination shall be on the record on which the final

2 determination is based.

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

4 of this section, the term ‘apprenticeship application’ in5 cludes any application for approval, certification, or reg6 istration of an apprentice or apprenticeship program.’’.

7 SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY.

8 The amendment made by section 3 of this Act shall

9 apply to all applications filed after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act.

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