I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6268 
To establish a wage theft prevention grant program in the Department 
of Labor to prevent wage and hour violations and expand and improve 
cooperative efforts between enforcement agencies and members of the 
community. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 
Mr. HARE (for himself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, and Ms. BERK-
LEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To establish a wage theft prevention grant program in the 
Department of Labor to prevent wage and hour viola-
tions and expand and improve cooperative efforts be-
tween enforcement agencies and members of the commu-
nity. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wage Theft Prevention 
and Community Partnership Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Wage and hour violations are a serious and 
growing problem for working Americans. 
(2) According to a study by the Ford, Joyce, 
Hayne, and Russell Sage Foundations, low-wage 
workers are routinely denied proper overtime pay 
and are paid less then the minimum wage, often re-
sulting up to a 15-percent loss in pay. 
(3) Widespread wage and hour violations place 
ethical businesses at a competitive disadvantage. 
(4) Wage and hour violations hurt local econo-
mies. State and local governments lose vital tax rev-
enues and spending power when employers do not 
pay legally required wages and workers receive less 
than full pay. 
(5) Women are far more likely to suffer min-
imum wage violations than men, while minority 
women suffer such violations at a rate nearly triple 
the rate that white women suffer such violations. 
(6) Social service networks are further strained 
and poverty increases when low-wage workers receive 
lower wages than what is required by law. 
(7) The Department of Labor and State depart-
ments of labor could more adequately address wage 
and hour violations with a significant partnership 
with stakeholders in the community. 
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(8) The Government Accountability Office rec-
ommended that the Department of Labor identify 
ways to leverage its existing tools to better address 
wage and hour violations by improving services pro-
vided through partnerships. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act the following definitions apply: 
(1) The term ‘‘eligible partner’’ means any of 
the following: 
(A) A not-for-profit community organiza-
tion that, in whole or in part, is dedicated to 
combating poverty and preventing abuse of 
wage and hour laws. 
(B) A labor organization as defined in sec-
tion 2(5) of the National Labor Relations Act 
(29 U.S.C. 152(5)). 
(C) A Joint Labor Management Coopera-
tive Committee established pursuant to section 
205A of the Labor Management Relations Act, 
1947 (29 U.S.C. 175a). 
(2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Labor. 
(3) The term ‘‘wage and hour violations’’ refers 
to violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act or the 
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protec-
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tion Act, or any regulations issued under either such 
Act, or violations of any other law enforced by the 
Wage and Hour Division of the Department of 
Labor, as the Secretary may determine. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION TO CREATE A WAGE THEFT PRE-
VENTION FUND. 
The Secretary shall establish a Wage Theft Preven-
tion Fund, which shall provide funding for the Wage Theft 
Prevention and Community Partnership Grants described 
in section 5. The Secretary may promulgate regulations 
as necessary to carry out this Act. 
SEC. 5. WAGE THEFT GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF WAGE THEFT PREVENTION 
AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP GRANTS.—The Secretary 
is authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to 
eligible partners to— 
(1) prevent wage and hour violations by inform-
ing workers of their rights and the remedies avail-
able to them; and 
(2) expand and improve cooperative efforts be-
tween agencies charged with enforcing wage and 
hour requirements and employers and their employ-
ees. 
(b) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible partner seeking a 
grant under this section shall submit an application to the 
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Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Sec-
retary may require. An application shall include, at a min-
imum, the following: 
(1) A description of the plan for preventing 
wage and hour violations. 
(2) A description of the plan for outreach, in-
cluding a plan for assisting the Department of 
Labor in communicating with workers. 
(3) A description of the eligible partner’s prior 
experience in raising awareness about and enforcing 
wage and hour laws and ensuring that worker rights 
are respected. 
(4) Evidence of the community need for this 
type of work, including prevalence of wage and hour 
violations in the eligible partner’s community or 
State. 
(5) A description of any larger working group 
of organizations, including Federal, State, or local 
government agencies, and faith-based, labor, commu-
nity, and business organizations— 
(A) of which the eligible partner is a mem-
ber; or 
(B) which the eligible partner is proposing 
to work with in carrying out activities funded 
by such grant. 
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(c) DURATION AND RENEWAL OF GRANTS.— 
(1) INITIAL
GRANT
PERIOD.—A Wage Theft 
Prevention and Community Partnerships Grant shall 
be awarded for an initial grant period of 1 to 3 
years. 
(2) RENEWALS.—Such grant may be renewed 
for 2 additional grant periods of the same duration 
as the initial grant period, if— 
(A) the Secretary determines that the 
funds made available to the recipient were used 
in a manner required under an approved appli-
cation; and 
(B) the recipient can demonstrate signifi-
cant progress in achieving the objectives of the 
initial application. 
(3) ADDITIONAL
GRANT.—A grant recipient 
may apply for an additional grant under this section 
once the recipient’s grant renewals with respect to 
the initial grant have been exhausted. 
(d) INELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.—No grant may be 
awarded under this section to— 
(1) an entity that the Secretary determines in-
fringes upon upon the rights guaranteed by section 
7 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 
157); or 
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(2) an entity prohibited by section 427 of Pub-
lic Law 111–88 from receiving funds appropriated 
by that Act. 
(e) PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.—Each program, 
project, or activity funded under this section shall be sub-
ject to monitoring by the Secretary which shall include 
systematic identification and collection of data about ac-
tivities, accomplishments, programs, and expenditures 
throughout the life of the program, project, or activity. 
(f) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—For each year in which 
funding is provided under this section, the Secretary shall 
submit an annual report to the Congress on the activities 
carried out by grantees under this section including, at 
a minimum, information on the following: 
(1) The activities undertaken by each grantee 
and any other entity that partnered with the grantee 
to prevent wage and hour violations by informing 
workers of their rights and the remedies available to 
them. 
(2) The number of workers assisted by each 
grantee disaggregated by State, age, income, gender, 
and race. 
(3) A summary of progress by each grantee in 
implementing wage theft prevention outreach plans 
approved by the Secretary. 
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(g) REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF FUNDING.—If 
the Secretary determines, as a result of the reviews re-
quired by subsections (e) and (f), or otherwise, that a 
grant recipient under this section is not in substantial 
compliance with the terms and requirements of an ap-
proved grant application submitted under subsection (b), 
the Secretary may revoke or suspend funding of that 
grant, in whole or in part. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary to carry out this Act, including administrative costs 
associated with carrying out this Act, such sums as may 
be necessary for fiscal years 2010 through 2014, to re-
main available until expended. 
Æ 
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