I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 553 

To amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify the definition of 

competitive integrated employment. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 26, 2023 

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

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify the 

definition of competitive integrated employment. 

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 Choice and 

5 Flexibility for Individuals with Disabilities Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF COMPETITIVE 

7 INTEGRATED EMPLOYMENT. 

8 Section 7(5) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

9 U.S.C. 705(5)) is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (B)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘not including’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘including social and interpersonal inter3 actions with colleagues, vendors, customers, su4 periors, or other such persons who the employee 

5 may come into contact with during the work 

6 day and across workplace settings, other than’’; 

7 (B) by inserting before the semicolon at 

8 the end the following: ‘‘, except that such inter9 actions shall not be considered solely at the 

10 work unit level’’; and 

11 (C) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub13 paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(D) for which an individual may have 

16 been paid— 

17 ‘‘(i) by a contractor— 

18 ‘‘(I) of the Federal Government 

19 under a contract with the Federal 

20 Government for which priority was 

21 given to the contractor on the basis of 

22 the bid of the contractor involving 

23 supporting employment for individuals 

24 with disabilities; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) of a State government 

2 under a contract with the State gov3 ernment for which priority was given 

4 to the contractor on the basis of the 

5 bid of the contractor involving sup6 porting employment for individuals 

7 with disabilities; 

8 ‘‘(ii) by a subcontractor at any tier of 

9 a contractor— 

10 ‘‘(I) of the Federal Government 

11 under a subcontract for which priority 

12 was given to the subcontractor on the 

13 basis of the bid of the subcontractor 

14 involving supporting employment for 

15 individuals with disabilities; or 

16 ‘‘(II) of a State government 

17 under a subcontract for which priority 

18 was given to the subcontractor on the 

19 basis of the bid of the subcontractor 

20 involving supporting employment for 

21 individuals with disabilities; or 

22 ‘‘(iii) under a contract mandating di23 rect labor-hour ratio of individuals with 

24 disabilities.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 Nothing in the amendments made by this Act shall 

3 be construed to reduce the number of jobs available for 

4 referral by a State agency or other entity. 

5 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

6 It is the sense of Congress that jobs meeting the defi7 nition in section 7(5)(B) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

8 (29 U.S.C. 705(5)(B)), and which derive from Federal or 

9 State contracts managed by community rehabilitation pro10 grams for the purposes of supporting employment for peo11 ple with disabilities, shall be eligible to be considered— 

12 (1) part of the competitive labor market; and 

13 (2) an employment outcome for State vocational 

14 rehabilitation purposes. 

Æ 


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