I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 690

To amend the National Literacy Act of 1991 to establish in the Department

of Labor an Office of Workplace Education to provide workplace education services to small businesses and to provide grants to States to

improve the productivity of those businesses.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 27, 1993

Mr. REGULA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Education and Labor

A BILL

To amend the National Literacy Act of 1991 to establish

in the Department of Labor an Office of Workplace

Education to provide workplace education services to

small businesses and to provide grants to States to improve the productivity of those businesses.

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 ‘‘Workplace Education

5 Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF WORKPLACE EDU2 CATION IN DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 201 of the National Lit4 eracy Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–73; 105 Stat. 342)

5 is amended—

6 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b);

7 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub8 section (d); and

9 (3) by inserting before subsection (d) the fol10 lowing new subsections:

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor

13 shall establish in the Employment and Training Ad14 ministration an Office of Workplace Education for

15 the purpose of providing workplace education serv16 ices to small businesses.

17 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The Office of Workplace

18 Education shall have a Director (in this section re19 ferred to as the ‘Director’), who shall be paid at a

20 rate equal to level 5 of the Executive Schedule.

21 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Director shall—

22 ‘‘(1) establish and carry out the workplace edu23 cation grant program under subsection (c), includ24 ing—
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1 ‘‘(A) establishing standards for the estab2 lishment, staffing, and activities of State offices

3 of workplace education;

4 ‘‘(B) establishing standards for the em5 ployment, qualifications, training, and activities

6 of workforce specialists;

7 ‘‘(C) establishing standards for the admin8 istration of State demonstration grant pro9 grams;

10 ‘‘(D) providing States with technical as11 sistance in providing workplace education serv12 ices; and

13 ‘‘(E) monitoring and collecting information

14 on—

15 ‘‘(i) the performance of States under

16 the grant program; and

17 ‘‘(ii) problems relating to workplace

18 education and the provision of workplace

19 services to solve such problems nationwide;

20 ‘‘(2) conduct national research and development

21 projects to improve the understanding of workplace

22 education, including—

23 ‘‘(A) funding and evaluating demonstration

24 programs in workplace education;
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1 ‘‘(B) assessing and evaluating workplace

2 education programs; and

3 ‘‘(C) assessing and evaluating State and

4 national policies affecting workplace education;

5 ‘‘(3) develop and disseminate information on

6 workplace education on a nationwide basis; and

7 ‘‘(4) enlist small businesses, labor organiza8 tions, and other appropriate entities in efforts to dis9 seminate information and provide technical assist10 ance on workplace education to the employees or

11 members of such entities.

12 ‘‘(c) WORKPLACE EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM.—

13 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.—

14 ‘‘(A) STATES.—The Director shall provide

15 grants to States for the purpose of establishing

16 workplace education programs to improve the

17 productivity of small businesses in such States.

18 ‘‘(B) TERRITORIES.—

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not more than 1

20 percent of the amount authorized to be ap21 propriated to carry out this section for

22 each fiscal year shall be used by the Direc23 tor to provide grants to the territories for

24 the purpose of establishing workplace edu-
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1 cation programs to improve the productiv2 ity of small businesses in such territories.

3 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—To receive a

4 grant under clause (i), a territory shall

5 comply with requirements similar to the re6 quirements for States in this subsection, as

7 determined by the Director.

8 ‘‘(C) PERIOD OF GRANT.—A grant under

9 subparagraph (A) or (B) may extend over a pe10 riod of not more than 5 fiscal years. The provi11 sion of payments under such grant shall be sub12 ject to annual approval by the Director and

13 subject to the availability of appropriations for

14 the fiscal year involved to make the payments.

15 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant

17 under paragraph (1)(A), a State shall submit to

18 the Director an application which contains—

19 ‘‘(i) a plan containing the number of

20 workforce education districts to be estab21 lished by the State office in accordance

22 with paragraph (3)(B)(i); and

23 ‘‘(ii) such information as the Director

24 may reasonably require.
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1 ‘‘(B) ASSURANCES.—Such application shall

2 include assurances that the State shall—

3 ‘‘(i) use Federal funds received from a

4 grant under paragraph (1)(A) to supple5 ment, not supplant, non-Federal funds

6 that would otherwise be available for

7 projects funded under such paragraph;

8 ‘‘(ii) submit, for any fiscal year in

9 which such State receives funds from a

10 grant under such paragraph, a report to

11 the Director describing the use of such

12 grant, including—

13 ‘‘(I) the number of small busi14 nesses receiving assistance pursuant

15 to paragraph (3)(B); and

16 ‘‘(II) any other information the

17 Director determines to be appropriate;

18 and

19 ‘‘(iii) use not less than 17 percent of

20 amounts received from a grant under para21 graph (1)(A) to establish and carry out the

22 demonstration grant program under para23 graph (3)(D).
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1 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants made under

2 paragraph (1)(A) may be used by a State only in ac3 cordance with the following requirements:

4 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE OFFICE

5 OF WORKPLACE EDUCATION.—The State shall,

6 for the purpose of providing workplace edu7 cation services in such State, establish a State

8 office of workplace education in 1 of the follow9 ing entities:

10 ‘‘(i) A State agency that has respon11 sibility for education, training, or economic

12 development policy.

13 ‘‘(ii) A State literacy resource center

14 established pursuant to section 356 of the

15 Adult Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1208aa).

16 ‘‘(iii) An institution of higher edu17 cation.

18 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The State office estab19 lished under subparagraph (A) shall meet the

20 following requirements:

21 ‘‘(i) Subject to subparagraph (C), the

22 State office shall establish workplace edu23 cation districts throughout the State—

24 ‘‘(I) in which at least 1 institu25 tion of higher education which has ex-
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1 isting workplace education programs

2 (or will establish such programs not

3 later than the date on which the State

4 in which such institution is located

5 will receive a grant under paragraph

6 (1)(A)) is located, to provide small

7 businesses with access to workplace

8 education programs; and

9 ‘‘(II) which are of a sufficient

10 number in order to allow ease of ac11 cess by small businesses located in the

12 State to utilize the services provided

13 at institutions of higher education lo14 cated in each district.

15 ‘‘(ii) The State office shall hire

16 workforce specialists and place 1 workforce

17 specialist, including necessary support

18 staff, in 1 of the institutions of higher edu19 cation located in each district to—

20 ‘‘(I) serve as a local point of con21 tact for small businesses interested in

22 workplace education programs at such

23 institution or other suitable education

24 providers;
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1 ‘‘(II) analyze the needs of indi2 vidual small businesses for the pur3 pose of designing workplace education

4 programs that meet the needs of such

5 businesses;

6 ‘‘(III) refer small businesses to

7 such institution or other suitable edu8 cation providers for the purpose of

9 providing workplace education pro10 grams to the employees of such busi11 nesses, provided that such businesses

12 shall reimburse such institution or

13 other suitable education provider in

14 an amount equal to at least 75 per15 cent of the cost of the programs at16 tributable to such businesses, includ17 ing instructional time, materials, and

18 facilities;

19 ‘‘(IV) assist in negotiating finan20 cial, logistical, and other arrange21 ments between small businesses and

22 the institution of higher education or

23 suitable education provider;

24 ‘‘(V) provide technical assistance

25 and training to the staff of the insti-
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1 tution of higher education or suitable

2 education provider for the purpose of

3 providing workplace education pro4 grams;

5 ‘‘(VI) enlist the help of small

6 businesses and labor groups in the

7 provision of such programs; and

8 ‘‘(VII) provide small businesses

9 with information on workplace edu10 cation services in general.

11 ‘‘(iii) The State office shall monitor

12 and supervise the activities of workforce

13 specialists.

14 ‘‘(iv) The State office shall encourage

15 local educational agencies and other local

16 agencies, small businesses, labor organiza17 tions, community-based organizations, and

18 other private organizations to cooperate

19 with workforce specialists.

20 ‘‘(v) The State office shall produce

21 and disseminate information to the entities

22 described in clause (iv) and the general

23 public on the need for and means of imple24 menting workplace education programs.
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1 ‘‘(vi) The State office shall conduct

2 research and demonstration programs to

3 promote the understanding and acceptance

4 of workplace education and encourage the

5 use of and improvement of state-of-the-art

6 workplace education services.

7 ‘‘(vii) The State office shall, in con8 junction with the Office of Workplace Edu9 cation and workforce specialists, conduct

10 Statewide or regional training programs

11 for teachers and administrators at institu12 tions of higher education, small businesses,

13 labor organizations, community-based or14 ganizations, and other individuals and enti15 ties that are engaged, or wish to become

16 engaged, in the provision of workplace edu17 cation services.

18 ‘‘(C) WORKPLACE EDUCATION DISTRICT

19 REQUIREMENTS.—In establishing workplace

20 education districts, the State office shall—

21 ‘‘(i) if the amount of the grant re22 ceived by the State under paragraph

23 (1)(A) is greater than an amount equal to

24 $100,000 multiplied by the number of such

25 districts established by the State in its ap-
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1 plication, place at least 1 workforce spe2 cialist at an institution of higher education

3 in each district; and

4 ‘‘(ii) if the amount of the grant re5 ceived by the State under paragraph

6 (1)(A) is less than an amount equal to

7 $100,000 multiplied by the number of such

8 districts established by the State in its ap9 plication, place at least 1 workforce spe10 cialist at an institution of higher education

11 in each district that the State office deter12 mines to be appropriate.

13 ‘‘(D) DEMONSTRATION GRANT PRO14 GRAM.—

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State office

16 shall make grants to eligible small busi17 nesses for the purpose of paying the cost

18 of instructional services and course mate19 rials of any workplace education program

20 conducted pursuant to subparagraph (B)

21 attributable to the employees of such busi22 nesses.

23 ‘‘(ii) APPLICATION.—To receive a

24 grant under clause (i), an eligible small

25 business shall submit an application to the
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1 State office at such time, in such form,

2 and containing such information as the of3 fice may reasonably require.

4 ‘‘(iii) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants made

5 under clause (i) may be used by an eligible

6 small business only to reimburse an insti7 tution of higher education for the cost of

8 instructional services and course materials

9 of any workplace education program con10 ducted pursuant to subparagraph (B) at11 tributable to the employees of such busi12 ness.

13 ‘‘(iv) ALLOCATION REQUIREMENT.—

14 The State office may not make grants

15 under clause (i) to any eligible small busi16 ness in an amount equal to or more than

17 $25,000.

18 ‘‘(v) ELIGIBLE SMALL BUSINESS DE19 FINED.—For purposes of this subpara20 graph, the term ‘eligible small business’

21 means a business with 75 or fewer employ22 ees.

23 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—

24 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of the

25 amount received from a grant under para-
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1 graph (1)(A), the State shall not use more

2 than 8 percent of such amount for admin3 istrative costs, of which not less than 5

4 percent, or $300,000, whichever is greater,

5 shall be used for administrative costs in6 curred by the State office of workplace

7 education established under paragraph

8 (3)(A). If the State uses less than 8 per9 cent of such amount, then the remainder

10 of such amount shall be included in the

11 amount used by the State to carry out the

12 demonstration grant program established

13 under paragraph (3)(D).

14 ‘‘(ii) MATCHING FUNDS.—The State

15 shall provide non-Federal funds in any fis16 cal year for the purpose of conducting the

17 program under paragraph (1)(A), in an

18 amount equal to—

19 ‘‘(I) with respect to the 1st and

20 2nd fiscal years in which a State re21 ceives funds from a grant under para22 graph (1)(A), not less than 20 percent

23 of Federal funds provided to the State

24 in each of such fiscal years;
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1 ‘‘(II) with respect to the 3rd and

2 4th fiscal years in which a State re3 ceives funds from a grant under para4 graph (1)(A), not less than 30 percent

5 of Federal funds provided to the State

6 in each of such fiscal years; and

7 ‘‘(III) with respect to the 5th fis8 cal year in which a State receives

9 funds from a grant under paragraph

10 (1)(A), not less than 40 percent of

11 Federal funds provided to the State in

12 such fiscal year.

13 ‘‘(5) ALLOCATION REQUIREMENT BASED ON

14 POPULATION.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In providing grants

16 under paragraph (1)(A), the Director shall

17 award grants in a greater amount to States

18 with larger populations, as determined by the

19 Director.

20 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The Director shall not

21 provide grants under paragraph (1)(A) in a fis22 cal year to any State in an amount totaling

23 more than 10 percent of amounts appropriated

24 to carry out this section for that fiscal year.
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1 ‘‘(6) REPORT.—Not later than September 30,

2 1994, and at the end of each fiscal year thereafter,

3 the Secretary of Labor shall submit to the President

4 and the Congress a report containing—

5 ‘‘(A) a compilation of the information con6 tained in the reports received by the Director

7 under paragraph (2)(B)(ii); and

8 ‘‘(B) an evaluation of the effectiveness of

9 the grant program.

10 ‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec11 tion, the following definitions apply:

12 ‘‘(A) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU13 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu14 cation’ has the meaning given such term in sec15 tion 1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of

16 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)).

17 ‘‘(B) SMALL BUSINESS.—The term ‘small

18 business’ means a business with 500 or fewer

19 employees.

20 ‘‘(C) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means

21 each of the several States and the District of

22 Columbia.

23 ‘‘(D) TERRITORIES.—The term ‘territories’

24 means American Samoa, the Federated States

25 of Micronesia, Guam, the Republic of the Mar-
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1 shall Islands, the Commonwealth of the North2 ern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of

3 Puerto Rico, Palau, and the Virgin Islands.

4 ‘‘(E) WORKPLACE EDUCATION.—The term

5 ‘workplace education’ means employer-spon6 sored formal instructional programs for workers

7 which—

8 ‘‘(i) shall include programs to improve

9 1 or more academic skills, including read10 ing, writing, mathematics, or English as a

11 2nd language; and

12 ‘‘(ii) may include programs to improve

13 1 or more process skills, including prob14 lem-solving and interpersonal skills (such

15 as effective communication and analytic

16 reasoning).’’.

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The heading of

18 section 201 of the National Literacy Act of 1991 is

19 amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘SEC. 201. OFFICE OF WORKPLACE EDUCATION.’’.

21 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 Section 3(a)(1) of the Job Training Partnership Act

23 is amended by adding at the end the following new sen24 tence:
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1 ‘‘Of the sums appropriated and made available

2 to carry out part A of title II for each such fiscal

3 year, an amount equal to 7 percent of such amount

4 shall be made available to carry out section 201 of

5 the National Literacy Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-

6 73; 105 Stat. 342).’’.

7 SEC. 4. REDUCTION IN PERCENTAGE OF NON-ECONOMI8 CALLY DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS

9 UNDER PART A OF TITLE II OF THE JOB

10 TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT.

11 Section 203(c) of the Job Training Partnership Act

12 is amended in the 1st sentence by striking ‘‘10 percent’’

13 and inserting ‘‘4 percent’’.

14 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

15 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall

16 take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, or

17 October 1, 1993, whichever occurs later.

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