I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2300

To provide assistance to employees who are subject to a plant closing or

mass layoff because their work is transferred to a foreign country that

has low wages or unhealthy working conditions and to amend the Worker

Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to expand the coverage and

strengthen the notification and enforcement provisions under that Act.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 27, 1993

Mr. FORD of Michigan introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Education and Labor

A BILL

To provide assistance to employees who are subject to a

plant closing or mass layoff because their work is transferred to a foreign country that has low wages or

unhealthy working conditions and to amend the Worker

Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to expand

the coverage and strengthen the notification and enforcement provisions under that Act.

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 ‘‘American Jobs Protec5 tion Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Table of contents.

TITLE I—ASSISTANCE TO WORKERS SUBJECT TO PLANT CLOSINGS OR MASS LAYOFFS BECAUSE THEIR WORK IS TRANSFERRED TO LOW WAGE FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Sec. 101. Findings and purposes.

Sec. 102. Definitions.

Sec. 103. Limitation on work transfer to low wage foreign countries.

Sec. 104. Notice requirements.

Sec. 105. Employee benefits.

Sec. 106. Restriction on employer to enter into contract with the United States

for failure to provide notice or benefits.

Sec. 107. Investigative authority.

Sec. 108. Enforcement.

Sec. 109. Procedures in addition to other rights of employees.

Sec. 110. Requirement of posting of notice by employer at site of employment.

TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE WORKER ADJUSTMENT AND

RETRAINING NOTIFICATION ACT

Sec. 201. References to act.

Sec. 202. Definitions.

Sec. 203. Increase in time period of notice required before plant closings and

mass layoffs.

Sec. 204. Additional damages for determination of employer liability.

Sec. 205. Limitation of liability for good faith act or omission in violation of

act.

Sec. 206. Additional enforcement requirements.

Sec. 207. Requirement of payment of attorney’s fee.

Sec. 208. Requirement of posting of notice at employer’s business.

TITLE III—EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 301. Effective date.
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1 TITLE I—ASSISTANCE TO WORK2 ERS SUBJECT TO PLANT

3 CLOSINGS OR MASS LAYOFFS

4 BECAUSE THEIR WORK IS

5 TRANSFERRED TO LOW WAGE

6 FOREIGN COUNTRIES

7 SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

8 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

9 (1) During the last 2 decades millions of jobs

10 in the United States have been transferred by busi11 nesses to foreign countries to take advantage of the

12 low wages and lack of labor standards in those coun13 tries.

14 (2) Millions of additional jobs in the United

15 States are at risk of such a transfer during the

16 1990’s, particularly if the North American Free

17 Trade Agreement is approved by the Congress.

18 (3) The threat of the transfer of work to low

19 wage foreign countries suppresses wages and bene20 fits to workers in the United States and thereby

21 lessens the purchasing power of middle class families

22 in the United States.

23 (4) The transfer of jobs to low wage foreign

24 countries imposes a severe burden upon the individ25 ual workers who are dislocated by such transfers
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1 and the communities which are affected by such

2 transfers.

3 (5) The provision of income, continued health

4 and pension benefits, and job training assistance to

5 such dislocated workers would significantly ease the

6 burdens caused by the transfer of jobs to low wage

7 foreign countries.

8 (6) The transfer of jobs to take advantage of

9 the low wages and lack of labor standards in foreign

10 countries is detrimental to the interests of the Unit11 ed States because such transfers are based on the

12 incorrect premise that the employees of businesses

13 constitute a cost to be lowered and not an asset

14 which should be developed and utilized.

15 (7) The best chance for the United States to

16 meet international competition in the future is to

17 focus on a competitive strategy that emphasizes

18 high-wage, high-skill employment as opposed to em19 ployment that competes internationally on the basis

20 of low wages.

21 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are—

22 (1) to discourage the transfer of work to low

23 wage foreign countries; and

24 (2) to require businesses that transfer work to

25 low wage foreign countries to mitigate the costs of
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1 the dislocation to workers and communities subject

2 to that dislocation.

3 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.

4 For purposes of this title, the following definitions

5 apply:

6 (1) AFFECTED EMPLOYEES.—The term ‘‘af7 fected employees’’ means employees who may rea8 sonably be expected to experience an employment

9 loss as a consequence of a proposed plant closing or

10 mass layoff.

11 (2) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ means

12 any business enterprise that employs—

13 (A) 25 or more employees, excluding part14 time employment; or

15 (B) 25 or more employees who in the ag16 gregate work at least 1,000 hours per week.

17 Such term includes all business entities which have

18 substantial ownership interest, substantial manage19 ment authority or substantial control over the terms

20 and conditions of employment of employees at a site

21 of employment subject to an employment loss.

22 (3) EMPLOYMENT LOSS.—The term ‘‘employ23 ment loss’’ means—
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1 (A) an employment termination, other than

2 a discharge for cause, voluntary departure, or

3 retirement;

4 (B) a layoff exceeding 6 months;

5 (C) a reduction in hours of work of more

6 than 50 percent during each month of any 6-

7 month period; or

8 (D) a reduction in salary of more than 33

9 percent during each month of any 6-month

10 period.

11 (4) GROUP HEALTH PLAN.—The term ‘‘group

12 health plan’’ means an employee welfare benefit plan

13 providing medical care (as defined in section 213(d)

14 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) to partici15 pants or beneficiaries or dependents, directly or

16 through insurance, reimbursement, or otherwise.

17 (5) LOCATION ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘loca18 tion assistance’’ includes any subsidy, infrastructure

19 development or improvement, tax relief, site prepara20 tion assistance, hiring and training assistance, or

21 other economic benefit offered by a State or unit of

22 local government to induce an employer to locate at,

23 remain at, or expand its operations at a site of em24 ployment within the jurisdiction of such State or po25 litical subdivision.
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1 (6) MASS LAYOFF.—The term ‘‘mass layoff’’

2 means a reduction in force which—

3 (A) is not the result of a plant closing; and

4 (B) results in an employment loss at the

5 single site of employment, or 1 or more facili6 ties or operating units within a single site of

7 employment, during any 30-day period for at

8 least 12 employees (excluding any part-time

9 employees).

10 (7) PART-TIME EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘part11 time employee’’ means an employee who is employed

12 for an average of fewer than 20 hours per week or

13 who has been employed for fewer than 6 of the 12

14 months preceding the date on which notice is re15 quired.

16 (8) PLANT CLOSING.—The term ‘‘plant closing’’

17 means the permanent or temporary shutdown of a

18 single site of employment, or 1 or more facilities or

19 operating units within a single site of employment,

20 if the shutdown results in an employment loss at the

21 single site of employment during any 30-day period

22 for 12 or more employees, excluding part-time em23 ployees.

24 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

25 the Secretary of Labor.
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1 (10) SITE OF EMPLOYMENT.—The term ‘‘site

2 of employment’’ means any factory, mine, business

3 office, facility, or other operating unit, or the func4 tional equivalent thereof.

5 SEC. 103. LIMITATION ON WORK TRANSFER TO LOW WAGE

6 FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—An employer may not implement

8 a plant closing or mass layoff at a site of employment due

9 to a transfer of work to a low wage foreign country which

10 occurs 1 year before or after such closing or mass layoff

11 (as described in subsection (b)) unless the employer pro12 vides notice at least 180 days before such closing or mass

13 layoff in accordance with section 104 and provides benefits

14 to employees in accordance with section 105.

15 (b) TRANSFER OF WORK DESCRIBED.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), work shall be considered to be transferred

18 to a low wage foreign country for purposes of sub19 section (a) if the employer—

20 (A) increases the amount of work per21 formed at 1 or more sites of employment in 1

22 or more low wage foreign countries and such

23 work is substantially similar to the work per24 formed at the site of employment referred to in

25 subsection (a); or
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1 (B) increases the amount of products or

2 services which are imported from 1 or more low

3 wage foreign countries and such products or

4 services are substantially similar to the prod5 ucts or services produced or provided at the site

6 of employment referred to in subsection (a).

7 (2) EXCEPTION.—If an employer who orders a

8 plant closing or mass layoff at a site of employment

9 referred to in subsection (a) proves that the increase

10 in—

11 (A) work described in paragraph (1)(A)

12 which is performed in a low wage foreign coun13 try; or

14 (B) products or services described in para15 graph (1)(B) which are imported to the United

16 States from a low wage foreign country,

17 is not related to the plant closing or mass layoff at

18 such site of employment, the employer shall not be

19 required to provide notice in accordance with section

20 104 or benefits to the employees in accordance with

21 section 105.

22 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of para23 graph (1), if an increase described in such para24 graph is carried out by any person which owns at

25 least 10 percent of an employer described in sub-
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1 section (a) or by any person, 10 percent of which is

2 owned by such employer, such employer shall be con3 sidered to have carried out such increase.

4 (c) PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER.—The

5 Secretary shall publish annually in the Federal Register

6 the name of each low wage foreign country as defined in

7 subsection (d), as determined under regulations developed

8 by the Secretary.

9 (d) LOW WAGE FOREIGN COUNTRY DEFINED.—For

10 purposes of this section, the term ‘‘low wage foreign coun11 try’’ means—

12 (1) a country in which the average wage is less

13 than 50 percent of the average wage in the United

14 States, as determined by the Secretary; or

15 (2) a country in which the employment stand16 ards relating to the payment of overtime compensa17 tion, child labor, or employee safety and health

18 which are in effect and enforced in such country are

19 substantially less effective than the standards under

20 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.

21 201 et seq.) and the Occupational Safety and Health

22 Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.), as determined

23 by the Secretary.
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1 SEC. 104. NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) An employer who implements

3 a plant closing or mass layoff subject to section 103 shall

4 provide written notice of such closing or mass layoff—

5 (A) to each representative of the affected em6 ployees as of the time of the notice or, if there is

7 no such representative at that time, to each affected

8 employee; and

9 (B) to the State dislocated worker unit (des10 ignated or created under title III of the Job Train11 ing Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.)) and

12 the chief elected official of the unit of local govern13 ment within which such closing or layoff is to occur.

14 (2) If there is more than 1 such unit of local govern15 ment, the unit of local government which the employer

16 shall notify is the unit of local government to which the

17 employer pays the highest taxes for the year preceding the

18 year for which the determination is made.

19 (b) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—The notice required

20 under subsection (a) shall include a statement of—

21 (1) the nature of the site of employment at

22 which the plant closing or mass layoff is to be un23 dertaken;

24 (2) the reasons for undertaking such plant clos25 ing or mass layoff;
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1 (3) any alternative to undertaking such plant

2 closing or mass layoff;

3 (4) any request made by the employer to a

4 State or unit of general local government for loca5 tion assistance to avoid such plant closing or mass

6 layoff with respect to such site of employment;

7 (5) the estimated extent of the employment loss

8 within the employer which will result from such

9 plant closing or mass layoff;

10 (6) any plan to minimize the effects of such

11 plant closing or mass layoff on employees at such

12 site of employment and on any unit of local govern13 ment having jurisdiction over the geographical area

14 in which the site of employment is located;

15 (7) the economic circumstances of such site of

16 employment, including the level of profitability of op17 erations at the site of employment, and any plans

18 for future investment, employment, and production

19 at the site of employment;

20 (8) the economic circumstances of the employer

21 and the feasibility of transferring employees affected

22 by such plant closing or mass layoff to other sites

23 of employment of the employer; and
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1 (9) the names and addresses of all employees

2 who will suffer an employment loss as a result of

3 such plant closing or mass layoff.

4 SEC. 105. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—An employer shall provide the fol6 lowing benefits to each employee who suffers an employ7 ment loss due to a plant closing or mass layoff subject

8 to section 103:

9 (1) SEVERANCE PAY.—Severance pay equal to

10 the product of—

11 (A) the amount equal to 4 weeks wages of

12 the employee, calculated at the average wage

13 which the employee received in the final 26

14 weeks of employment with the employer; and

15 (B) the number of years the employee was

16 employed by the employer.

17 (2) HEALTH CARE BENEFITS.—Continuation of

18 benefits under the same terms and conditions of a

19 group health plan previously provided to the em20 ployee for the period ending 18 months after the

21 date of the plant closing or mass layoff.

22 (3) REIMBURSEMENT FOR RETRAINING AND

23 RELATED EXPENSES.—Reimbursement (not to ex24 ceed $10,000) for retraining, job search, and reloca25 tion expenses incurred during the period ending 2
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1 years after the date of the notice of the plant closing

2 or mass layoff.

3 (4) TRAINING INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—Incen4 tive payments equal to 25 percent of 1 weeks wages

5 of the employee (calculated in accordance with para6 graph (1)(A)) for each week during which the em7 ployee participates in a job training program during

8 the period ending 2 years after the date of the notice

9 of the plant closing or mass layoff.

10 (5) RETIREMENT BENEFITS.—In any case in

11 which, as of the date of the plant closing or mass

12 layoff, the employee is a participant in an employee

13 pension benefit plan (as defined in section 3(2) of

14 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of

15 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(2))) and has attained an age

16 which is at or above 5 years before early or normal

17 retirement age (as defined in section 3(24) of such

18 Act (29 U.S.C. 1002(24))) under the plan, benefits

19 which are the actuarial equivalent of benefit accruals

20 which would occur under the plan if the employee

21 had continued in full-time service under the plan for

22 5 years after such date at the same rate of pay and

23 had made all required contributions for such period.

24 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF EMPLOYEE ACCOUNT.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employer who imple2 ments a plant closing or mass layoff subject to sec3 tion 103 shall establish an employee benefit account

4 into which the employer shall make payments suffi5 cient to fund the amount of the benefits to be pro6 vided under subsection (a).

7 (2) MANAGEMENT OF ACCOUNT.—The account

8 established under paragraph (1) shall be managed

9 by 5 individuals, of whom—

10 (A) 2 individuals shall be selected by the

11 employer;

12 (B) 2 individuals shall be selected by the

13 affected employees; and

14 (C) 1 individual shall be selected by the 4

15 individuals referred to in subparagraphs (A)

16 and (B).

17 (3) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall pro18 mulgate regulations with respect to the establish19 ment and management of accounts under this sub20 section.

21 SEC. 106. RESTRICTION ON EMPLOYER TO ENTER INTO

22 CONTRACT WITH THE UNITED STATES FOR

23 FAILURE TO PROVIDE NOTICE OR BENEFITS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

25 (b), an employer who implements a plant closing or mass
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1 layoff subject to section 103 and does not provide the no2 tice or benefits in accordance with sections 104 or 105,

3 respectively, may not enter into a contract with the United

4 States for the provision of products or services which were

5 involved in the work transfer described in section 103 or

6 which are substantially similar to such products or serv7 ices.

8 (b) NATIONAL SECURITY WAIVER.—The Secretary,

9 in consultation with the head of the appropriate Federal

10 agency to which the proposed contract relates, may waive

11 the restriction described in subsection (a) with respect to

12 an employer if the employer demonstrates that such re13 striction would threaten the national security of the Unit14 ed States.

15 SEC. 107. INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—To ensure compliance with this

17 title, or any regulation issued under this title, the Sec18 retary, subject to subsection (c), shall have the investiga19 tive authority provided under section 11(a) of the Fair

20 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(a)).

21 (b) OBLIGATION TO KEEP AND PRESERVE

22 RECORDS.—An employer shall keep and preserve records

23 in accordance with section 11(c) of the Fair Labor Stand24 ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(c)) and in accordance

25 with regulations issued by the Secretary.
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1 (c) SUBPOENA POWER.—For the purposes of any in2 vestigation provided for in this section, the Secretary shall

3 have the subpoena authority provided for under section

4 9 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.

5 209).

6 SEC. 108. ENFORCEMENT.

7 (a) CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEES.—

8 (1) LIABILITY.—An employer who implements

9 a plant closing or mass layoff in violation of section

10 103 shall be liable to each employee who suffers an

11 employment loss due to such closing or mass lay12 off—

13 (A) for damages equal to—

14 (i) the amount of any wages, salary,

15 employment benefits, or other compensa16 tion denied or lost to such employee by

17 reason of the violation;

18 (ii) the interest on the amount de19 scribed in clause (i) calculated at the pre20 vailing rate; and

21 (iii) an additional amount as liq22 uidated damages equal to the sum of the

23 amount described in clause (i) and the in24 terest described in clause (ii), except that

25 if the employer proves to the satisfaction
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1 of the court that the act or omission which

2 violated section 103 was in good faith and

3 that the employer had reasonable grounds

4 for believing that the act or omission was

5 not a violation of such section, such court

6 may, in the discretion of the court, reduce

7 the amount of the liability to the amount

8 and interest determined under clauses (i)

9 and (ii), respectively;

10 (B) for damages equal to any actual mone11 tary loss sustained by the employee as a direct

12 result of the violation, such as the cost of pro13 viding health care; and

14 (C) for such equitable relief as may be ap15 propriate, including, employment, reinstate16 ment, and promotion.

17 (2) STANDING.—An action to recover the dam18 ages or equitable relief described in paragraph (1)

19 may be maintained against an employer in any Fed20 eral or State court of competent jurisdiction by any

21 1 or more employees who suffer an employment loss

22 due to the closing or mass layoff for and in behalf

23 of—

24 (A) such employees; or
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1 (B) such employees and other employees

2 similarly situated under the provisions of Fed3 eral Rule of Civil Procedure 23.

4 (3) FEES AND COSTS.—The court in such an

5 action shall, in addition to any judgment awarded to

6 the plaintiff, allow a reasonable attorney’s fee, rea7 sonable expert witness fees, and other costs of the

8 action to be paid by the defendant.

9 (b) ACTION BY STATE AND UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERN10 MENT.—

11 (1) LIABILITY.—An employer who implements

12 a plant closing or mass layoff in violation of section

13 103 shall be liable to the State or unit of local gov14 ernment in which the employer is located for dam15 ages equal to the difference of—

16 (A) the location assistance provided to the

17 employer by the State or unit of local govern18 ment; and

19 (B) the amount of the benefit, if any,

20 which the State or unit of local government will

21 continue to receive as a result of the provision

22 of such assistance to the employer.

23 (2) STANDING.—An action to recover the dam24 ages described in paragraph (1) may be maintained

25 against any employer in any Federal or State court
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1 of competent jurisdiction by the State or unit of

2 local government described in paragraph (1).

3 (3) FEES AND COSTS.—The court in such an

4 action shall, in addition to any judgment awarded to

5 the plaintiff, allow a reasonable attorney’s fee, rea6 sonable expert witness fees, and other costs of the

7 action to be paid by the defendant.

8 (c) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—

9 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The Secretary

10 shall receive, investigate, and attempt to resolve

11 complaints of violations of section 103 in the same

12 manner that the Secretary receives, investigates, and

13 attempts to resolve complaints of violations of sec14 tions 6 and 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of

15 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206 and 207).

16 (2) CIVIL ACTION.—The Secretary may bring

17 an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to

18 recover the damages described in subsection

19 (a)(1)(A) on behalf of each employee who suffers an

20 employment loss due to a plant closing or mass lay21 off in violation of section 103.

22 (3) SUMS RECOVERED.—(A) Any sums recov23 ered by the Secretary on behalf of an employee

24 under paragraph (2) shall be held in a special de-
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1 posit account and shall be paid, on order of the Sec2 retary, directly to such employee.

3 (B) Any such sums not paid to an employee be4 cause of inability to do so within a period of 3 years

5 from the date of recovery by the Secretary shall be

6 credited as an offsetting collection to the appropria7 tions account of the Secretary of Labor for expenses

8 for the administration of this title and shall remain

9 available to the Secretary until expended.

10 (d) LIMITATION.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—An action may be brought

12 under subsection (a), (b), or (c) not later than 3

13 years after the date of the last event constituting the

14 alleged violation for which the action is brought.

15 (2) COMMENCEMENT WITH RESPECT TO ACTION

16 BY SECRETARY.—In determining when an action is

17 commenced by the Secretary under subsection (c)

18 for purposes of paragraph (1), such action shall be

19 considered to be commenced on the date when the

20 complaint is filed.

21 (e) ACTION FOR INJUNCTION BY SECRETARY.—The

22 district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction,

23 for cause shown, over an action brought by the Secretary

24 to restrain violations of section 103, including actions to

25 restrain the withholding of payment of wages, salary, em-
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1 ployment benefits, or other compensation, plus interest,

2 found by the court to be due to employees who suffer an

3 employment loss due to a plant closing or mass layoff in

4 violation of such section.

5 SEC. 109. PROCEDURES IN ADDITION TO OTHER RIGHTS OF

6 EMPLOYEES.

7 The rights and remedies provided to employees under

8 this title are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other

9 contractual or statutory rights and remedies of the em10 ployees, and are not intended to alter or affect such rights

11 and remedies, except that the period of notification re12 quired by section 103(a) shall run concurrently with any

13 period of notification required by contract or by any other

14 law.

15 SEC. 110. REQUIREMENT OF POSTING OF NOTICE BY EM16 PLOYER AT SITE OF EMPLOYMENT.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each employer shall post and

18 keep posted, in conspicuous places at the site of employ19 ment of the employer where notices to employees and ap20 plicants for employment are customarily posted, a notice,

21 to be prepared or approved by the Secretary, setting forth

22 excerpts from, or summaries of, the pertinent provisions

23 of this title and information pertaining to the filing of a

24 charge.
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1 (b) PENALTY.—Any employer that willfully violates

2 the requirements described in subsection (a) may be as3 sessed a civil money penalty not to exceed $100 for each

4 separate offense.

5 TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE

6 WORKER ADJUSTMENT AND

7 RETRAINING NOTIFICATION

8 ACT

9 SEC. 201. REFERENCES TO ACT.

10 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

11 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

12 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi13 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a

14 section or other provision of the Worker Adjustment and

15 Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.).

16 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

17 Section 2(a) is amended—

18 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘100’’ and

19 inserting ‘‘50’’;

20 (2) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘100’’ and

21 inserting ‘‘50’’ and by striking ‘‘4,000’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘2,000’’;

23 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘50’’ and in24 serting ‘‘25’’; and

25 (4) in paragraph (3) to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘mass layoff’ means a reduction

2 in force which—

3 ‘‘(A) is not the result of a plant closing;

4 and

5 ‘‘(B) results in an employment loss at the

6 single site of employment during any 30-day pe7 riod for at least 25 employees;’’.

8 SEC. 203. INCREASE IN TIME PERIOD OF NOTICE REQUIRED

9 BEFORE PLANT CLOSINGS AND MASS LAY10 OFFS.

11 Section 3 is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘60-day period’’ each place it

13 appears and inserting ‘‘180-day period’’; and

14 (2) by striking subsection (d).

15 SEC. 204. ADDITIONAL DAMAGES FOR DETERMINATION OF

16 EMPLOYER LIABILITY.

17 Section 5 (a)(1) is amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘as a result of such closing or

19 layoff for—’’ and inserting ‘‘as a result of such clos20 ing or layoff for damages equal to—’’

21 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘back pay

22 for each day’’ and inserting ‘‘the amount of back

23 pay for each day’’;

24 (3) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ‘‘and’’

25 at the end of such subparagraph;
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1 (4) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period

2 at the end of such subparagraph;

3 (5) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol4 lowing new subparagraphs:

5 ‘‘(C) actual monetary losses sustained by

6 the employee as a direct result of the violation;

7 ‘‘(D) the interest on the amount described

8 in subparagraph (A) calculated at the prevailing

9 rate; and

10 ‘‘(E) an additional amount as liquidated

11 damages equal to the sum of the amount de12 scribed in subparagraph (A) and the interest

13 described in subparagraph (D);’’; and

14 (6) in the last sentence, by striking ‘‘60 days’’

15 and inserting ‘‘180 days’’.

16 SEC. 205. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR GOOD FAITH ACT

17 OR OMISSION IN VIOLATION OF ACT.

18 Section 5(a)(4) is amended by striking ‘‘or penalty

19 provided for in this section’’ and inserting ‘‘to the amounts

20 determined under subparagraphs (A) and (C) of para21 graph (1) and the interest determined under subpara22 graph (D) of such paragraph’’.

23 SEC. 206. ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT REQUIREMENTS.

24 Section 5, as amended by sections 204 and 205, is

25 further amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub2 section (e); and

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the follow4 ing new subsections:

5 ‘‘(b) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—

6 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall receive, investigate,

7 and attempt to resolve complaints of violations of

8 section 3 in the same manner that the Secretary re9 ceives, investigates, and attempts to resolve com10 plaints of violations of sections 6 and 7 of the Fair

11 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206 and

12 207).

13 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may bring an action in any

14 court of competent jurisdiction to recover the dam15 ages described in subsection (a).

16 ‘‘(3) Any sums recovered by the Secretary pur17 suant to paragraph (2) shall be held in a special de18 posit account and shall be paid, on order of the Sec19 retary, directly to each employee affected. Any such

20 sums not paid to an employee because of inability to

21 do so within a period of 3 years shall be credited as

22 an offsetting collection to the appropriations account

23 of the Secretary of Labor for expenses for the ad24 ministration of this title and shall remain available

25 to the Secretary until expended.
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1 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION.—

2 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), an

3 action may be brought under this section not later

4 than 2 years after the date of the last event con5 stituting the alleged violation for which the action is

6 brought.

7 ‘‘(2) In the case of such action brought for a

8 willful violation of section 3, such action may be

9 brought within 3 years of the date of the last event

10 constituting the alleged violation for which such ac11 tion is brought.

12 ‘‘(3) In determining when an action is com13 menced by the Secretary under this section for the

14 purposes of this subsection, it shall be considered to

15 be commenced on the date when the complaint is

16 filed.

17 ‘‘(d) SOLICITOR OF LABOR.—The Solicitor of Labor

18 may appear for and represent the Secretary on any litiga19 tion brought under this section.’’.

20 SEC. 207. REQUIREMENT OF PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY’S FEE.

21 Section 5(a), as amended by sections 204 through

22 206, is further amended in paragraph (6) by striking ‘‘the

23 court, in its discretion, may allow’’ and inserting ‘‘the

24 court shall’’.
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1 SEC. 208. REQUIREMENT OF POSTING OF NOTICE AT EM2 PLOYER’S BUSINESS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8 is amended by adding

4 at the end the following new subsection:

5 ‘‘(c) POSTING OF NOTICE AT EMPLOYER’S BUSI6 NESS.—(1) Each employer shall post and keep posted, in

7 conspicuous places on the premises of the employer where

8 notices to employees and applicants for employment are

9 customarily posted, a notice, to be prepared or approved

10 by the Secretary, setting forth excerpts from, or sum11 maries of, the pertinent provisions of this Act and infor12 mation pertaining to the filing of a charge.

13 ‘‘(2) Any employer that willfully violates the require14 ments described in paragraph (1) may be assessed a civil

15 money penalty not to exceed $100 for each separate of16 fense.’’.

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8, as amended by

19 subsection (a), is further amended—

20 (A) in the heading of such section to read

21 as follows:

22 ‘‘SEC. 8. REGULATIONS AND NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.’’;

23 (B) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘The

24 Secretary of Labor’’ and inserting ‘‘REGULA25 TIONS.—The Secretary of Labor’’; and
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1 (C) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘The

2 mailing of notice’’ and inserting ‘‘MAILING OF

3 NOTICE TO EMPLOYEE.—The mailing of no4 tice’’.

5 (2) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—Section 1(b) (relat6 ing to the table of contents) is amended in the item

7 relating to section 8 to read as follows:

‘‘Sec. 8. Regulations and notice requirements.’’.

8 TITLE III—EFFECTIVE DATE

9 SEC. 301. EFFECTIVE DATE.

10 This Act, and the amendments made by this Act,

11 shall take effect on the date which is 6 months after the

12 date of the enactment of this Act.

Æ