I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8977 

To require employers to provide training to employees whose jobs are in 

danger of being changed or replaced due to technology, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2020 

Mrs. DINGELL (for herself and Mr. DESAULNIER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and 

in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 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 require employers to provide training to employees whose 

jobs are in danger of being changed or replaced due 

to technology, 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 ‘‘Workers’ Right to 

5 Training Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) AFFECTED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘af2 fected employee’’ means an employee who may rea3 sonably be expected to experience a change in em4 ployment position or an employment loss as a con5 sequence of the use of technology by the employer of 

6 the employee. 

7 (2) CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT POSITION.—The 

8 term ‘‘change in employment position’’ means a ma9 terial change— 

10 (A) in pay or benefits, working conditions, 

11 or schedule of an employee; or 

12 (B) that results in an unreasonable com13 mute for the employee. 

14 (3) COMMITTEE OF EMPLOYEES.—The term 

15 ‘‘committee of employees’’ means a committee of 

16 nonsupervisory, nonmanagerial employees of an em17 ployer. 

18 (4) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 

19 any individual who provides labor or services for re20 muneration by an employer, unless the employer 

21 demonstrates that all of the following conditions are 

22 satisfied: 

23 (A) The individual is free from the control 

24 and direction of the hiring entity in connection 

25 with the performance of the work, both under 


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1 the contract for the performance of the work 

2 and in fact. 

3 (B) The individual performs work that is 

4 outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s 

5 business. 

6 (C) The individual is customarily engaged 

7 in an independently established trade, occupa8 tion, or business of the same nature as that in9 volved in the work performed. 

10 (5) EMPLOYER.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘employer’’ 

12 means any business enterprise, including the 

13 nominal employer and any entity that is a par14 ent of, or is integrated with, the business enter15 prise, that— 

16 (i) is engaged in interstate commerce 

17 or in the production of goods or services 

18 for interstate commerce; and 

19 (ii) employs not less than 25 employ20 ees, including part-time employees. 

21 (B) MULTIPLE EMPLOYERS.—Two or more 

22 business enterprises shall each be considered an 

23 employer with respect to an employee, if each 

24 such business enterprise codetermines or shares 

25 control over the employee’s essential terms and 


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1 conditions of employment. In determining 

2 whether multiple business enterprises are em3 ployers of an employee— 

4 (i) it shall be relevant to consider 

5 whether each enterprise has— 

6 (I) direct control and indirect 

7 control over the terms and conditions 

8 of the employee; 

9 (II) reserved authority to control 

10 such terms and conditions; and 

11 (III) control over such terms and 

12 conditions exercised by a person in 

13 fact; and 

14 (ii) the existence of indirect control or 

15 reserved authority alone by a business en16 terprise may be sufficient to establish the 

17 employer relationship, given specific facts 

18 and circumstances. 

19 (C) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of 

20 this paragraph: 

21 (i) INTEGRATED.—The term ‘‘inte22 grated’’, when used with respect to a busi23 ness enterprise, means a business enter24 prise whose relationship with another busi25 ness enterprise includes— 


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1 (I) common ownership; 

2 (II) common directors or officers; 

3 (III) de facto exercise of control; 

4 (IV) unity of personnel policies 

5 emanating from a common source; or 

6 (V) dependency of operations. 

7 (ii) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ 

8 means a business enterprise that partici9 pates directly or indirectly in making deci10 sions that affect employees of another 

11 business enterprise. 

12 (6) EMPLOYMENT LOSS.—The term ‘‘employ13 ment loss’’ means— 

14 (A) an employment termination, other than 

15 a discharge for cause, voluntary departure, or 

16 retirement; or 

17 (B) a reduction in hours of work of more 

18 than 50 percent during each month of any 6- 

19 month period. 

20 (7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

22 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

23 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

24 (8) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN25 TIAL.—The term ‘‘recognized postsecondary credenVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8977.IH H8977

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1 tial’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 

2 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

3 U.S.C. 3102). 

4 (9) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP.—The term 

5 ‘‘registered apprenticeship’’ means an apprenticeship 

6 registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 (com7 monly known as the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 

8 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 

9 (10) REPRESENTATIVE.—The term ‘‘represent10 ative’’ means an exclusive representative of employ11 ees within the meaning of section 9(a) or 8(f) of the 

12 National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159(a), 

13 158(f)) or section 2 of the Railway Labor Act (45 

14 U.S.C. 152). 

15 (11) TECHNOLOGY.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘technology’’ 

17 means a computerized process used to create 

18 value at a business enterprise, including auto19 mation, artificial intelligence, robotics, personal 

20 computing, information technology, and e-com21 merce. 

22 (B) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of 

23 Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of 

24 Commerce, shall promulgate regulations further 


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1 defining the term ‘‘technology’’ for purposes of 

2 this Act. 

3 SEC. 3. BARGAINING AND NOTICE REQUIRED BEFORE USE 

4 OF EMPLOYMENT-CHANGING OR EMPLOY5 MENT-ELIMINATING TECHNOLOGY. 

6 (a) BARGAINING WITH EMPLOYEES BEFORE USE OF

7 EMPLOYMENT-CHANGING OR EMPLOYMENT-ELIMINATING

8 TECHNOLOGY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days be10 fore providing any notices under subsection (b), an 

11 employer that intends to use technology that will re12 sult in a change in employment position or an em13 ployment loss to any employees of the employer shall 

14 engage in bargaining with such employees through 

15 their chosen representative in order to ensure the 

16 technology is procured and implemented in a way 

17 that incorporates the skills and roles of the employ18 ees of the employer. 

19 (2) CHOSEN REPRESENTATIVES.—An employer 

20 shall carry out the bargaining required under para21 graph (1) with— 

22 (A) in the case of affected employees who 

23 are represented by a labor organization for pur24 poses of collective bargaining, a representative 

25 from the labor organization; or 


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1 (B) in the case of affected employees who 

2 are not represented by a labor organization for 

3 purposes of collective bargaining, with a com4 mittee of employees who are elected by their 

5 peers for purposes of the bargaining. 

6 (3) MEDIATION UPON FAILURE TO AGREE.— 

7 (A) REQUEST.—If an employer and the 

8 chosen representative of employees are unable 

9 to obtain an agreement under paragraph (1) by 

10 180 days after the commencement of the bar11 gaining, the parties shall notify the Federal Me12 diation and Conciliation Service of the failure to 

13 reach agreement and request mediation. 

14 (B) ROLE OF SERVICE.—The Federal Me15 diation and Conciliation Service shall, upon re16 ceiving a request under subparagraph (A), 

17 promptly communicate with the parties and 

18 work to bring the parties to agreement through 

19 mediation and conciliation. 

20 (4) INTERACTION WITH NLRA.—A committee of 

21 employees constituted for purposes of this subsection 

22 shall not be found to constitute a labor organization, 

23 as defined in section 2 of the National Labor Rela24 tions Act (29 U.S.C. 152). 


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1 (b) NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES FOR CHANGE IN EM2 PLOYMENT POSITIONS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employer that intends to 

4 use technology that will result in a change in em5 ployment position for one or more employees of the 

6 employer shall, not later than 180 days before any 

7 such change in employment position, provide written 

8 notice signed by the employer’s authorized rep9 resentative— 

10 (A) of the technology, including a descrip11 tion of the technology, and the impact of the 

12 technology on employment positions, including 

13 which employment positions will be impacted 

14 and whether any new positions will be created; 

15 and 

16 (B) regarding the required training that 

17 the employer will provide under section 4. 

18 (2) PROVISION OF NOTICE.—The written notice 

19 under paragraph (1) shall be— 

20 (A) provided to each chosen representative 

21 of the affected employees, as of the date of the 

22 notice, and to each affected employee; 

23 (B) distributed electronically if the em24 ployer customarily communicates with its em25 ployees through electronic communications; and 


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1 (C) posted publicly in conspicuous loca2 tions in the workplace, including all places 

3 where notices to employees are commonly post4 ed by the employer. 

5 (c) NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES SUBJECT TO AN EM6 PLOYMENT LOSS.—An employer that intends to use tech7 nology that will cause an employment loss for one or more 

8 employees of the employer shall, not later than 270 days 

9 before any such employment loss, provide and post written 

10 notice that includes the information described in sub11 section (b)(1), in the same manner as described in sub12 section (b)(2). 

13 SEC. 4. REQUIRED TRAINING AND BENEFITS. 

14 (a) CHANGES IN EMPLOYMENT POSITION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employer who is required 

16 under section 3(b) to provide notice of technology 

17 that will result in a change in employment position 

18 and require different skills due to the use of tech19 nology for one or more employees shall, beginning 

20 not later than 180 days before changing employee 

21 positions due to technology, provide on-the-job train22 ing described in paragraph (2) to each affected em23 ployee who will be impacted by the technology. 

24 (2) TYPE OF TRAINING.—The training provided 

25 under paragraph (1) shall— 


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1 (A) be training that prepares the employee 

2 to be able to fulfill the new duties of the posi3 tion, without regard to the length of time the 

4 training will take; and 

5 (B) be supplemented, as necessary, by em6 ployer-paid training— 

7 (i) through a registered apprentice8 ship program; 

9 (ii) that leads to a recognized postsec10 ondary credential (which may be an indus11 try-recognized credential) offered by an in12 stitution of higher education; or 

13 (iii) that leads to an industry-recog14 nized credential offered by a nonprofit or15 ganization that is an eligible provider 

16 under section 122(d) of the Workforce In17 novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

18 3152(d)). 

19 (b) EMPLOYMENT LOSS.— 

20 (1) PRIORITY AND TRAINING.—An employer 

21 who is required under section 3(c) to provide notice 

22 of technology that will result in employment loss for 

23 one or more employees of the employer shall— 


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1 (A) give hiring priority to affected employ2 ees for any new or open positions of the em3 ployer for 1 year after the date of the notice; 

4 (B) beginning not later than 180 days be5 fore the employment loss, provide job training 

6 described in paragraph (2) for not less than 1 

7 year to prepare the employee for— 

8 (i) another position with the employer 

9 that provides wages comparable to the em10 ployee’s original position; or 

11 (ii) an occupation that provides wages 

12 comparable to the employee’s original posi13 tion with a different employer; and 

14 (C) on the day that the employee experi15 ences the employment loss, provide the affected 

16 employee with 6 months of severance pay, in a 

17 total amount equal to 6 months of the employ18 ee’s wages in the employee’s prior position. 

19 (2) TYPE OF TRAINING.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The training provided 

21 under paragraph (1) (except for training de22 scribed in paragraph (1)(B)(ii)) shall be train23 ing that is— 

24 (i) chosen by the employee; and 


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1 (ii) provided at the worksite or supple2 mented as necessary by employer-paid 

3 training— 

4 (I) through a registered appren5 ticeship program; or 

6 (II) that leads to a recognized 

7 postsecondary credential offered by an 

8 institution of higher education. 

9 (B) OFFSITE TRAINING RULES.—If train10 ing required under subparagraph (A) is supple11 mented by offsite training, then the employer 

12 shall permit the employee to participate in that 

13 training during work hours, as long as the em14 ployee works a minimum of 15 hours a week. 

15 (C) TRAINING FOR A NEW OCCUPATION.— 

16 In the case of an employer who chooses to pro17 vide training under paragraph (1)(B)(ii) to an 

18 affected employee, the employer shall provide 

19 the employee with a voucher of $8,000 that the 

20 employee may use at any eligible provider of 

21 training services under section 122 of the 

22 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

23 U.S.C. 3152). 

24 (c) BASIC SKILLS TRAINING.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—If an employee subject to a 

2 change in employment position or employment loss 

3 would need, in addition to job training for a new po4 sition, additional basic skills (such as a high school 

5 diploma or its equivalent) to meet the requirements 

6 for the new employment position, the employer of 

7 the employee shall provide the employee with 180 

8 days of training to assist the employee in gaining 

9 the minimum basic skills necessary. 

10 (2) INTERACTION WITH OTHER TRAINING.— 

11 Basic skills training provided to an employee under 

12 this subsection, and the 180-day period for its provi13 sion, shall be in addition to any other training to 

14 which the employee has a right under this Act. 

15 (3) LOCATION OF TRAINING.—The basic skills 

16 training provided under paragraph (1) may be pro17 vided through an on-site or off-site basic skills pro18 gram. 

19 (d) NO REDUCTION IN PAY.—An employer shall pro20 vide any training required under subsection (a), (b), or 

21 (c) during the affected employee’s work hours and shall 

22 not reduce an employee’s pay or benefits while the em23 ployee is receiving training. 

24 (e) SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION DOCU25 MENTATION.—An employer that provides an affected emVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8977.IH H8977

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1 ployee with any compensation under this section shall sub2 mit documentation to the Social Security Administration 

3 to ensure that any compensation distributed to employees 

4 under this Act is allocated to the appropriate calendar 

5 year. 

6 SEC. 5. PROTECTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES. 

7 No employer shall discharge or in any manner dis8 criminate against any employee of the employer with re9 spect to the employee’s compensation, terms, conditions, 

10 or other privileges of employment because— 

11 (1) the employee has received training or sever12 ance pay under this Act; or 

13 (2) the employee (or an individual acting at the 

14 request of the employee) has— 

15 (A) requested new employment for the em16 ployee with the employer under this Act; or 

17 (B) otherwise asserted or sought to enforce 

18 the employee’s rights under this Act. 

19 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF RE20 QUIREMENTS. 

21 (a) CIVIL ACTIONS AGAINST EMPLOYERS.— 

22 (1) VIOLATIONS OF NOTICE, PAY, AND TRAIN23 ING REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—An affected employee 

25 aggrieved of a violation of section 3, 4, or 5 by 


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1 an employer, or the chosen representative of 

2 such affected employee, may bring a civil action 

3 in accordance with this subsection. 

4 (B) REMEDIES.—A court shall award an 

5 affected employee who prevails in a civil action 

6 brought under subparagraph (A)— 

7 (i) subject to subparagraphs (C) and 

8 (D)— 

9 (I) any back pay or unpaid wages 

10 due to the employee because of the 

11 violation, at a rate of compensation 

12 not less than the higher of— 

13 (aa) the average regular rate 

14 received by such employee during 

15 the last year of the employee’s 

16 employment before the violation; 

17 or 

18 (bb) the final regular rate 

19 received by such employee before 

20 the violation; 

21 (II) the cost of any benefits lost 

22 under an employee benefit plan de23 scribed in section 3(3) of the Em24 ployee Retirement Income Security 

25 Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(3)) due 


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1 to the violation, including the cost of 

2 medical expenses incurred during an 

3 employment loss that would have been 

4 covered under an employee benefit 

5 plan if the violation had not occurred; 

6 and 

7 (III) any amounts due the em8 ployee under section 4(b)(1)(C); 

9 (ii) any such amounts as appropriate 

10 to remedy any violation of this Act, includ11 ing any punitive and consequential eco12 nomic damages, that the court determines 

13 appropriate; and 

14 (iii) any equitable relief, including in15 junctive relief, the court determines nec16 essary to remedy the violation of this Act, 

17 which, for a violation of section 5, may in18 clude employment, reinstatement, pro19 motion, or any other appropriate relief. 

20 (C) PERIOD.—The amount of damages 

21 under subparagraph (B)(i) shall be calculated 

22 for the period of the violation, up to a max23 imum of 60 days, but in no event for more than 

24 one-half the number of days the employee was 

25 employed by the employer. 


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1 (D) REDUCTIONS IN LIABILITY.—The 

2 amount of damages— 

3 (i) under subparagraph (B)(i)(I) shall 

4 be reduced by— 

5 (I) any wages paid by the em6 ployer to the employee for the period 

7 of the violation; 

8 (II) any voluntary and uncondi9 tional payment by the employer to the 

10 employee that is not required by any 

11 legal obligation; and 

12 (III) any payment by the em13 ployer to a third party or trustee 

14 (such as premiums for health benefits 

15 or payments to a defined contribution 

16 pension plan) on behalf of and attrib17 utable to the employee for the period 

18 of the violation; and 

19 (ii) under subparagraph (B)(i)(II) 

20 may be reduced by crediting the employee 

21 with service for all purposes under a de22 fined benefit pensions plan for the period 

23 of the violation. 

24 (2) VENUE.—An employee or a representative 

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1 graph (1) on behalf of the employee, other similarly 

2 situated employees, or both, in— 

3 (A) the judicial district in which the em4 ployer has its principal office; or 

5 (B) a judicial district in which— 

6 (i)(I) the violation is alleged to have 

7 occurred; 

8 (II) the employment records relevant 

9 to such practice are maintained and ad10 ministered; or 

11 (III) the aggrieved individual would 

12 have worked but for the alleged unlawful 

13 employment practice; and 

14 (ii) the employer is found. 

15 (3) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—The court shall award 

16 an attorney’s fee (including expert fees) that the 

17 court determines reasonable as part of the costs to 

18 a prevailing party in a civil action under paragraph 

19 (1). 

20 (4) LIMITATION ON PRIVATE ACTION WHILE AC21 TION OF SECRETARY IS PENDING.—If the Secretary 

22 or the attorney general of a State has instituted an 

23 enforcement action under subsection (b), an indi24 vidual employee may not bring an action under this 

25 subsection during the pendency of the proceeding 


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1 against any person with respect to whom the Sec2 retary has instituted the proceeding. 

3 (b) ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.— 

4 (1) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY.— 

5 (A) CIVIL ACTIONS.—The Secretary may 

6 bring an action in any court of competent juris7 diction to recover on behalf of an employee rem8 edies described in subsection (a)(1). 

9 (B) SUMS RECOVERED.—Any sums recov10 ered by the Secretary on behalf of an employee 

11 under subsection (a)(1) shall be held in a spe12 cial deposit account and shall be paid, on order 

13 of the Secretary, directly to each employee af14 fected. Any such sums not paid to an employee 

15 because of inability to do so within a period of 

16 3 years shall be credited as an offsetting collec17 tion to the appropriations account of the Sec18 retary for expenses for the administration of 

19 this Act and shall remain available to the Sec20 retary until expended. 

21 (C) ACTION TO COMPEL RELIEF BY SEC22 RETARY.—The district courts of the United 

23 States shall have jurisdiction, for cause shown, 

24 over an action brought by the Secretary to re25 strain the withholding of payment of back pay, 


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1 benefits, or other compensation, plus interest, 

2 found by the court to be due to employees 

3 under this Act. 

4 (2) STATE ENFORCEMENT.—In any case in 

5 which the attorney general of a State has reason to 

6 believe that an interest of employees of that State 

7 has been or is threatened or adversely affected by a 

8 violation of this Act, the attorney general of the 

9 State may, as parens patriae, bring a civil action on 

10 behalf of the employees of the State in an appro11 priate State court or district court of the United 

12 States to obtain any relief described in paragraph 

13 (1)(A) on behalf of residents in the State. Any sums 

14 recovered by the State shall be administered by the 

15 attorney general of the State in the same manner as 

16 described in paragraph (1)(B). 

17 (c) CIVIL FINES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any employer who violates 

19 the provisions of section 3, 4, or 5 shall be subject 

20 to a civil fine, assessed by the Secretary of Labor, 

21 of not more than $5,000 for each employee and for 

22 each day of such violation. 

23 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

24 paragraph (1) shall be construed to preclude an em25 ployee of an employer assessed a civil fine under 


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1 such paragraph from bringing a civil action against 

2 the employer under subsection (a). 

3 (3) GOOD FAITH.—If an employer that has vio4 lated this Act proves to the satisfaction of the court 

5 that the act or omission that violated this Act was 

6 in good faith and that the employer had reasonable 

7 grounds for believing that the act or omission was 

8 not a violation of this Act, the court may, in its dis9 cretion, reduce the civil fine under this subsection. 

10 SEC. 7. RULES REGARDING RIGHTS AND REMEDIES. 

11 (a) RIGHTS AND REMEDIES NOT SUBJECT TO WAIV12 ER.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The rights and remedies 

14 provided under this Act (including the right to main15 tain a civil action) may not be waived, deferred, or 

16 lost pursuant to any agreement or settlement other 

17 than an agreement or settlement described in para18 graph (2). 

19 (2) AGREEMENT OR SETTLEMENT.—An agree20 ment or settlement referred to in paragraph (1) is 

21 an agreement or settlement negotiated by the Sec22 retary, an attorney general of any State, a private 

23 attorney on behalf of affected employees, or a des24 ignated representative of affected employees under 

25 the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et 


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1 seq.) or the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et 

2 seq.). 

3 (b) INTERACTION WITH OTHER RIGHTS AND REM4 EDIES.—The rights and remedies provided to employees 

5 by this Act are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other 

6 contractual or statutory rights and remedies of the em7 ployees, and are not intended to alter or affect such rights 

8 and remedies, except that the period of notification re9 quired by this Act shall run concurrently with any period 

10 of notification required by contract or by any other stat11 ute. 

12 (c) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—The giving of notice 

13 pursuant to this Act, if done in good faith compliance with 

14 this Act, shall not constitute a violation of the National 

15 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) or the Rail16 way Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

17 SEC. 8. LIMITED REGULATORY AUTHORITY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in section 

19 2(11)(B), the Secretary of Labor shall not have authority 

20 to promulgate regulations to carry out this Act. The Sec21 retary of Labor may provide guidance that describes— 

22 (1) the methods by which employers may pro23 vide for appropriate service of notice of bargaining 

24 period under section 3(a) and notice of change in 

25 employment position or loss of employment under 


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1 subsection (b) or (c) of section 3 to employees and 

2 to representatives of employees; 

3 (2) how an employer may comply with the re4 quirement to publicly post such notice under sub5 sections (b) and (c) of section 3; and 

6 (3) what constitutes good faith under section 

7 6(c)(3) for employers. 

8 (b) METHODS OF NOTICE TO AFFECTED EMPLOY9 EES.—The mailing of notice to an employee’s last known 

10 address or inclusion of notice in the employee’s paycheck 

11 will be considered acceptable methods for fulfillment of the 

12 employer’s obligation to give notice to each affected em13 ployee under subsections (b)(2)(A) and (c) of section 3. 

14 SEC. 9. EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN PAYMENTS RELATED TO 

15 EMPLOYMENT LOSS FROM GROSS INCOME. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter B of chap17 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

18 by inserting after section 103 the following new section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 103A. CERTAIN PAYMENTS RELATED TO EMPLOY20 MENT LOSS. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an employee who 

22 has experienced an employment loss, gross income shall 

23 not include any of the following amounts related to such 

24 employment loss: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Any severance pay provided pursuant to 

2 section 4(b)(1)(C) of the Workers’ Right to Training 

3 Act. 

4 ‘‘(2) Any amount received as a voucher for 

5 training services pursuant to section 4(b)(2)(C) of 

6 such Act. 

7 ‘‘(3) Any back pay awarded by court pursuant 

8 to section 6(a)(1)(B)(i)(I) of such Act. 

9 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘employee’, ‘em10 ployer’, and ‘employment loss’ have the same meaning 

11 given such terms under section 2 of the Workers’ Right 

12 to Training Act.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec14 tions for part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the In15 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting 

16 after the item related to section 103 the following new 

17 item: 

‘‘Sec. 103A. Certain payments related to employment loss.’’. 

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

20 December 31, 2019. 

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