I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 91

To provide grants to States for the purpose of providing workplace services

to small businesses.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

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

Committee on Education and Labor

A BILL

To provide grants to States for the purpose of providing

workplace services to small 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 and High Performance Workforce Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are—

8 (1) to assist small businesses in establishing

9 workplace education programs to improve the pro10 ductivity of such businesses;
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1 (2) to assist small businesses in introducing

2 new technologies and the reorganization of work;

3 and

4 (3) to assist institutions of higher education

5 and other suitable education providers in providing

6 workplace services to small businesses.

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

8 For purposes of this Act, the following definitions

9 apply:

10 (1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The

11 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the

12 meaning given such term in section 1201(a) of the

13 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)).

14 (2) NEW TECHNOLOGIES.—The term ‘‘new

15 technologies’’ means equipment, processes, and tech16 niques that have not previously been utilized by a

17 business that will improve the productivity of such

18 business.

19 (3) REORGANIZATION OF WORK.—The term

20 ‘‘reorganization of work’’ means the processes and

21 techniques for directing the work of employees that

22 have not previously been utilized by a business that

23 will improve the productivity of such business.

24 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

25 the Secretary of Labor.
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1 (5) SMALL BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘small busi2 ness’’ means an independently incorporated, for3 profit business that employs 500 or fewer full-time

4 employees.

5 (6) WORKFORCE SPECIALIST.—The term

6 ‘‘workforce specialist’’ means an individual with ex7 perience in improving the productivity of businesses

8 through such methods as total quality management,

9 statistical process control, the development of work

10 teams and quality circles, reduction of management

11 layers and oversight and enhancing the responsibility

12 of front-line workers, introduction of just-in-time or

13 computer integrated production, and increased gen14 eral or job-specific training.

15 (7) WORKPLACE EDUCATION.—The term

16 ‘‘workplace education’’ means employer-sponsored

17 instruction provided to employees which—

18 (A) shall include instruction in reading,

19 writing, mathematics, or English as a second

20 language; and

21 (B) may include instruction in problem

22 solving, interpersonal communications, team23 work, and other work-related basic skills.

24 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—
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1 (1) TITLE I.—There are authorized to be ap2 propriated $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years

3 1994 through 1998 to carry out title I.

4 (2) TITLE II.—There are authorized to be ap5 propriated $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1994,

6 $60,000,000 for fiscal year 1995, and $100,000,000

7 for each of the fiscal years 1996 through 1998, to

8 carry out title II.

9 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts authorized to be appro10 priated under subsection (a) shall remain available until

11 expended.

12 TITLE I—OFFICE OF WORK13 PLACE EDUCATION AND HIGH

14 PERFORMANCE WORK

15 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT.

16 The Secretary of Labor shall establish in the Employ17 ment and Training Administration an Office of Workplace

18 Education and High Performance Work (in this Act re19 ferred to as the ‘‘Federal office’’).

20 SEC. 102 DIRECTOR.

21 The Federal office shall be headed by a Director (in

22 this title referred to as the ‘‘Director’’), who shall be paid

23 at a rate equal to level 5 of the Executive Schedule.

24 SEC. 103. DUTIES.

25 The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall—
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1 (1) carry out the grant program established

2 under section 201(a);

3 (2) establish standards for the employment,

4 qualifications, training, and activities of workforce

5 specialists described in section 203(b)(3);

6 (3) conduct programs of research and analysis,

7 which may include demonstration programs, to de8 termine how small businesses can more effectively

9 implement workplace education programs;

10 (4) develop and disseminate information on the

11 introduction of new technologies and the reorganiza12 tion of work by small businesses by—

13 (A) identifying sources of expertise of such

14 technologies and reorganization of work in Fed15 eral, State, and local agencies (including the

16 Department of Commerce, the National Science

17 Foundation, and the Small Business Adminis18 tration);

19 (B) forming cooperative relationships with

20 appropriate Federal agencies to determine how

21 small businesses can more effectively implement

22 such new technologies and reorganization of

23 work; and

24 (C) encouraging and assisting labor orga25 nizations, educational organizations, businesses
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1 and other private organizations to provide infor2 mation and technical assistance to small busi3 nesses regarding workplace education, new tech4 nologies, and the reorganization of work.

5 SEC. 104. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

6 Not later than September 30, 1994, and at the end

7 of each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit

8 to the President and the Congress a report containing—

9 (1) a compilation of the information contained

10 in the State reports received by the Secretary under

11 section 207; and

12 (2) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the

13 grant program authorized under section 201(a).

14 TITLE II—WORKPLACE EDU15 CATION AND WORKFORCE

16 GRANT PROGRAM

17 SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, from

19 amounts appropriated pursuant to section 4(a)(2), provide

20 grants to States for the purpose of establishing programs

21 to improve the productivity of small businesses in such

22 States.

23 (b) PERIOD OF GRANTS.—A grant received under

24 subsection (a) may extend for a period of not more than

25 5 fiscal years. The payments under such grant shall be
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1 subject to annual approval by the Secretary and subject

2 to the availability of appropriations for each fiscal year.

3 SEC. 202. APPLICATION.

4 The Secretary may provide a grant to a State under

5 section 201(a) only if such State submits to the Secretary

6 an application which contains—

7 (1) a plan containing the number of workforce

8 service districts to be established by the State office

9 in accordance with section 203(b)(2); and

10 (2) such other information as the Secretary

11 may reasonably require.

12 SEC. 203. USE OF FUNDS.

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—A State shall

14 use amounts received from a grant under section 201(a)

15 to establish a program to improve the productivity of small

16 businesses in such State.

17 (b) CONDUCT OF PROGRAM.—In conducting the pro18 gram established under subsection (a), the State shall

19 meet the following requirements:

20 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE OFFICE OF

21 WORKPLACE EDUCATION AND HIGH PERFORMANCE

22 WORK.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara24 graph (B), the State shall establish a State of25 fice of workplace education and high perform-
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1 ance work (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘State

2 office’’) in 1 of the following entities:

3 (i) A State agency that has respon4 sibility for education, training, or economic

5 development policy.

6 (ii) An institution of higher education

7 located in such State.

8 (B) EXCEPTION.—In the case of a State

9 that has established an entity comparable to the

10 State office described in subparagraph (A),

11 such State may, upon the approval of the Sec12 retary, designate such entity as the State office

13 for purposes of such subparagraph.

14 (2) ESTABLISHMENT OF WORKPLACE SERVICE

15 DISTRICTS.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara17 graph (B), the State office shall establish work18 place service districts throughout the State—

19 (i) each of which contains at least 1

20 institution of higher education which has

21 existing workplace education programs (or

22 will establish such programs not later than

23 the date on which the State in which such

24 institution is located will receive amounts

25 from a grant under section 201(a)), to pro-
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1 vide small businesses with access to work2 place services; and

3 (ii) which are of a sufficient number

4 in order to allow ease of access by small

5 businesses located in the State to utilize

6 the services provided at such institutions of

7 higher education.

8 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In establishing

9 workplace service districts, the State office

10 shall—

11 (i) if the amount of the grant received

12 by the State under section 201(a) is great13 er than an amount equal to $100,000 mul14 tiplied by the number of such districts pro15 posed to be established by the State in its

16 application, hire and place at least 1

17 workforce specialist who meets the stand18 ards established by the Secretary under

19 section 103(2), including necessary support

20 staff, at an institution of higher education

21 in each district; and

22 (ii) if the amount of the grant re23 ceived by the State under section 201(a) is

24 less than an amount equal to $100,000

25 multiplied by the number of such districts
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1 proposed to be established by the State in

2 its application, place at least 1 such

3 workforce specialist, including necessary

4 support staff, at an institution of higher

5 education in each district that the State of6 fice determines to be appropriate.

7 (3) DUTIES OF WORKFORCE SPECIALISTS.—

8 Each workforce specialist hired by a State office and

9 placed at an institution of higher education under

10 paragraph (2)(B) shall—

11 (A) serve as a local point of contact for

12 small businesses interested in workplace serv13 ices;

14 (B) provide workplace services to individ15 ual small businesses by analyzing the needs of

16 such businesses for the purpose of—

17 (i) designing workplace education pro18 grams that will improve the productivity of

19 such businesses; and

20 (ii) introducing new technologies and

21 the reorganization of work at such busi22 nesses;

23 (C) refer small businesses to other suitable

24 education providers for the purpose of providing

25 workplace services to such businesses, provided
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1 that each such business shall reimburse such

2 provider in an amount equal to at least 75 per3 cent of the cost of the services attributable to

4 such business, including instructional time, ma5 terials, and facilities;

6 (D) assist in negotiating financial,

7 logistical, and other arrangements between

8 small businesses and other suitable education

9 providers;

10 (E) provide technical assistance and train11 ing to the staff of suitable education providers

12 described in subparagraph (C) for the purpose

13 of providing workplace services to small busi14 nesses;

15 (F) encourage other small businesses and

16 labor groups to provide such services; and

17 (G) provide small businesses with general

18 information on workplace services.

19 (4) COOPERATION WITH WORKFORCE SPECIAL20 ISTS.—The State office shall encourage local edu21 cational agencies and other local agencies, small

22 businesses, labor organizations, community-based or23 ganizations, and other private organizations to co24 operate with workforce specialists described in para25 graph (3).
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1 (5) OVERSIGHT OF WORKFORCE SPECIAL2 ISTS.—The State office shall monitor and supervise

3 the activities of each workforce specialist described

4 in paragraph (3).

5 (6) WORKPLACE SERVICE INFORMATION.—The

6 State office shall produce and disseminate informa7 tion to the entities described in paragraph (4) and

8 the general public on workplace services, including

9 the need for and means of implementing workplace

10 education programs, the introduction of new tech11 nologies, and the reorganization of work.

12 (7) SOURCES OF EXPERTISE AND TECHNICAL

13 ASSISTANCE.—The State office shall—

14 (A) identify Federal, State, and local

15 sources of expertise and technical assistance

16 that can assist small businesses in implement17 ing workplace education programs, the intro18 duction of new technologies, and the reorganiza19 tion of work; and

20 (B) develop cooperative and collaborative

21 relationships with such sources of expertise.

22 (8) RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION PRO23 GRAMS.—The State office shall conduct research and

24 demonstration programs to promote the understand25 ing and acceptance of workplace education and en-
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1 courage the use of and improvement of state-of-the2 art workplace services.

3 (9) STATEWIDE OR REGIONAL TRAINING PRO4 GRAMS.—The State office shall, in conjunction with

5 the Federal office and workforce specialists, conduct

6 Statewide or regional training programs for teachers

7 and administrators at institutions of higher edu8 cation, small businesses, labor organizations, com9 munity-based organizations, and other individuals

10 and entities that are engaged, or wish to become en11 gaged, in the provision of workplace services.

12 (10) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT PROGRAM.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—(i) Subject to clause

14 (ii), the State office shall provide grants to

15 small businesses for the purpose of improving

16 the productivity of such businesses.

17 (ii) The State office shall use not more

18 than 15 percent of amounts received from a

19 grant under section 201(a) to provide grants

20 under clause (i).

21 (B) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant

22 under subparagraph (A)(i), a small business

23 shall submit an application to the State office

24 at such time, in such form, and containing such
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1 information as the office may reasonably re2 quire.

3 (C) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants made under

4 subparagraph (A)(i) may be used by a small

5 business only to—

6 (i) carry out workplace education pro7 grams at such business;

8 (ii) introduce new technologies at such

9 business; and

10 (iii) provide for the reorganization of

11 work at such business.

12 (D) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The State office

13 may not make grants under subparagraph

14 (A)(i) to any small business in an amount equal

15 to or more than $25,000.

16 (E) ALLOCATION.—The State office shall

17 provide at least 60 percent of amounts used to

18 provide grants under subparagraph (A)(i) to

19 small businesses with 50 or fewer employees.

20 (11) EVALUATIONS.—At the end of each fiscal

21 year in which the Secretary makes payments to a

22 State under a grant under section 201(a), the State

23 office in such State shall conduct a quantitative eval24 uation of the effectiveness of the program estab25 lished under subsection (a) in improving corporate
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1 productivity through workplace education, the intro2 duction of new technologies, and the reorganization

3 of work.

4 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of the amount re5 ceived by a State from a grant under section 201(a) for

6 any fiscal year, not more than 10 percent of such amount

7 may be used to pay the administrative costs of the pro8 gram established under subsection (a).

9 SEC. 204. MATCHING FUNDS.

10 The Secretary may not make a grant to a State under

11 section 201(a) unless such State agrees to provide non12 Federal funds for the purpose of conducting the program

13 under section 203(b) in an amount equal to not less than

14 20 percent of the Federal funds provided to the State in

15 each of the first two fiscal years that it receives amounts

16 from a grant, and not less than 30 percent of the Federal

17 funds that the State receives from such grant in each sub18 sequent fiscal year.

19 SEC. 205. ALLOCATION.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—In providing grants under section

21 201(a), the Secretary shall award grants in a greater

22 amount to States with larger populations, as determined

23 by the Secretary.

24 (b) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not provide

25 grants under section 201(a) in a fiscal year to any State
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1 in an amount totaling more than 10 percent of amounts

2 appropriated pursuant to section 4(a)(2) for that fiscal

3 year.

4 SEC. 206. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.

5 The Secretary may not make a grant to a State under

6 section 201(a) unless such State agrees to maintain its

7 aggregate expenditures for programs to improve the pro8 ductivity of small businesses in such State at or above the

9 average level of such expenditures in the fiscal year pre10 ceding the fiscal year for which the State is applying to

11 receive the grant.

12 SEC. 207. STATE REPORTS.

13 The Secretary may not make a grant to a State under

14 section 201(a) unless such State agrees to submit to the

15 Secretary, in each fiscal year in which the Secretary makes

16 payments under such grant to such State, a report con17 taining—

18 (1) a description of the program established by

19 such State under section 203(a), including a sum20 mary of the evaluation of such program conducted

21 under section 203(b)(11);

22 (2) the number of small businesses receiving as23 sistance under such program; and

24 (3) any other information as the Secretary may

25 reasonably require.
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