109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3761
AN ACT 
To provide special rules for disaster relief employment under 
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 for individuals 
displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Flexibility for Dis-
placed Workers Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SPECIAL RULES FOR NATIONAL EMERGENCY 
GRANTS RELATED TO HURRICANE KATRINA. 
(a) USE OF GRANTS FOR PROJECTS OUTSIDE DIS-
ASTER AREA.—Funds provided to States that submit ap-
plications for assistance described in section 173(a)(2) of 
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 
2918(a)(2)) to address the effects of Hurricane Katrina 
may be used to provide disaster relief employment and 
other assistance under section 173(d)(1) of such Act (29 
U.S.C. 2918(d)(1)) on projects that provide assistance in 
areas outside of the disaster area (as such term is defined 
in section 173(a)(2) of such Act). 
(b) EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY FOR DISASTER RELIEF 
EMPLOYMENT.—Funds provided to States that submit ap-
plications for assistance described under section 173(a)(2) 
of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 
2918(a)(2)) to address the effects of Hurricane Katrina 
may be used to provide disaster relief employment and 
other assistance under section 173(d)(1) of such Act, or 
public sector employment authorized under subsection (c) 
of this Act, to individuals affected by Hurricane Katrina, 
including those who have relocated from States in which 
a major disaster was declared under section 102 of the 
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Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) due to the effects of Hurricane 
Katrina, who were unemployed at the time of the disaster 
or who are without employment history, in addition to in-
dividuals who are eligible for such employment under sec-
tion 173(d)(2) of Workforce Investment Act of 1998. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION FOR GENERAL PUBLIC SECTOR 
EMPLOYMENT.—Funds provided to States that submit ap-
plications for assistance described in section 173(a)(2) of 
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to address the ef-
fects of Hurricane Katrina may be used to provide to eligi-
ble individuals temporary employment by public sector en-
tities for a period not to exceed 6 months in addition to 
disaster relief employment described in section 173(d)(1) 
of such Act. 
(d) EXTENSION OF THE DURATION OF DISASTER 
RELIEF EMPLOYMENT.—The Secretary of Labor may ex-
tend the 6-month maximum duration of employment 
under this Act and under section 173(d) of the Workforce 
Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2918(d)) for not more 
than an additional 6 months due to extraordinary cir-
cumstances. 
(e) PRIORITY FOR DISASTER RELIEF EMPLOYMENT 
FUNDS.—In awarding national emergency grants to 
States under section 173(a)(2) of the Workforce Invest-
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