II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 150 

To promote labor force participation of older Americans, with the goals 

of increasing retirement security, reducing the projected shortage of 

experienced workers, maintaining future economic growth, and improving 

the Nation’s fiscal outlook. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25 (legislative day, JANUARY 5), 2011 

Mr. KOHL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To promote labor force participation of older Americans, 

with the goals of increasing retirement security, reducing 

the projected shortage of experienced workers, maintaining future economic growth, and improving the Nation’s 

fiscal outlook. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Health Care and Training for Older Workers Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—COBRA CONTINUATION COVERAGE 

Sec. 101. Extended COBRA continuation coverage for certain older workers. 

Sec. 102. Repeal. 

TITLE II—EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Statewide employment and training activities. 

Sec. 203. Local employment and training activities. 

Sec. 204. Performance measures. 

Sec. 205. Reporting. 

Sec. 206. Incentive grants. 

TITLE III—CLEARINGHOUSE OF BEST PRACTICES FOR HIRING 

AND RETAINING OLDER WORKERS 

Sec. 301. Establishment. 

Sec. 302. Annual updates. 

1 TITLE I—COBRA CONTINUATION 

2 COVERAGE 

3 SEC. 101. EXTENDED COBRA CONTINUATION COVERAGE 

4 FOR CERTAIN OLDER WORKERS. 

5 (a) AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT

6 INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.—Subparagraph (A) of 

7 section 602(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Secu8 rity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1162(2)(A)) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(ix) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN

11 OLDER WORKERS.— 

12 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Notwith13 standing any other provision of this 

14 subparagraph, in the case of a quali15 fying event described in section 

16 603(2) relating to a reduction of 

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1 hours of an employee described in 

2 subclause (II), the date which is 36 

3 months after the date of the quali4 fying event, except that the period of 

5 coverage under this clause shall end 

6 on the date on which the employee be7 comes entitled to benefits under title 

8 XVIII of the Social Security Act 

9 based on age. 

10 ‘‘(II) EMPLOYEE DESCRIBED.— 

11 An employee is described in this sub12 clause if such employee, on the date of 

13 the qualifying event, is at least the 

14 early retirement age (as defined in 

15 section 216(l)(2) of the Social Secu16 rity Act) but not yet entitled to bene17 fits under title XVIII of the Social Se18 curity Act based on age.’’. 

19 (b) AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

20 ACT.—Section 2202(2)(A) of the Public Health Service 

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 300bb–2(2)(A)) is amended by inserting 

22 after clause (vi) the following: 

23 ‘‘(vii) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN

24 OLDER WORKERS.— 

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1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Notwith2 standing any other provision of this 

3 subparagraph, in the case of a quali4 fying event described in section 

5 2203(2) relating to a reduction of 

6 hours of an employee described in 

7 subclause (II), the date which is 36 

8 months after the date of the quali9 fying event, except that the period of 

10 coverage under this clause shall end 

11 on the date on which the employee be12 comes entitled to benefits under title 

13 XVIII of the Social Security Act 

14 based on age. 

15 ‘‘(II) EMPLOYEE DESCRIBED.— 

16 An employee is described in this sub17 clause if such employee, on the date of 

18 the qualifying event, is at least the 

19 early retirement age (as defined in 

20 section 216(l)(2) of the Social Secu21 rity Act) but not yet entitled to bene22 fits under title XVIII of the Social Se23 curity Act based on age.’’. 

24 (c) AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE

25 CODE OF 1986.—Section 4980B(f)(2)(B)(i) of the Intermstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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1 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after 

2 subclause (VIII) the following: 

3 ‘‘(IX) SPECIAL RULE FOR CER4 TAIN OLDER WORKERS.— 

5 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—Not6 withstanding any other provision 

7 of this clause, in the case of a 

8 qualifying event described in 

9 paragraph (3)(B) relating to a 

10 reduction of hours of an em11 ployee described in item (bb), the 

12 date which is 36 months after 

13 the date of the qualifying event, 

14 except that the period of coverage 

15 under this clause shall end on the 

16 date on which the employee be17 comes entitled to benefits under 

18 title XVIII of the Social Security 

19 Act based on age. 

20 ‘‘(bb) EMPLOYEE DE21 SCRIBED.—An employee is de22 scribed in this subclause if such 

23 employee, on the date of the 

24 qualifying event, is at least the 

25 early retirement age (as defined 

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1 in section 216(l)(2) of the Social 

2 Security Act) but not yet entitled 

3 to benefits under title XVIII of 

4 the Social Security Act based on 

5 age.’’. 

6 SEC. 102. REPEAL. 

7 The amendments made by section 101 shall be re8 pealed effective on January 1, 2014. 

9 TITLE II—EMPLOYMENT AND 

10 TRAINING 

11 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

12 Section 101 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 

13 (29 U.S.C. 2801) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (17) through 

15 (53) as paragraphs (18) through (54), respectively; 

16 and 

17 (2) by inserting after paragraph (16) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(17) HARD-TO-SERVE POPULATIONS.—The 

20 term ‘hard-to-serve populations’ means populations 

21 of individuals who are hard to serve, including dis22 placed homemakers, low-income individuals, Native 

23 Americans, individuals with disabilities, older indi24 viduals, ex-offenders, homeless individuals, individ25 uals with limited English proficiency, individuals 

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1 who do not meet the definition of literacy in section 

2 203, individuals facing substantial cultural barriers, 

3 migrant and seasonal farmworkers, individuals with4 in 2 years of exhausting lifetime eligibility under 

5 part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), single parents (including single 

7 pregnant women), and such other groups as the 

8 Governor determines to be hard to serve.’’. 

9 SEC. 202. STATEWIDE EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ACTIVI10 TIES. 

11 Section 134(a)(3)(A) of the Workforce Investment 

12 Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2864(a)(3)(A)) is amended— 

13 (1) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

14 (2) by redesignating clause (vii) as clause (viii); 

15 and 

16 (3) by inserting after clause (vi) the following: 

17 ‘‘(vii) developing strategies for effec18 tively serving hard-to-serve populations 

19 and for coordinating programs and services 

20 among one-stop partners; and’’. 

21 SEC. 203. LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES. 

22 (a) INTENSIVE SERVICES.—Section 134(d)(3) of the 

23 Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 

24 2864(d)(3)) is amended by striking subparagraph (A) and 

25 inserting the following: 

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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

2 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY.—Except as pro3 vided in clause (iii), funds allocated to a 

4 local area for adults under paragraph 

5 (2)(A) or (3), as appropriate, of section 

6 133(b), and funds allocated to the local 

7 area for dislocated workers under section 

8 133(b)(2)(B), shall be used to provide in9 tensive services to adults and dislocated 

10 workers, respectively— 

11 ‘‘(I) who are unemployed and 

12 who, after an interview, evaluation, or 

13 assessment, have been determined by 

14 a one-stop operator or one-stop part15 ner to be— 

16 ‘‘(aa) unlikely or unable to 

17 obtain employment, that leads to 

18 self-sufficiency or wages com19 parable to or higher than pre20 vious employment, through core 

21 services described in paragraph 

22 (2); and 

23 ‘‘(bb) in need of intensive 

24 services to obtain employment 

25 that leads to self-sufficiency or 

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1 wages comparable to or higher 

2 than previous employment; or 

3 ‘‘(II) who are employed, but who, 

4 after an interview, evaluation, or as5 sessment, are determined by a one6 stop operator or one-stop partner to 

7 be in need of intensive services to ob8 tain or retain employment that leads 

9 to self-sufficiency. 

10 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATION.—For purposes 

11 of determining whether an adult or dis12 located worker meets the requirements of 

13 clause (i)(I)(aa), a one-stop operator or 

14 one-stop partner shall consider whether the 

15 adult or dislocated worker is a member of 

16 a hard-to-serve population. 

17 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL RULE.—A new inter18 view, evaluation, or assessment of a partic19 ipant is not required under clause (i) if the 

20 one-stop operator or one-stop partner de21 termines that it is appropriate to use a re22 cent assessment of the participant con23 ducted pursuant to another education or 

24 training program.’’. 

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1 (b) TRAINING SERVICES.—Section 134(d)(4) of such 

2 Act (29 U.S.C. 2864(d)(4)) is amended by striking sub3 paragraph (A) and inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

5 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY.—Except as pro6 vided in clause (iii), funds allocated to a 

7 local area for adults under paragraph 

8 (2)(A) or (3), as appropriate, of section 

9 133(b), and funds allocated to the local 

10 area for dislocated workers under section 

11 133(b)(2)(B), shall be used to provide 

12 training services to adults and dislocated 

13 workers, respectively— 

14 ‘‘(I) who, after an interview, eval15 uation, or assessment, and case man16 agement, have been determined by a 

17 one-stop operator or one-stop partner, 

18 as appropriate, to— 

19 ‘‘(aa) be unlikely or unable 

20 to obtain or retain employment, 

21 that leads to self-sufficiency or 

22 wages comparable to or higher 

23 than previous employment, 

24 through the intensive services de25 scribed in paragraph (3); 

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1 ‘‘(bb) be in need of training 

2 services to obtain or retain em3 ployment that leads to self-suffi4 ciency or wages comparable to or 

5 higher than previous employ6 ment; and 

7 ‘‘(cc) have the skills and 

8 qualifications to successfully par9 ticipate in the selected program 

10 of training services; 

11 ‘‘(II) who select programs of 

12 training services that are directly 

13 linked to the employment opportuni14 ties in the local area or region in15 volved or in another area to which the 

16 adults or dislocated workers are will17 ing to commute or relocate; 

18 ‘‘(III) who meet the requirements 

19 of subparagraph (B); and 

20 ‘‘(IV) who are determined to be 

21 eligible in accordance with the priority 

22 system in effect under subparagraph 

23 (E). 

24 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATION.—For purposes 

25 of determining whether an adult or dismstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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1 located worker meets the requirements of 

2 clause (i)(I)(aa), a one-stop operator or 

3 one-stop partner shall consider whether the 

4 adult or dislocated worker is a member of 

5 a hard-to-serve population. 

6 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL RULE.—A new inter7 view, evaluation, or assessment of a partic8 ipant is not required under clause (i) if the 

9 one-stop operator or one-stop partner de10 termines that it is appropriate to use a re11 cent assessment of the participant con12 ducted pursuant to another education or 

13 training program.’’. 

14 (c) LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ACTIVI15 TIES.—Section 134(e)(1)(A) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 

16 2864(e)(1)(A)) is amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

18 the end; 

19 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

20 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(C) customer support to enable members 

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1 tiple services and activities for such popu2 lations.’’. 

3 SEC. 204. PERFORMANCE MEASURES. 

4 (a) STATE PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—Section 

5 136(b)(3)(A)(iv)(II) of the Workforce Investment Act of 

6 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2871(b)(3)(A)(iv)(II)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘taking into account’’ and in8 serting ‘‘and shall ensure that the levels involved are 

9 adjusted, using objective statistical methods, based 

10 on’’; 

11 (2) by inserting ‘‘(such as differences in unem12 ployment rates and job losses or gains in particular 

13 industries)’’ after ‘‘economic conditions’’; and 

14 (3) by inserting ‘‘(such as indicators of poor 

15 work history, lack of work experience, lack of edu16 cational or occupational skills attainment, dislocation 

17 from high-wage and benefit employment, low levels 

18 of literacy or English proficiency, disability status, 

19 older individual status, homelessness, ex-offender 

20 status, and welfare dependency)’’ after ‘‘program’’. 

21 (b) LOCAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—Section 

22 136(c)(3) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2871(c)(3))— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘shall take into account’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘shall ensure that the levels involved are 

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1 adjusted, using objective statistical methods, based 

2 on’’; 

3 (2) by inserting ‘‘(characteristics such as unem4 ployment rates and job losses or gains in particular 

5 industries)’’ after ‘‘economic’’; and 

6 (3) by inserting ‘‘(characteristics such as indi7 cators of poor work history, lack of work experience, 

8 lack of educational and occupational skills attain9 ment, dislocation from high-wage and benefit em10 ployment, low levels of literacy or English pro11 ficiency, disability status, older individual status, 

12 homelessness, ex-offender status, and welfare de13 pendency)’’ after ‘‘demographic’’. 

14 (c) WAGE RECORDS AND DOCUMENTED DATA.—Sec15 tion 136(f)(2) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2871(f)(2)) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and all that follows 

18 through ‘‘In’’ and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) WAGE RECORDS AND DOCUMENTED

20 DATA.— 

21 ‘‘(A) WAGE RECORDS.—In’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(B) DOCUMENTED DATA.—In measuring 

24 the progress of the State with respect to older 

25 individuals on State and local performance 

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1 measures relating to earnings, a State may use 

2 documented data other than quarterly wage 

3 records to determine the work schedule of the 

4 older individuals, and may impute full-time 

5 earnings to part-time workers who are older in6 dividuals.’’. 

7 SEC. 205. REPORTING. 

8 Section 136(d)(2) of the Workforce Investment Act 

9 of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2871(d)(2)) is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘(exclud11 ing participants who received only self-service and 

12 informational activities)’’; and 

13 (2) in subparagraph (F)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘(F)’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘(F)(i)’’; 

16 (B) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; 

17 and’’; and 

18 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(ii) the number of participants in 

20 each of the groups described in clause (i) 

21 who have received services authorized 

22 under this title, in the form of core serv23 ices described in section 134(d)(2), inten24 sive services described in section 134(d)(3), 

25 training services described in section 

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1 134(d)(4), and followup services, respec2 tively;’’. 

3 SEC. 206. INCENTIVE GRANTS. 

4 (a) USE OF FUNDS FOR STATEWIDE EMPLOYMENT

5 AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES.—Section 134(a)(2)(B) of the 

6 Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 

7 2864(a)(2)(B)) is amended— 

8 (1) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

9 (2) in clause (vi), by striking the period and in10 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(vii) providing incentive grants to 

13 local areas, in accordance with section 

14 136(j).’’. 

15 (b) INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR LOCAL AREAS.—Section 

16 136 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2871) is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(j) INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR LOCAL AREAS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From funds reserved under 

20 sections 128(a) and 133(a)(1), the Governor in21 volved shall award incentive grants to local areas for 

22 performance described in paragraph (2) in carrying 

23 out programs under chapters 4 and 5. 

24 ‘‘(2) BASIS.—The Governor shall award the 

25 grants on the basis that the local areas— 

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1 ‘‘(A) have exceeded the performance meas2 ures established under subsection (c)(2) relating 

3 to indicators described in subsection 

4 (b)(3)(A)(iii); or 

5 ‘‘(B) have— 

6 ‘‘(i) met the performance measures es7 tablished under subsection (c)(2) relating 

8 to indicators described in subsection 

9 (b)(3)(A)(iii); and 

10 ‘‘(ii) demonstrated exemplary per11 formance in the State in serving hard-to12 serve populations. 

13 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds awarded to a 

14 local area under this subsection may be used to 

15 carry out activities authorized for local areas and 

16 such innovative projects or programs that increase 

17 coordination and enhance service to program partici18 pants, particularly hard-to-serve populations, as may 

19 be approved by the Governor.’’. 

20 (c) INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR STATES.—Section 503 

21 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 9273) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

25 ‘‘(1) TIMELINE.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) PRIOR TO JULY 1, 2012.—Prior to 

2 July 1, 2012, the Secretary shall award a grant 

3 to each State in accordance with the provisions 

4 of this section as this section was in effect on 

5 July 1, 2003. 

6 ‘‘(B) BEGINNING JULY 1, 2012.—Beginning 

7 on July 1, 2012, the Secretary shall award in8 centive grants to States for performance de9 scribed in paragraph (2) in carrying out innova10 tive programs consistent with the programs 

11 under chapters 4 and 5 of subtitle B of title I, 

12 to implement or enhance innovative and coordi13 nated programs consistent with the statewide 

14 economic, workforce, and educational interests 

15 of the State. 

16 ‘‘(2) BASIS.—The Secretary shall award the 

17 grants on the basis that States— 

18 ‘‘(A) have exceeded the State adjusted lev19 els of performance for title I, the adjusted levels 

20 of performance for title II, and the levels of 

21 performance under the Carl D. Perkins Voca22 tional and Technical Education Act of 1998 (20 

23 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); or 

24 ‘‘(B) have— 

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1 ‘‘(i) met the State adjusted levels of 

2 performance for title I, the adjusted levels 

3 of performance for title II, and the levels 

4 of performance under the Carl D. Perkins 

5 Vocational and Technical Education Act of 

6 1998 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) demonstrated exemplary per8 formance in serving hard-to-serve popu9 lations. 

10 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds awarded to a 

11 State under this section may be used to carry out 

12 activities authorized for States under chapters 4 and 

13 5 of subtitle B of title I, title II, and the Carl D. 

14 Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 

15 1998 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), including demonstra16 tion projects, and for such innovative projects or 

17 programs that increase coordination and enhance 

18 service to program participants, particularly hard-to19 serve populations.’’; and 

20 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking subpara21 graph (C) and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(C) the State meets the requirements of 

23 subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(2).’’. 

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1 TITLE III—CLEARINGHOUSE OF 

2 BEST PRACTICES FOR HIRING 

3 AND RETAINING OLDER 

4 WORKERS 

5 SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT. 

6 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall— 

8 (1) identify best practices for hiring and retain9 ing older workers in the private and public sectors; 

10 and 

11 (2) make such information publicly available 

12 through the Internet. 

13 SEC. 302. ANNUAL UPDATES. 

14 The Secretary of Labor shall update the practices 

15 identified under section 301(1) and make such informa16 tion publicly available as provided under section 301(2) 

17 on an annual basis. 

Æ 

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