II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 281 

To promote labor force participation of older Americans, with the goals 

of increasing retirement security, reducing the projected shortage of 

experienced workers, maintaining future economic growth, and improving 

the Nation’s fiscal outlook. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 16, 2009 

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

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To promote labor force participation of older Americans, 

with the goals of increasing retirement security, reducing 

the projected shortage of experienced workers, maintaining future economic growth, and improving the Nation’s 

fiscal outlook. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Health Care and Training for Older Workers Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—COBRA CONTINUATION COVERAGE 

Sec. 101. Extended COBRA continuation coverage for certain older workers. 

TITLE II—EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Statewide employment and training activities. 

Sec. 203. Local employment and training activities. 

Sec. 204. Performance measures. 

Sec. 205. Reporting. 

Sec. 206. Incentive grants. 

TITLE III—CLEARINGHOUSE OF BEST PRACTICES FOR HIRING 

AND RETAINING OLDER WORKERS 

Sec. 301. Establishment. 

Sec. 302. Annual updates. 

1 TITLE I—COBRA CONTINUATION 

2 COVERAGE 

3 SEC. 101. EXTENDED COBRA CONTINUATION COVERAGE 

4 FOR CERTAIN OLDER WORKERS. 

5 (a) AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT

6 INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.—Subparagraph (A) of 

7 section 602(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Secu8 rity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1162(2)(A)) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(vi) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN

11 OLDER WORKERS.— 

12 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Notwith13 standing any other provision of this 

14 subparagraph, in the case of a quali15 fying event described in section 

16 603(2) relating to a reduction of 

17 hours of an employee described in 


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1 subclause (II), the date which is 36 

2 months after the date of the quali3 fying event, except that the period of 

4 coverage under this clause shall end 

5 on the date on which the employee be6 comes entitled to benefits under title 

7 XVIII of the Social Security Act 

8 based on age. 

9 ‘‘(II) EMPLOYEE DESCRIBED.— 

10 An employee is described in this sub11 clause if such employee, on the date of 

12 the qualifying event, is at least the 

13 early retirement age (as defined in 

14 section 216(l)(2) of the Social Secu15 rity Act) but not yet entitled to bene16 fits under title XVIII of the Social Se17 curity Act based on age.’’. 

18 (b) AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

19 ACT.—Section 2202(2)(A) of the Public Health Service 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 300bb–2(2)(A)) is amended by inserting 

21 after clause (iv) the following: 

22 ‘‘(v) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN

23 OLDER WORKERS.— 

24 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Notwith25 standing any other provision of this 


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1 subparagraph, in the case of a quali2 fying event described in section 

3 2203(2) relating to a reduction of 

4 hours of an employee described in 

5 subclause (II), the date which is 36 

6 months after the date of the quali7 fying event, except that the period of 

8 coverage under this clause shall end 

9 on the date on which the employee be10 comes entitled to benefits under title 

11 XVIII of the Social Security Act 

12 based on age. 

13 ‘‘(II) EMPLOYEE DESCRIBED.— 

14 An employee is described in this sub15 clause if such employee, on the date of 

16 the qualifying event, is at least the 

17 early retirement age (as defined in 

18 section 216(l)(2) of the Social Secu19 rity Act) but not yet entitled to bene20 fits under title XVIII of the Social Se21 curity Act based on age.’’. 

22 (c) AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE

23 CODE OF 1986.—Section 4980B(f)(2)(B)(i) of the Inter24 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after 

25 subclause (V) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(VI) SPECIAL RULE FOR CER2 TAIN OLDER WORKERS.— 

3 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—Not4 withstanding any other provision 

5 of this clause, in the case of a 

6 qualifying event described in 

7 paragraph (3)(B) relating to a 

8 reduction of hours of an em9 ployee described in item (bb), the 

10 date which is 36 months after 

11 the date of the qualifying event, 

12 except that the period of coverage 

13 under this clause shall end on the 

14 date on which the employee be15 comes entitled to benefits under 

16 title XVIII of the Social Security 

17 Act based on age. 

18 ‘‘(bb) EMPLOYEE DE19 SCRIBED.—An employee is de20 scribed in this subclause if such 

21 employee, on the date of the 

22 qualifying event, is at least the 

23 early retirement age (as defined 

24 in section 216(l)(2) of the Social 

25 Security Act) but not yet entitled 


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1 to benefits under title XVIII of 

2 the Social Security Act based on 

3 age.’’. 

4 TITLE II—EMPLOYMENT AND 

5 TRAINING 

6 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 101 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 

8 (29 U.S.C. 2801) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (17) through 

10 (53) as paragraphs (18) through (54), respectively; 

11 and 

12 (2) by inserting after paragraph (16) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(17) HARD-TO-SERVE POPULATIONS.—The 

15 term ‘hard-to-serve populations’ means populations 

16 of individuals who are hard to serve, including dis17 placed homemakers, low-income individuals, Native 

18 Americans, individuals with disabilities, older indi19 viduals, ex-offenders, homeless individuals, individ20 uals with limited English proficiency, individuals 

21 who do not meet the definition of literacy in section 

22 203, individuals facing substantial cultural barriers, 

23 migrant and seasonal farmworkers, individuals with24 in 2 years of exhausting lifetime eligibility under 

25 part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 


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1 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), single parents (including single 

2 pregnant women), and such other groups as the 

3 Governor determines to be hard to serve.’’. 

4 SEC. 202. STATEWIDE EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ACTIVI5 TIES. 

6 Section 134(a)(3)(A) of the Workforce Investment 

7 Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2864(a)(3)(A)) is amended— 

8 (1) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

9 (2) by redesignating clause (vii) as clause (viii); 

10 and 

11 (3) by inserting after clause (vi) the following: 

12 ‘‘(vii) developing strategies for effec13 tively serving hard-to-serve populations 

14 and for coordinating programs and services 

15 among one-stop partners; and’’. 

16 SEC. 203. LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES. 

17 (a) INTENSIVE SERVICES.—Section 134(d)(3) of the 

18 Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 

19 2864(d)(3)) is amended by striking subparagraph (A) and 

20 inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

22 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY.—Except as pro23 vided in clause (iii), funds allocated to a 

24 local area for adults under paragraph 

25 (2)(A) or (3), as appropriate, of section 


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1 133(b), and funds allocated to the local 

2 area for dislocated workers under section 

3 133(b)(2)(B), shall be used to provide in4 tensive services to adults and dislocated 

5 workers, respectively— 

6 ‘‘(I) who are unemployed and 

7 who, after an interview, evaluation, or 

8 assessment, have been determined by 

9 a one-stop operator or one-stop part10 ner to be— 

11 ‘‘(aa) unlikely or unable to 

12 obtain employment, that leads to 

13 self-sufficiency or wages com14 parable to or higher than pre15 vious employment, through core 

16 services described in paragraph 

17 (2); and 

18 ‘‘(bb) in need of intensive 

19 services to obtain employment 

20 that leads to self-sufficiency or 

21 wages comparable to or higher 

22 than previous employment; or 

23 ‘‘(II) who are employed, but who, 

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1 stop operator or one-stop partner to 

2 be in need of intensive services to ob3 tain or retain employment that leads 

4 to self-sufficiency. 

5 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATION.—For purposes 

6 of determining whether an adult or dis7 located worker meets the requirements of 

8 clause (i)(I)(aa), a one-stop operator or 

9 one-stop partner shall consider whether the 

10 adult or dislocated worker is a member of 

11 a hard-to-serve population. 

12 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL RULE.—A new inter13 view, evaluation, or assessment of a partic14 ipant is not required under clause (i) if the 

15 one-stop operator or one-stop partner de16 termines that it is appropriate to use a re17 cent assessment of the participant con18 ducted pursuant to another education or 

19 training program.’’. 

20 (b) TRAINING SERVICES.—Section 134(d)(4) of such 

21 Act (29 U.S.C. 2864(d)(4)) is amended by striking sub22 paragraph (A) and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

24 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY.—Except as pro25 vided in clause (iii), funds allocated to a 


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1 local area for adults under paragraph 

2 (2)(A) or (3), as appropriate, of section 

3 133(b), and funds allocated to the local 

4 area for dislocated workers under section 

5 133(b)(2)(B), shall be used to provide 

6 training services to adults and dislocated 

7 workers, respectively— 

8 ‘‘(I) who, after an interview, eval9 uation, or assessment, and case man10 agement, have been determined by a 

11 one-stop operator or one-stop partner, 

12 as appropriate, to— 

13 ‘‘(aa) be unlikely or unable 

14 to obtain or retain employment, 

15 that leads to self-sufficiency or 

16 wages comparable to or higher 

17 than previous employment, 

18 through the intensive services de19 scribed in paragraph (3); 

20 ‘‘(bb) be in need of training 

21 services to obtain or retain em22 ployment that leads to self-suffi23 ciency or wages comparable to or 

24 higher than previous employ25 ment; and 


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1 ‘‘(cc) have the skills and 

2 qualifications to successfully par3 ticipate in the selected program 

4 of training services; 

5 ‘‘(II) who select programs of 

6 training services that are directly 

7 linked to the employment opportuni8 ties in the local area or region in9 volved or in another area to which the 

10 adults or dislocated workers are will11 ing to commute or relocate; 

12 ‘‘(III) who meet the requirements 

13 of subparagraph (B); and 

14 ‘‘(IV) who are determined to be 

15 eligible in accordance with the priority 

16 system in effect under subparagraph 

17 (E). 

18 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATION.—For purposes 

19 of determining whether an adult or dis20 located worker meets the requirements of 

21 clause (i)(I)(aa), a one-stop operator or 

22 one-stop partner shall consider whether the 

23 adult or dislocated worker is a member of 

24 a hard-to-serve population. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) SPECIAL RULE.—A new inter2 view, evaluation, or assessment of a partic3 ipant is not required under clause (i) if the 

4 one-stop operator or one-stop partner de5 termines that it is appropriate to use a re6 cent assessment of the participant con7 ducted pursuant to another education or 

8 training program.’’. 

9 (c) LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ACTIVI10 TIES.—Section 134(e)(1)(A) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 

11 2864(e)(1)(A)) is amended— 

12 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

13 the end; 

14 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

15 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(C) customer support to enable members 

18 of hard-to-serve populations, including individ19 uals with disabilities, to navigate among mul20 tiple services and activities for such popu21 lations.’’. 

22 SEC. 204. PERFORMANCE MEASURES. 

23 (a) STATE PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—Section 

24 136(b)(3)(A)(iv)(II) of the Workforce Investment Act of 

25 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2871(b)(3)(A)(iv)(II)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘taking into account’’ and in2 serting ‘‘and shall ensure that the levels involved are 

3 adjusted, using objective statistical methods, based 

4 on’’; 

5 (2) by inserting ‘‘(such as differences in unem6 ployment rates and job losses or gains in particular 

7 industries)’’ after ‘‘economic conditions’’; and 

8 (3) by inserting ‘‘(such as indicators of poor 

9 work history, lack of work experience, lack of edu10 cational or occupational skills attainment, dislocation 

11 from high-wage and benefit employment, low levels 

12 of literacy or English proficiency, disability status, 

13 older individual status, homelessness, ex-offender 

14 status, and welfare dependency)’’ after ‘‘program’’. 

15 (b) LOCAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—Section 

16 136(c)(3) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2871(c)(3))— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘shall take into account’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘shall ensure that the levels involved are 

19 adjusted, using objective statistical methods, based 

20 on’’; 

21 (2) by inserting ‘‘(characteristics such as unem22 ployment rates and job losses or gains in particular 

23 industries)’’ after ‘‘economic’’; and 

24 (3) by inserting ‘‘(characteristics such as indi25 cators of poor work history, lack of work experience, 


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1 lack of educational and occupational skills attain2 ment, dislocation from high-wage and benefit em3 ployment, low levels of literacy or English pro4 ficiency, disability status, older individual status, 

5 homelessness, ex-offender status, and welfare de6 pendency)’’ after ‘‘demographic’’. 

7 (c) WAGE RECORDS AND DOCUMENTED DATA.—Sec8 tion 136(f)(2) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2871(f)(2)) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and all that follows 

11 through ‘‘In’’ and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) WAGE RECORDS AND DOCUMENTED

13 DATA.— 

14 ‘‘(A) WAGE RECORDS.—In’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(B) DOCUMENTED DATA.—In measuring 

17 the progress of the State with respect to older 

18 individuals on State and local performance 

19 measures relating to earnings, a State may use 

20 documented data other than quarterly wage 

21 records to determine the work schedule of the 

22 older individuals, and may impute full-time 

23 earnings to part-time workers who are older in24 dividuals.’’. 


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1 SEC. 205. REPORTING. 

2 Section 136(d)(2) of the Workforce Investment Act 

3 of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2871(d)(2)) is amended— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘(exclud5 ing participants who received only self-service and 

6 informational activities)’’; and 

7 (2) in subparagraph (F)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘(F)’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘(F)(i)’’; 

10 (B) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; 

11 and’’; and 

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

13 ‘‘(ii) the number of participants in 

14 each of the groups described in clause (i) 

15 who have received services authorized 

16 under this title, in the form of core serv17 ices described in section 134(d)(2), inten18 sive services described in section 134(d)(3), 

19 training services described in section 

20 134(d)(4), and followup services, respec21 tively;’’. 

22 SEC. 206. INCENTIVE GRANTS. 

23 (a) USE OF FUNDS FOR STATEWIDE EMPLOYMENT

24 AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES.—Section 134(a)(2)(B) of the 

25 Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 

26 2864(a)(2)(B)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

2 (2) in clause (vi), by striking the period and in3 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(vii) providing incentive grants to 

6 local areas, in accordance with section 

7 136(j).’’. 

8 (b) INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR LOCAL AREAS.—Section 

9 136 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2871) is amended by adding 

10 at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(j) INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR LOCAL AREAS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From funds reserved under 

13 sections 128(a) and 133(a)(1), the Governor in14 volved shall award incentive grants to local areas for 

15 performance described in paragraph (2) in carrying 

16 out programs under chapters 4 and 5. 

17 ‘‘(2) BASIS.—The Governor shall award the 

18 grants on the basis that the local areas— 

19 ‘‘(A) have exceeded the performance meas20 ures established under subsection (c)(2) relating 

21 to indicators described in subsection 

22 (b)(3)(A)(iii); or 

23 ‘‘(B) have— 

24 ‘‘(i) met the performance measures es25 tablished under subsection (c)(2) relating 


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1 to indicators described in subsection 

2 (b)(3)(A)(iii); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) demonstrated exemplary per4 formance in the State in serving hard-to5 serve populations. 

6 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds awarded to a 

7 local area under this subsection may be used to 

8 carry out activities authorized for local areas and 

9 such innovative projects or programs that increase 

10 coordination and enhance service to program partici11 pants, particularly hard-to-serve populations, as may 

12 be approved by the Governor.’’. 

13 (c) INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR STATES.—Section 503 

14 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 9273) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 ‘‘(1) TIMELINE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) PRIOR TO JULY 1, 2010.—Prior to 

20 July 1, 2010, the Secretary shall award a grant 

21 to each State in accordance with the provisions 

22 of this section as this section was in effect on 

23 July 1, 2003. 

24 ‘‘(B) BEGINNING JULY 1, 2010.—Beginning 

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1 centive grants to States for performance de2 scribed in paragraph (2) in carrying out innova3 tive programs consistent with the programs 

4 under chapters 4 and 5 of subtitle B of title I, 

5 to implement or enhance innovative and coordi6 nated programs consistent with the statewide 

7 economic, workforce, and educational interests 

8 of the State. 

9 ‘‘(2) BASIS.—The Secretary shall award the 

10 grants on the basis that States— 

11 ‘‘(A) have exceeded the State adjusted lev12 els of performance for title I, the adjusted levels 

13 of performance for title II, and the levels of 

14 performance under the Carl D. Perkins Voca15 tional and Technical Education Act of 1998 (20 

16 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); or 

17 ‘‘(B) have— 

18 ‘‘(i) met the State adjusted levels of 

19 performance for title I, the adjusted levels 

20 of performance for title II, and the levels 

21 of performance under the Carl D. Perkins 

22 Vocational and Technical Education Act of 

23 1998 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) demonstrated exemplary per2 formance in serving hard-to-serve popu3 lations. 

4 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds awarded to a 

5 State under this section may be used to carry out 

6 activities authorized for States under chapters 4 and 

7 5 of subtitle B of title I, title II, and the Carl D. 

8 Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 

9 1998 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), including demonstra10 tion projects, and for such innovative projects or 

11 programs that increase coordination and enhance 

12 service to program participants, particularly hard-to13 serve populations.’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking subpara15 graph (C) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(C) the State meets the requirements of 

17 subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(2).’’. 

18 TITLE III—CLEARINGHOUSE OF 

19 BEST PRACTICES FOR HIRING 

20 AND RETAINING OLDER 

21 WORKERS 

22 SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT. 

23 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall— 


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1 (1) identify best practices for hiring and retain2 ing older workers in the private and public sectors; 

3 and 

4 (2) make such information publicly available 

5 through the Internet. 

6 SEC. 302. ANNUAL UPDATES. 

7 The Secretary of Labor shall update the practices 

8 identified under section 301(1) and make such informa9 tion publicly available as provided under section 301(2) 

10 on an annual basis. 

Æ 


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