ticipating employer’’ shall not include a commu-
nity-based organization that acts as an em-
ployer of record and (even if a community- 
based organization is so acting) shall include 
the employer at the site. 
(g) GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The local board shall estab-
lish and maintain a procedure for the filing and ad-
judication of grievances from participants, labor or-
ganizations, or joint labor-management organiza-
tions, and other interested individuals concerning 
participating employers, including grievances relat-
ing to proposed placements of eligible workers with 
such employers. 
(2) DEADLINE FOR GRIEVANCES.—Except for a 
grievance that alleges fraud or criminal activity, a 
grievance shall be filed not later than 1 year after 
the date of the alleged occurrence of the event that 
is the subject of the grievance. 
(3) DEADLINE FOR HEARING AND DECISION.— 
(A) HEARING.—A hearing on any griev-
ance conducted under this subsection shall be 
conducted not later than 30 days after the fil-
ing of such grievance. 
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(B) DECISION.—A decision on any such 
grievance shall be made not later than 60 days 
after the filing of such grievance. 
(4) ARBITRATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.— 
(i) 
JOINTLY
SELECTED
ARBI-
TRATOR.—In the event of a decision on a 
grievance that is adverse to the party who 
filed the grievance, or 60 days after the fil-
ing of such grievance if no decision has 
been reached, such party shall be per-
mitted to submit such grievance to binding 
arbitration before a qualified arbitrator 
who is jointly selected and independent of 
the interested parties. 
(ii) APPOINTED ARBITRATOR.—If the 
parties cannot agree on an arbitrator, the 
Secretary shall appoint an arbitrator from 
a list of qualified arbitrators within 15 
days after receiving a request for such ap-
pointment from one of the parties to the 
grievance. 
(B) DEADLINE FOR PROCEEDING.—An ar-
bitration proceeding shall be held not later than 
45 days after the request for such arbitration 
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proceeding, or, if the arbitrator is appointed by 
the Secretary in accordance with subparagraph 
(A)(ii), not later than 30 days after the ap-
pointment of such arbitrator. 
(C) DEADLINE FOR DECISION.—A decision 
concerning a grievance shall be made not later 
than 30 days after the date such arbitration 
proceeding begins. 
(D) COST.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 
in clause (ii), the cost of an arbitration 
proceeding shall be divided evenly between 
the parties to the arbitration. 
(ii) EXCEPTION.—If a participant, 
labor organization, joint labor-management 
organization, or other interested individual 
described in paragraph (1) prevails under 
a binding arbitration proceeding, the other 
entity that is a party to such grievance 
shall pay the total cost of such proceeding 
and the attorneys’ fees of such participant, 
labor organization, or individual, as the 
case may be. 
(5) PROPOSED PLACEMENT.—If a grievance is 
filed regarding a proposed placement of an eligible 
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worker with a participating employer, such place-
ment shall not be made unless the placement is con-
sistent with the resolution of the grievance pursuant 
to this subsection. 
(6) REMEDIES.—Remedies for a grievance filed 
under this subsection include— 
(A) suspension of payments for the partici-
pating employer; 
(B) termination of such payments; 
(C) prohibition of the placement described 
in paragraph (5); 
(D) in a case in which the grievance is 
filed by an individual eligible worker or pro-
gram participant— 
(i) the eligible worker’s selection to be 
a program participant, or the program 
participant’s reinstatement, as the case 
may be; and 
(ii) other changes in the terms and 
conditions of employment applicable to the 
individual; and 
(E) in a case in which the grievance in-
volves a violation of subsection (f) and the em-
ployer of the displaced employee is the partici-
pating employer— 
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(i) reinstatement of the displaced em-
ployee to the position held by such em-
ployee prior to displacement; 
(ii) payment of lost wages and bene-
fits of the displaced employee; 
(iii) reestablishment of other relevant 
terms, conditions, and privileges of employ-
ment of the displaced employee; and 
(iv) such equitable relief as is nec-
essary to correct any violation of sub-
section (f) or to make the displaced em-
ployee whole. 
(7) ENFORCEMENT.—Suits to enforce awards 
under this subsection may be brought in any district 
court of the United States having jurisdiction of the 
parties, without regard to the amount in controversy 
and without regard to the citizenship of the parties. 
(8) EXISTING GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of this subsection, 
a grievance relating to a site of employment that is 
covered by a collective bargaining agreement that in-
cludes a grievance procedure that applies to such 
grievance shall be adjudicated under the terms of 
such grievance procedure and not this subsection. 
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit 
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the application of any grievance procedure included 
in a collective bargaining agreement. 
(h) ELIGIBLE COSTS.— 
(1) WAGES AND COMPENSATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph 
(2), for purposes of this Act, the eligible costs 
of providing wages and compensation shall be 
the eligible costs of providing the wages de-
scribed in subparagraph (B), and the com-
pensation described in subparagraph (C), for el-
igible workers. 
(B) WAGES.—The eligible costs described 
in this subparagraph shall be the costs of pro-
viding wages at a rate that is the greatest of— 
(i) the applicable minimum wage rate 
under section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor 
Standards 
Act 
of 
1938 
(29 
U.S.C. 
206(a)(1)) (not counting any rate author-
ized for employment under special certifi-
cates under section 14 of such Act (29 
U.S.C. 214)); 
(ii) the applicable State or local min-
imum wage rate; or 
(iii) a rate, calculated as an amount 
per hour, with the amount determined by 
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(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), an eligible cost related to wages and 
compensation for a program position is an ex-
pense related to the first 12 months of the pro-
gram position, subject to section 5(e). 
(B) EXTENSION.—A local board may ex-
tend the 12-month period described in subpara-
graph (A) for not more than an additional 12 
months, subject to section 5(e), to the extent 
that such extension is necessary to cover the pe-
riod of a program position that is part of an 
on-the-job training program that leads to a rec-
ognized postsecondary credential. 
(3) CAREER SERVICES, SUPPORTIVE SERVICES, 
AND TRAINING SERVICES.— 
(A) AGGREGATE LIMIT.—The eligible costs 
of providing, or facilitating the provision of, ca-
reer services, supportive services, and training 
services to eligible workers shall, in total, not 
exceed 20 percent of the total eligible costs of 
providing the wages described in paragraph 
(1)(B) to those eligible workers. 
(B) FLEXIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS.—The 
limit in subparagraph (A) shall apply to the eli-
gible costs for the total amount of such career 
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services, supportive services, and training serv-
ices provided by a jobs program to all eligible 
workers, and shall not be construed to con-
stitute a separate limit on the eligible costs for 
the career services, supportive services, and 
training services so provided to each eligible 
worker. 
(C) MODIFICATION.—The requirements of 
this paragraph may be modified under section 
5(e). 
(4) ADMINISTRATION.— 
(A) LOCAL BOARDS.—The eligible costs in-
curred by a local board (and a State board, 
under subparagraph (B)) of administering a 
jobs program under this section shall not exceed 
10 percent of the total eligible costs of pro-
viding the wages described in paragraph (1)(B) 
to all eligible workers served by the jobs pro-
gram. 
(B) STATE BOARDS.—A State board may 
enter into an agreement with a local board to 
receive a portion of the amount made available 
under subparagraph (A) to carry out the re-
sponsibilities of the State board under sub-
section (k). 
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(C) 
SECRETARY.—Of 
the 
maximum 
amount that the Secretary may make available 
under subparagraph (A) with respect to a jobs 
program, the Secretary may reserve not more 
than 10 percent to administer the jobs program 
under this section. 
(5) MODIFICATION.—The requirements of para-
graphs (2), (3), and (4) may be modified under sec-
tion 5(e). 
(i) EMPLOYER SHARE FOR WAGES AND COMPENSA-
TION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.— 
(A) BASELINE.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (C), for a local board carrying 
out a jobs program in a covered area where the 
unemployment rate does not exceed 5 percent, 
the employer share of the eligible costs for 
wages and compensation shall be 33 percent. 
(B) HIGHER
UNEMPLOYMENT
COVERED 
AREAS.—Except as provided in subparagraph 
(C), for a local board carrying out a jobs pro-
gram in a covered area where the unemploy-
ment rate exceeds 5 percent, the employer share 
of those costs shall be the percentage (not less 
than 0 percent) obtained by subtracting— 
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(i) 3.3 percentage points for every 
half of a percentage point by which the un-
employment rate in the covered area ex-
ceeds 5 percent; from 
(ii) 33 percent. 
(C) SECOND
YEAR
FOR
PROGRAM
POSI-
TIONS
LEADING
TO
RECOGNIZED
POSTSEC-
ONDARY CREDENTIALS.—With respect to an eli-
gible worker who is in the second year of a pro-
gram position that is part of an on-the-job 
training program, pre-apprenticeship program, 
or registered apprenticeship program, that leads 
to a recognized postsecondary credential, the 
employer share of the eligible costs of wages 
and compensation for the project shall be 50 
percent. That employer share for such a worker 
shall remain 50 percent regardless of any 
change in the unemployment rate of the covered 
area. 
(2) RECALCULATION.—The employer share 
under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) 
shall be recalculated for the local board once per cal-
endar quarter, using the unemployment rate from 
the calendar quarter in the 12-month period pre-
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ceding the calculation with the highest average un-
employment rate in the covered area. 
(3) MODIFICATION.—The requirements of this 
subsection may be modified under section 5(e). 
(j) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE
SECRETARY
OF 
LABOR.—The Secretary shall— 
(1) oversee jobs programs funded under this 
Act to ensure that program requirements are being 
met, and verify that requests for Federal funding ac-
curately reflect eligible costs; 
(2) perform random, periodic audits to deter-
mine compliance with this Act; 
(3) provide payments to local boards for the eli-
gible costs described in subsection (h), minus any 
employer share of the eligible costs described in sub-
section (i); 
(4) evaluate the performance of jobs programs 
carried out under this section, which may include en-
tering into agreements with other entities to conduct 
such evaluations; 
(5) establish a clearinghouse to identify and 
publicize best practices used by local boards carrying 
out such jobs programs this Act; 
(6) provide technical assistance to local boards, 
and to State boards that are providing assistance to 
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local boards, carrying out such jobs programs under 
this Act; 
(7) conduct outreach to State boards, local 
boards, employers, and eligible workers to maximize 
opportunities for participation in jobs programs by 
eligible workers, in furtherance of the purpose of 
this Act as described in section 2, by providing job 
opportunities for as many eligible workers as pos-
sible; and 
(8) administer this Act in consultation with the 
Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development, the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, the Attorney General, and the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 
(k) ROLE OF STATE BOARDS.—In order to assist 
local boards in carrying out programs under this Act, a 
State board may— 
(1) work with local boards to develop statewide 
strategies to implement programs under this Act; 
(2) align programs carried out under this Act 
with the plan submitted by the State board under 
subtitle A of title I of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.); 
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may be necessary for fiscal year 2021 and each subsequent 
fiscal year. 
SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR HIGH-POVERTY AREAS AND AREAS 
WITH 
CHRONICALLY 
LOW 
EMPLOYMENT 
RATES. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) HIGH-POVERTY
AREA.—The term ‘‘high- 
poverty area’’ means an area in which the poverty 
rate, as determined by the Bureau of the Census, 
has been not less than 20 percent for a period of not 
less than 3 years. 
(2) PRIME
WORKING-AGE
EMPLOYMENT-TO- 
POPULATION RATION.—The term ‘‘prime working- 
age employment-to-population ratio’’, used with re-
spect to an area, means the ratio of the number of 
individuals age 25 through 54 in the area who are 
employed, to the number of individuals age 25 
through 54 in the area. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall award 
grants on a competitive basis to local boards (including 
community-based organizations, consistent with section 
4(d)(4)(D)), that carry out jobs programs described in 
section 4, to provide for added costs related to carrying 
out the programs with modified standards specified in sub-
section (e), with the purpose of achieving economic devel-
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opment and job growth through the programs. The Sec-
retary shall award the grants for periods of 4 years, and 
pay such grants as provided under section 4(l). 
(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, a local board shall submit an applica-
tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Secretary may require, 
including— 
(1) a plan for the jobs program involved to 
achieve performance accountability measures de-
scribed in section 4(c) through modified standards 
described in subsection (e), and sustain that achieve-
ment in the long term without permanent support 
from a grant awarded under this section; 
(2) information that demonstrates stakeholder 
engagement in the jobs program from the public and 
private sectors, especially major institutions such as 
institutions of higher education, hospitals, or other 
large employers and organizations, that are located 
in the covered area; and 
(3) a plan to ensure that residents of the cov-
ered area are part of the operation of and benefit 
from the results of the jobs program, which may in-
clude a plan to expand worker-owned enterprises, ex-
pand small local businesses, support start-up busi-
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nesses owned by covered area residents, or give cov-
ered area residents a role in carrying out the jobs 
program. 
(d) PRIORITY.—In selecting a local board to receive 
a grant under this section, the Secretary shall give priority 
to local boards proposing to serve— 
(1) high-poverty areas; or 
(2) areas for which the prime working-age em-
ployment-to-population ratio has been low, relative 
to that ratio for the United States, for a period of 
not less than 3 years. 
(e) MODIFICATION
OF CERTAIN STANDARDS.—In 
awarding a grant under this section to a local board, the 
Secretary is authorized to modify 1 or more of the fol-
lowing standards for the program carried out by the local 
board, if the Secretary determines that making such a 
modification can be reasonably expected to help the pro-
gram achieve the performance accountability measures re-
ferred to in subsection (c)(1): 
(1) The periods of time specified in subpara-
graphs (C) and (D) of section 3(3). 
(2) The limitation on the percentage or number 
of employees in program positions with a single par-
ticipating employer, as specified in section 4(f)(4). 
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(3) The allowable duration of funding for wages 
and compensation as eligible costs, for a program 
position, as specified in section 4(h)(2). 
(4) The limitation on eligible costs for career 
services, supportive services, and training services, 
as specified in section 4(h)(3). 
(5) The limitation on eligible costs for adminis-
tration, as specified in section 4(h)(4). 
(6) The employer share of eligible costs for 
wages and compensation, as specified in section 4(i). 
(f) EVALUATIONS.—The Secretary shall— 
(1) evaluate the performance of jobs programs 
that receive funding under this section, which may 
include entering into agreements with other entities 
to conduct such evaluations; and 
(2) identify and publicize best practices used by 
local boards carrying out jobs programs that receive 
funding under this section, through the clearing-
house described in section 4(j)(5). 
(g) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2021 and 
each subsequent fiscal year. 
Æ 
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