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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6268 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6268

To establish a wage theft prevention grant program in the Department of 
   Labor to prevent wage and hour violations and expand and improve 
  cooperative efforts between enforcement agencies and members of the 
                               community.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2010

    Mr. Hare (for himself, Mr. George Miller of California, and Ms. 
   Berkley) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To establish a wage theft prevention grant program in the Department of 
   Labor to prevent wage and hour violations and expand and improve 
  cooperative efforts between enforcement agencies and members of the 
                               community.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Wage Theft Prevention and Community 
Partnership Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Wage and hour violations are a serious and growing 
        problem for working Americans.
            (2) According to a study by the Ford, Joyce, Hayne, and 
        Russell Sage Foundations, low-wage workers are routinely denied 
        proper overtime pay and are paid less then the minimum wage, 
        often resulting up to a 15-percent loss in pay.
            (3) Widespread wage and hour violations place ethical 
        businesses at a competitive disadvantage.
            (4) Wage and hour violations hurt local economies. State 
        and local governments lose vital tax revenues and spending 
        power when employers do not pay legally required wages and 
        workers receive less than full pay.
            (5) Women are far more likely to suffer minimum wage 
        violations than men, while minority women suffer such 
        violations at a rate nearly triple the rate that white women 
        suffer such violations.
            (6) Social service networks are further strained and 
        poverty increases when low-wage workers receive lower wages 
        than what is required by law.
            (7) The Department of Labor and State departments of labor 
        could more adequately address wage and hour violations with a 
        significant partnership with stakeholders in the community.
            (8) The Government Accountability Office recommended that 
        the Department of Labor identify ways to leverage its existing 
        tools to better address wage and hour violations by improving 
        services provided through partnerships.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act the following definitions apply:
            (1) The term ``eligible partner'' means any of the 
        following:
                    (A) A not-for-profit community organization that, 
                in whole or in part, is dedicated to combating poverty 
                and preventing abuse of wage and hour laws.
                    (B) A labor organization as defined in section 2(5) 
                of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 152(5)).
                    (C) A Joint Labor Management Cooperative Committee 
                established pursuant to section 205A of the Labor 
                Management Relations Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C. 175a).
            (2) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Labor.
            (3) The term ``wage and hour violations'' refers to 
        violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act or the Migrant and 
        Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, or any regulations 
        issued under either such Act, or violations of any other law 
        enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of 
        Labor, as the Secretary may determine.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION TO CREATE A WAGE THEFT PREVENTION FUND.

    The Secretary shall establish a Wage Theft Prevention Fund, which 
shall provide funding for the Wage Theft Prevention and Community 
Partnership Grants described in section 5. The Secretary may promulgate 
regulations as necessary to carry out this Act.

SEC. 5. WAGE THEFT GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment of Wage Theft Prevention and Community 
Partnership Grants.--The Secretary is authorized to award grants, on a 
competitive basis, to eligible partners to--
            (1) prevent wage and hour violations by informing workers 
        of their rights and the remedies available to them; and
            (2) expand and improve cooperative efforts between agencies 
        charged with enforcing wage and hour requirements and employers 
        and their employees.
    (b) Applications.--An eligible partner seeking a grant under this 
section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and 
in such manner as the Secretary may require. An application shall 
include, at a minimum, the following:
            (1) A description of the plan for preventing wage and hour 
        violations.
            (2) A description of the plan for outreach, including a 
        plan for assisting the Department of Labor in communicating 
        with workers.
            (3) A description of the eligible partner's prior 
        experience in raising awareness about and enforcing wage and 
        hour laws and ensuring that worker rights are respected.
            (4) Evidence of the community need for this type of work, 
        including prevalence of wage and hour violations in the 
        eligible partner's community or State.
            (5) A description of any larger working group of 
        organizations, including Federal, State, or local government 
        agencies, and faith-based, labor, community, and business 
        organizations--
                    (A) of which the eligible partner is a member; or
                    (B) which the eligible partner is proposing to work 
                with in carrying out activities funded by such grant.
    (c) Duration and Renewal of Grants.--
            (1) Initial grant period.--A Wage Theft Prevention and 
        Community Partnerships Grant shall be awarded for an initial 
        grant period of 1 to 3 years.
            (2) Renewals.--Such grant may be renewed for 2 additional 
        grant periods of the same duration as the initial grant period, 
        if--
                    (A) the Secretary determines that the funds made 
                available to the recipient were used in a manner 
                required under an approved application; and
                    (B) the recipient can demonstrate significant 
                progress in achieving the objectives of the initial 
                application.
            (3) Additional grant.--A grant recipient may apply for an 
        additional grant under this section once the recipient's grant 
        renewals with respect to the initial grant have been exhausted.
    (d) Ineligibility for Grants.--No grant may be awarded under this 
section to--
            (1) an entity that the Secretary determines infringes upon 
        upon the rights guaranteed by section 7 of the National Labor 
        Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 157); or
            (2) an entity prohibited by section 427 of Public Law 111-
        88 from receiving funds appropriated by that Act.
    (e) Performance Evaluation.--Each program, project, or activity 
funded under this section shall be subject to monitoring by the 
Secretary which shall include systematic identification and collection 
of data about activities, accomplishments, programs, and expenditures 
throughout the life of the program, project, or activity.
    (f) Reports to Congress.--For each year in which funding is 
provided under this section, the Secretary shall submit an annual 
report to the Congress on the activities carried out by grantees under 
this section including, at a minimum, information on the following:
            (1) The activities undertaken by each grantee and any other 
        entity that partnered with the grantee to prevent wage and hour 
        violations by informing workers of their rights and the 
        remedies available to them.
            (2) The number of workers assisted by each grantee 
        disaggregated by State, age, income, gender, and race.
            (3) A summary of progress by each grantee in implementing 
        wage theft prevention outreach plans approved by the Secretary.
    (g) Revocation or Suspension of Funding.--If the Secretary 
determines, as a result of the reviews required by subsections (e) and 
(f), or otherwise, that a grant recipient under this section is not in 
substantial compliance with the terms and requirements of an approved 
grant application submitted under subsection (b), the Secretary may 
revoke or suspend funding of that grant, in whole or in part.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out this Act, including administrative costs associated with carrying 
out this Act, such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2010 
through 2014, to remain available until expended.
                                 <all>
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