Restoration of Employment Choice for Adults with Disabilities Act
Bill: H.R.4761 | Sponsor: Rep. Grothman, Glenn (R-WI)
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Restoration of Employment Choice for Adults with Disabilities Act
This bill relaxes requirements that allow entities with a special wage certificate to pay subminimum wages to individuals with disabilities.
Specifically, the bill eliminates a requirement that an individual with disabilities who is younger than 24 receive pre-employment transition services and meet specified vocational rehabilitation criteria before beginning subminimum wage work.
The bill also relaxes career counseling and service referral requirements that apply to an individual with disabilities who is paid at a subminimum wage. Current law requires an entity to ensure that an individual employed by the entity at a subminimum wage receives periodic career counseling, information, and referrals to employment-related supports and resources in the area provided by the designated state agency. Under the bill, this requirement is satisfied if the employer makes documented effort to contact the state agency for those resources on behalf of the employee and the state agency fails to respond.

To amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure workplace choice and 
            opportunity for young adults with disabilities.

    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 ``Restoration of Employment Choice for 
Adults with Disabilities Act''.

SEC. 2. USE OF SUBMINIMUM WAGE.

    Section 511 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794g) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``No'' and inserting 
                        ``Any'';
                            (ii) by striking ``24 or younger'' and 
                        inserting ``18 or older''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``unless'' and inserting 
                        ``if''; and
                    (B) by inserting at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(3) The individual chooses to accept employment with such 
        entity.'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``24'' and inserting 
        ``17'';
            (3) in subsection (c), by inserting at the end the 
        following new paragraph:
            ``(4) Other exceptions.--The entity described in subsection 
        (a) can satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1)(A) with 
        respect to an individual, if--
                    ``(A) such entity makes documented efforts, at the 
                intervals described in paragraph (2), to contact on 
                behalf of the individual, the designated State unit for 
                the counseling, information, and referrals described in 
                paragraph (1)(A); and
                    ``(B) such designated State unit fails to provide 
                the relevant counseling, information, and referrals.''; 
                and
            (4) in subsection (d)(1), by inserting before the period at 
        the end the following: ``and, if such individual is employed by 
        an entity described in subsection (a) at the time such 
        documentation is made pursuant to such process, to make 
        available copies of such documentation to the entity''.

SEC. 3. APPLICATION.

    The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to the 
employment of an individual on or after March 13, 2020.
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