I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8583 

To amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to require 

employers who are ordering a plant closing or mass layoff to cover 

the cost of an economic impact study in each impacted unit of local 

government, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 13, 2020 

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

Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees 

on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to require employers who are ordering a plant 

closing or mass layoff to cover the cost of an economic 

impact study in each impacted unit of local government, 

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 ‘‘Justice for Dislocated 

5 Workers Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 Section 2(a) of the Worker Adjustment and Retrain3 ing Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101(a)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting be6 fore the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, 

7 without regard to the number employees em8 ployed within a single site of employment’’; and 

9 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting be10 fore the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, 

11 without regard to the number employees em12 ployed within a single site of employment’’; 

13 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘means the permanent’’ 

15 and inserting the following: ‘‘means—’’ 

16 ‘‘(A) the permanent’’; 

17 (B) in subparagraph (A), as so designated 

18 by this paragraph, by striking ‘‘50 or employees 

19 excluding any part-time employees’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘25 or more full-time employees or 75 or 

21 more full-time or part-time employees; or’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(B) a permanent or temporary shutdown 

24 of a single site of employment of multiple em25 ployers, if such employers contract with a com26 mon employer of the affected employees and if 


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1 such shutdown results in a combined employ2 ment loss during any 30-day period for 50 or 

3 more employees, excluding any part-time em4 ployees.’’; and 

5 (3) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking clauses (i) 

6 and (ii) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) at least 33 percent of the employ8 ees (excluding any part-time employees); 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) 25 or more full-time employees 

11 or 75 or more full-time or part-time em12 ployees.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION. 

14 Section 3(a) of the Worker Adjustment and Retrain15 ing Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

17 end; 

18 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘the State representatives 

20 for such State,’’ before ‘‘and the chief’’; and 

21 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

22 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(3) to each Member of Congress representing 

2 such State or the Congressional district in which 

3 such unit is located.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY. 

5 Section 3 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining 

6 Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102) is amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(e) ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A notice served by an em10 ployer under subsection (a) before ordering a plant 

11 closing or mass layoff shall not be considered valid 

12 unless, not less than 30 days prior to serving such 

13 notice, the employer covers the cost of, and ensures 

14 that each unit of local government within which such 

15 closing or layoff is to occur completes (directly or 

16 through a contract), an economic impact study to 

17 assess the economic impact of such order during the 

18 1-year period beginning on the first day of such clo19 sure or layoff on such unit, which shall include— 

20 ‘‘(A) a review of the finances of the em21 ployer to determine if the employer is finan22 cially viable (as such term is defined by the 

23 Secretary of the Treasury) to make the pay24 ments described in paragraph (2), which deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8583.IH H8583

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1 mination shall include whether the employer is 

2 experiencing economic hardship; and 

3 ‘‘(B) in a case in which an employer is not 

4 experiencing economic hardship, an assessment 

5 of direct and indirect financial losses (including 

6 impact on local businesses (such as downstream 

7 job and supply chain loss and decreases in cus8 tomer base), and impact on tax revenue) that 

9 will be experienced by such unit. 

10 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT BY EMPLOYER.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an em12 ployer that is not experiencing an economic 

13 hardship and that orders a plant closing or 

14 mass layoff, the employer not later than 30 

15 days prior to such closure or mass layoff, 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) pay to the Impacted Workers 

18 Fund established under section 505 of the 

19 Public Works and Economic Development 

20 Act of 1965 (if such a Fund has been es21 tablished) of the State in which each coun22 ty is located that, in accordance with para23 graph (1)(B), will experience financial 

24 losses as a result of such order, an amount 


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1 equal to such financial losses to be dis2 persed in accordance with such section; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) in a case in which the Fund de4 scribed in clause (i) has not been estab5 lished, pay to the workforce development 

6 system (as defined in section 3 of the 

7 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

8 (29 U.S.C. 3102)) of the State in which 

9 each county is located that, in accordance 

10 with paragraph (1)(B), will experience fi11 nancial losses as a result of such order, an 

12 amount equal to such financial losses to be 

13 dispersed in accordance with such section. 

14 ‘‘(B) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—A unit 

15 of local government aggrieved by an employer 

16 that violates subparagraph (A), may sue in any 

17 district court of the United States for any dis18 trict in which the violation is alleged to have oc19 curred, or in which the employer transacts busi20 ness. 

21 ‘‘(3) GUIDANCE BY THE SECRETARY.—Not 

22 later than 6 months after the date of enactment of 

23 the Justice for Dislocated Workers Act, the Sec24 retary of Labor shall issue guidance on conducting 

25 the economic impact studies. 


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1 ‘‘(4) GRANTS TO COVER THE COST OF ECO2 NOMIC IMPACT STUDIES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

4 Labor shall award grants to employers subject 

5 to the requirements of paragraph (1) the cost 

6 an economic impact study required under such 

7 paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant 

9 under this paragraph, an employer shall submit 

10 to the Secretary of Labor an application at 

11 such time, in such manner, and containing such 

12 information as the Secretary may require.’’. 

13 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF RE14 QUIREMENTS. 

15 Section 5 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining 

16 Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2104) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A)(i), by inserting 

18 ‘‘twice’’ before ‘‘the average regular’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘The rem20 edies’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as otherwise provided 

21 in section 3(e)(2)(B), the remedies’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS TO ESTABLISH IM2 PACTED WORKERS FUNDS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Public Works and Economic 

4 Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.) is 

5 amended by inserting after section 504 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 505. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS TO ESTABLISH IM7 PACTED WORKERS FUNDS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive funds 

9 described in section 3(e)(2) of the Worker Adjustment and 

10 Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102(e)(2)) a 

11 State shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the 

12 Secretary under this section. 

13 ‘‘(b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT CONTENTS.—A co14 operative agreement entered into under subsection (a) 

15 shall require a participating State to— 

16 ‘‘(1) establish and administer an Impacted 

17 Workers Fund (in this Act referred to as a ‘Fund’) 

18 to receive amounts pursuant to section 3(e)(2) of the 

19 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act 

20 (29 U.S.C. 2102(e)(2)); and 

21 ‘‘(2) ensure that amounts deposited into the 

22 fund are used to support only the jurisdiction of the 

23 unit of local government for which such amounts are 

24 deposited (as determined by an economic impact 

25 study under section 3(e) of the Worker Adjustment 

26 and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 


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1 2102(e))), including for workforce training, income 

2 assistance, and wage insurance.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con4 tents in section 1(b) of the Public Works and Economic 

5 Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 note) is 

6 amended by inserting after the item related to section 504 

7 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 505. Cooperative agreements to establish Impacted Workers Funds.’’. 

Æ 


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