I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2387 
To establish an Employee Ownership and Participation Initiative, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 4, 2017 
Mr. POLIS (for himself, Mr. POCAN, and Mr. DELANEY) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce 
A BILL 
To establish an Employee Ownership and Participation 
Initiative, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Worker Ownership, 
Readiness, and Knowledge Act’’. 
SEC. 2. WORKER OWNERSHIP, READINESS, AND KNOWL-
EDGE. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) EXISTING PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘existing 
program’’ means a program, designed to promote 
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employee ownership and employee participation in 
business decisionmaking, that exists on the date the 
Secretary is carrying out a responsibility authorized 
by this section. 
(2) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘Initiative’’ means 
the Employee Ownership and Participation Initiative 
established under subsection (b). 
(3) NEW PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘new program’’ 
means a program, designed to promote employee 
ownership and employee participation in business de-
cisionmaking, that does not exist on the date the 
Secretary is carrying out a responsibility authorized 
by this section. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Assistant 
Secretary for Employment and Training. 
(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 
the 50 States within the United States of America. 
(b) EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP AND PARTICIPATION INI-
TIATIVE.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Labor 
shall establish within the Employment and Training 
Administration of the Department of Labor an Em-
ployee Ownership and Participation Initiative to pro-
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mote employee ownership and employee participation 
in business decisionmaking. 
(2) FUNCTIONS.—In carrying out the Initiative, 
the Secretary shall— 
(A) support within the States existing pro-
grams designed to promote employee ownership 
and employee participation in business decision-
making; and 
(B) facilitate within the States the forma-
tion of new programs designed to promote em-
ployee ownership and employee participation in 
business decisionmaking. 
(3) DUTIES.—To carry out the functions enu-
merated in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall— 
(A) support new programs and existing 
programs by— 
(i) making Federal grants authorized 
under subsection (d); and 
(ii)(I) acting as a clearinghouse on 
techniques employed by new programs and 
existing programs within the States, and 
disseminating information relating to those 
techniques to the programs; or 
(II) funding projects for informa-
tion gathering on those techniques, 
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and dissemination of that information 
to the programs, by groups outside 
the Employment and Training Admin-
istration; and 
(B) facilitate the formation of new pro-
grams, in ways that include holding or funding 
an annual conference of representatives from 
States with existing programs, representatives 
from States developing new programs, and rep-
resentatives from States without existing pro-
grams. 
(c) PROGRAMS REGARDING EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP 
AND PARTICIPATION.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later 
than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary shall establish a program to en-
courage new programs and existing programs within 
the States to foster employee ownership and em-
ployee participation in business decisionmaking 
throughout the United States. 
(2) PURPOSE OF PROGRAM.—The purpose of 
the program established under paragraph (1) is to 
encourage new and existing programs within the 
States that focus on— 
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(A) providing education and outreach to 
inform employees and employers about the pos-
sibilities and benefits of employee ownership, 
business ownership succession planning, and 
employee participation in business decision-
making, including providing information about 
financial education, employee teams, open-book 
management, and other tools that enable em-
ployees to share ideas and information about 
how their businesses can succeed; 
(B) providing technical assistance to assist 
employee efforts to become business owners, to 
enable employers and employees to explore and 
assess the feasibility of transferring full or par-
tial ownership to employees, and to encourage 
employees and employers to start new em-
ployee-owned businesses; 
(C) training employees and employers with 
respect to methods of employee participation in 
open-book management, work teams, commit-
tees, and other approaches for seeking greater 
employee input; and 
(D) training other entities to apply for 
funding under this subsection, to establish new 
programs, and to carry out program activities. 
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(3) PROGRAM DETAILS.—The Secretary may in-
clude, in the program established under paragraph 
(1), provisions that— 
(A) in the case of activities described in 
paragraph (2)(A)— 
(i) target key groups, such as retiring 
business owners, senior managers, unions, 
trade associations, community organiza-
tions, and economic development organiza-
tions; 
(ii) encourage cooperation in the orga-
nization of workshops and conferences; and 
(iii) prepare and distribute materials 
concerning employee ownership and par-
ticipation, and business ownership succes-
sion planning; 
(B) in the case of activities described in 
paragraph (2)(B)— 
(i) provide preliminary technical as-
sistance to employee groups, managers, 
and retiring owners exploring the possi-
bility of employee ownership; 
(ii) provide for the performance of 
preliminary feasibility assessments; 
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(iii) assist in the funding of objective 
third-party feasibility studies and prelimi-
nary business valuations, and in selecting 
and monitoring professionals qualified to 
conduct such studies; and 
(iv) provide a data bank to help em-
ployees find legal, financial, and technical 
advice in connection with business owner-
ship; 
(C) in the case of activities described in 
paragraph (2)(C)— 
(i) provide for courses on employee 
participation; and 
(ii) provide for the development and 
fostering of networks of employee-owned 
companies to spread the use of successful 
participation techniques; and 
(D) in the case of training described in 
paragraph (2)(D)— 
(i) provide for visits to existing pro-
grams by staff from new programs receiv-
ing funding under this section; and 
(ii) provide materials to be used for 
such training. 
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(4) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall issue for-
mal guidance, for recipients of grants awarded under 
subsection (d) and 1-stop partners affiliated with the 
statewide workforce investment systems described in 
section 106 of the Workforce Investment Act of 
1998 (29 U.S.C. 2881), proposing that programs 
and other activities funded under this section be— 
(A) proactive in encouraging actions and 
activities that promote employee ownership of, 
and participation in, businesses; and 
(B) comprehensive in emphasizing both 
employee ownership of, and participation in, 
businesses so as to increase productivity and 
broaden capital ownership. 
(d) GRANTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 
established under subsection (c), the Secretary may 
make grants for use in connection with new pro-
grams and existing programs within a State for any 
of the following activities: 
(A) Education and outreach as provided in 
subsection (c)(2)(A). 
(B) Technical assistance as provided in 
subsection (c)(2)(B). 
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(C) Training activities for employees and 
employers as provided in subsection (c)(2)(C). 
(D) 
Activities 
facilitating 
cooperation 
among employee-owned firms. 
(E) Training as provided in subsection 
(c)(2)(D) for new programs provided by partici-
pants in existing programs dedicated to the ob-
jectives of this section, except that, for each fis-
cal year, the amount of the grants made for 
such training shall not exceed 10 percent of the 
total amount of the grants made under this sec-
tion. 
(2) AMOUNTS
AND
CONDITIONS.—The Sec-
retary shall determine the amount and any condi-
tions for a grant made under this subsection. The 
amount of the grant shall be subject to paragraph 
(6), and shall reflect the capacity of the applicant 
for the grant. 
(3) APPLICATIONS.—Each entity desiring a 
grant under this subsection shall submit an applica-
tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 
and accompanied by such information as the Sec-
retary may reasonably require. 
(4) STATE
APPLICATIONS.—Each State may 
sponsor and submit an application under paragraph 
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(3) on behalf of any local entity consisting of a unit 
of State or local government, State-supported insti-
tution of higher education, or nonprofit organization, 
meeting the requirements of this section. 
(5) APPLICATIONS BY ENTITIES.— 
(A) ENTITY
APPLICATIONS.—If a State 
fails to support or establish a program pursu-
ant to this section during any fiscal year, the 
Secretary shall, in the subsequent fiscal years, 
allow local entities described in paragraph (4) 
from that State to make applications for grants 
under paragraph (3) on their own initiative. 
(B) APPLICATION SCREENING.—Any State 
failing to support or establish a program pursu-
ant to this section during any fiscal year may 
submit applications under paragraph (3) in the 
subsequent fiscal years but may not screen ap-
plications by local entities described in para-
graph (4) before submitting the applications to 
the Secretary. 
(6) LIMITATIONS.—A recipient of a grant made 
under this subsection shall not receive, during a fis-
cal year, in the aggregate, more than the following 
amounts: 
(A) For fiscal year 2018, $300,000. 
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(B) For fiscal year 2019, $330,000. 
(C) For fiscal year 2020, $363,000. 
(D) For fiscal year 2021, $399,300. 
(E) For fiscal year 2022, $439,200. 
(7) ANNUAL REPORT.—For each year, each re-
cipient of a grant under this subsection shall submit 
to the Secretary a report describing how grant funds 
allocated pursuant to this subsection were expended 
during the 12-month period preceding the date of 
the submission of the report. 
(e) EVALUATIONS.—The Secretary is authorized to 
reserve not more than 10 percent of the funds appro-
priated for a fiscal year to carry out this section, for the 
purposes of conducting evaluations of the grant programs 
identified in subsection (d) and to provide related technical 
assistance. 
(f) REPORTING.—Not later than the expiration of the 
36-month period following the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to Congress 
a report— 
(1) on progress related to employee ownership 
and participation in businesses in the United States; 
and 
(2) containing an analysis of critical costs and 
benefits of activities carried out under this section. 
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