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service per week shall be determined with respect to 
each group health plan in accordance with such reg-
ulations as the Secretary may prescribe providing 
for consideration of facts and circumstances peculiar 
to the work-force constituting the participants in 
such plan. 
‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF PERMISSIBLE REDUCTION.—The 
employer-provided premium under a group health plan 
with respect to any employee for any period of coverage, 
after the reduction permitted under subsection (a), shall 
not be less than a ratable portion of the employer-provided 
premium which would be provided under such plan for 
such period of coverage with respect to an employee who 
completes 30 hours of service per week. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) GROUP HEALTH PLAN.—The term ‘group 
health plan’ has the meaning provided such term in 
section 607(1). 
‘‘(2) EMPLOYER-PROVIDED PREMIUM.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘employer-
provided premium’ under a plan for any period 
of coverage means the portion of the applicable 
premium under the plan for such period of cov-
erage which is attributable under the plan to 
employer contributions.
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‘‘(B) APPLICABLE
PREMIUM.—For pur-
poses of subparagraph (A), in determining the 
applicable premium of a group health plan, 
principles similar to the principles applicable 
under section 604 shall apply.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Section 201(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 
1051(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, except with re-
spect to section 211’’ before the semicolon. 
(2) The table of contents in section 1 of such 
Act is amended by striking the item relating to sec-
tion 211 and inserting the following new items:
‘‘211. Treatment of part-time workers under group health plans. 
‘‘212. Effective date.’’.
SEC. 403. EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE TO IN-
CLUDE CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS WHOSE SERV-
ICES ARE LEASED OR CONTRACTED FOR. 
Paragraph (6) of section 3 of the Employee Retire-
ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(6)) 
is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(6)’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(B) Such term includes, with respect to any em-
ployer, any person who is not an employee (within the
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meaning of subparagraph (A)) of such employer and who 
provides services to such employer, if—
‘‘(i) such person has (pursuant to an agreement 
with such employer or any other person) performed 
such services for such employer (or for such em-
ployer and related persons (within the meaning of 
section 144(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986)) for a period of at least 1 year (6 months in 
the case of core health benefits) at the rate of at 
least 500 hours of service per year, and 
‘‘(ii) such services are of a type historically per-
formed, in the business field of the employer, by em-
ployees (within the meaning of subparagraph (A)).’’. 
SEC. 404. EFFECTIVE DATES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), the amendments made by this subtitle shall apply with 
respect to plan years beginning on or after January 1, 
2004. 
(b) SPECIAL RULE FOR COLLECTIVELY BARGAINED 
PLANS.—In the case of a plan maintained pursuant to 1 
or more collective bargaining agreements between em-
ployee representatives and 1 or more employers ratified 
on or before the date of the enactment of this Act, sub-
section (a) shall be applied to benefits pursuant to, and 
individuals covered by, any such agreement by substituting
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for ‘‘January 1, 2004’’ the date of the commencement of 
the first plan year beginning on or after the earlier of—
(1) the later of—
(A) January 1, 2004, or 
(B) the date on which the last of such col-
lective bargaining agreements terminates (de-
termined without regard to any extension there-
of after the date of the enactment of this Act), 
or 
(2) January 1, 2006. 
(c) PLAN AMENDMENTS.—If any amendment made 
by this subtitle requires an amendment to any plan, such 
plan amendment shall not be required to be made before 
the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2005, 
if—
(1) during the period after such amendment 
made by this Act takes effect and before such first 
plan year, the plan is operated in accordance with 
the requirements of such amendment made by this 
subtitle, and 
(2) such plan amendment applies retroactively 
to the period after such amendment made by this 
subtitle takes effect and such first plan year. 
A plan shall not be treated as failing to provide definitely 
determinable benefits or contributions, or to be operated
130
in accordance with the provisions of the plan, merely be-
cause it operates in accordance with this subsection. 
Subtitle B—United States Business 
Telework Act 
SEC. 411. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘United States 
Business Telework Act’’. 
SEC. 412. TELEWORK PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) PROGRAM.—In accordance with this subtitle, the 
Secretary of Labor shall conduct, in not more than 5 
States, a pilot program to raise awareness about telework 
among employers and to encourage such employers to 
offer telework options to employees. 
(b) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the 
pilot program, the Secretary is encouraged to—
(1) produce educational materials and conduct 
presentations designed to raise awareness of the 
benefits and the ease of telework; 
(2) conduct outreach to businesses that are con-
sidering offering telework options; 
(3) acquire telework technologies and equip-
ment to be used for demonstration purposes; and 
(4) ensure that expectant and new mothers who 
are employed by businesses that participate in the