II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1841 

To amend the National Apprenticeship Act to provide that applications relating to apprenticeship programs shall be processed in a fair and timely 

manner, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 

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

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the National Apprenticeship Act to provide that 

applications relating to apprenticeship programs shall be 

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 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 


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1 (1) to promote accountability and fairness in 

2 the registration of apprenticeship programs and cer3 tification of apprentices; and 

4 (2) to provide for the registration of all appren5 ticeship programs and certification of all apprentices 

6 in a timely and efficient manner. 

7 SEC. 3. ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE REGISTRATION OF AP8 PRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. 

9 The Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as 

10 the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 

11 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), is amended by striking section 

12 4 and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND JUDICIAL RE14 VIEW. 

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

16 Labor shall ensure each of the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) For each application submitted under this 

18 Act, regarding an apprenticeship program or an ap19 prentice, to an entity responsible for rendering deci20 sions with respect to that application (such as a 

21 State Apprenticeship Agency)— 

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

23 that application before the expiration of the pe24 riod of 90 calendar days beginning on the date 

25 on which that application was submitted; 


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1 ‘‘(B) if that entity cannot comply with sub2 paragraph (A), that entity shall provide written 

3 notice to the applicant of the status of the ap4 plication, and render a decision on that applica5 tion before the expiration of the period of 120 

6 calendar days beginning on the date on which 

7 that application was submitted; or 

8 ‘‘(C) if that entity cannot comply with sub9 paragraph (B), the application shall be deemed 

10 to be a petition for review filed under para11 graph (4) by the applicant on the date after the 

12 expiration of the period referred to in subpara13 graph (B). 

14 ‘‘(2) Each decision described in subparagraph 

15 (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) shall not be completely 

16 based on whether persons not directly participating 

17 in submitting, or sponsoring, the application object 

18 to the application. 

19 ‘‘(3) Each decision described in subparagraph 

20 (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) shall be promptly pro21 vided to all concerned parties in a writing that sets 

22 forth clearly the factual and legal basis for the deci23 sion. 

24 ‘‘(4)(A) Any applicant aggrieved by a decision 

25 rendered under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 Sep 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1841.IS S1841

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1 graph (1) shall be entitled to file a petition for re2 view of that decision by an individual who— 

3 ‘‘(i) is the Secretary or the Secretary’s des4 ignee within the Department of Labor; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) is independent of the entity rendering 

6 that decision. 

7 ‘‘(B) In the event of any factual dispute con8 cerning a petition for review, the applicant may re9 quest an adjudicatory hearing, which shall be con10 ducted on the record pursuant to sections 554, 556, 

11 and 557 of title 5, United States Code. 

12 ‘‘(C) The Secretary (or designee, if applicable) 

13 shall, before the expiration of the period of 30 days 

14 beginning on the date that the applicant filed the pe15 tition for review (or, if the applicant requested an 

16 adjudicatory hearing, the date of the end of that 

17 hearing), make a final determination and deliver a 

18 copy of that determination to all concerned parties. 

19 Such final determination shall be binding on the en20 tity responsible for rendering the decision under 

21 paragraph (1). 

22 ‘‘(D) If the Secretary (or designee, if applica23 ble) fails to make and deliver such final determina24 tion before the expiration of such period (or the date 


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1 of the end of that hearing), such final determination 

2 shall be deemed to be to approve the application. 

3 ‘‘(5)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), for an 

4 application submitted under this Act by an employer 

5 seeking to update standards for a registered appren6 ticeship program, the Secretary of Labor shall 

7 render a decision on that application before the expi8 ration of the period of 60 calendar days beginning 

9 on the date on which that application was submitted. 

10 ‘‘(B) The decision shall be promptly provided to 

11 all concerned parties in a writing that sets forth 

12 clearly the factual and legal basis for the decision. 

13 ‘‘(C) If the Secretary of Labor fails to provide 

14 the written decision before the expiration of such pe15 riod, the updated standards shall be deemed to be 

16 approved. 

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

18 under paragraph (4)(C) or (5) of subsection (a) shall be 

19 binding on the applicant unless the applicant files a peti20 tion for judicial review of that final determination. Judi21 cial review of that determination shall be on the record 

22 on which the final determination is based. 

23 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—For purposes of this section, the 

24 term ‘application’ includes any application for certification 


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1 of an apprentice or registration of an apprenticeship pro2 gram.’’. 

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 enactment 

6 of this Act. 

Æ 


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