H. R. 3761
One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America 
AT THE FIRST SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 
the fourth day of January, two thousand and five 
An Act 
To provide special rules for disaster relief employment under the Workforce Invest-
ment Act of 1998 for individuals displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
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 ‘‘Flexibility for Displaced Workers 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SPECIAL RULES FOR NATIONAL EMERGENCY GRANTS RELATED 
TO HURRICANE KATRINA. 
(a) USE OF GRANTS FOR PROJECTS OUTSIDE DISASTER AREA.—
Funds provided to States that submit applications 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
EMPLOY-
MENT.—Funds provided to States that submit applications for assist-
ance 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 individ-
uals affected by Hurricane Katrina, including those who have 
relocated from States in which a major disaster was declared under 
section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance 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 individuals who 
are eligible for such employment under section 173(d)(2) of the 
Workforce Investment Act of 1998. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION
FOR GENERAL PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOY-
MENT.—Funds provided to States that submit applications for assist-
ance described in section 173(a)(2) of the Workforce Investment 
Act of 1998 to address the effects of Hurricane Katrina may be 
used to provide to eligible individuals temporary employment by 
public sector entities for a period not to exceed 6 months in addition 
to disaster relief employment described in section 173(d)(1) of such 
Act.
H. R. 3761—2
(d) EXTENSION OF THE DURATION OF DISASTER RELIEF EMPLOY-
MENT.—The Secretary of Labor may extend 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 Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 
2918(a)(2)) to address the effects of Hurricane Katrina by providing 
disaster relief employment, the Secretary of Labor shall—
(1) first, give priority to States in which areas that have 
suffered major disasters (as defined in section 102 of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 5122)) are located; and 
(2) second, give priority to the remaining States that have 
been most heavily impacted by the demand for services by 
workers affected by Hurricane Katrina. 
(f) ELIGIBILITY
FOR NEEDS-RELATED PAYMENTS.—Funds pro-
vided to States that submit applications 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 needs-related payments (described in section 
134(e)(3) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2864(e)(3))) to individuals described 
in subsection (b) who do not qualify for (or have ceased to qualify 
for) unemployment compensation, and who are not employed on 
a project described under section 173(d) of such Act, for the purpose 
of enabling such individuals to participate in activities described 
in paragraphs (2), (3), or (4) of section 134(d) of such Act. 
(g) USE OF AVAILABLE FUNDS.—With the approval of the Sec-
retary of Labor, any State may use funds that remain available 
for expenditure under any grants awarded to the State under sec-
tion 173 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2918) 
or under this section, to provide any assistance authorized under 
such section 173 or this section, or personal protective equipment 
not otherwise available through public funds or private contribu-
tions, to assist workers affected by Hurricane Katrina, including 
workers who have relocated from areas for which an emergency 
or major disaster (as defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)) 
was declared, due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. 
(h) EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY
FOR EMPLOYMENT
AND TRAINING 
ACTIVITIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In awarding national emergency grants 
under section 173(a)(1) of the Workforce Investment Act of 
1998 (29 U.S.C. 2918(a)(1)), the Secretary may award such 
a grant to an entity to provide employment and training assist-
ance available under section 173(a)(1) of such Act to workers 
affected by Hurricane Katrina, including workers who have 
relocated from areas for which an emergency or major disaster 
(as defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)) was 
declared, due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. 
(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘entity’’ 
means a State, a local board (as defined in section 101 of 
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801)), or 
an entity described in section 166(c) of such Act (29 U.S.C.
H. R. 3761—3
2911(c)), that submits an application for assistance described 
in section 173(a)(1) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 
to address the effects of Hurricane Katrina. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) MOBILE ONE-STOP CENTERS.—It is the sense of Congress 
that States that operate mobile one-stop centers, established as 
part of one-stop delivery systems authorized under subtitle B of 
title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2811 
et seq.) should, where possible, make such centers available for 
use in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, and areas where 
large numbers of workers affected by Hurricane Katrina have been 
relocated. 
(b) EXPANDED OPERATIONAL HOURS.—It is the sense of Congress 
that one-stop operators (as such term is defined in section 101 
of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801) should 
increase access for workers affected by Hurricane Katrina to the 
one-stop delivery systems authorized under subtitle B of title I 
of such Act, including through the implementation of expanded 
operational hours at one-stop centers and on-site services for 
individuals in temporary housing locations.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.