Title: Workplace Choice and Flexibility for Individuals with Disabilities Act
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Workplace Choice and Flexibility for Individuals with Disabilities Act
This bill expands the definition of "competitive integrated employment" under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to include (1) social and interpersonal interactions with colleagues, vendors, customers, superiors, or other such persons who a disabled employee may come into contact with during the work day and across workplace settings; and (2) contracts awarded under federal law requiring that all federal agencies purchase specified supplies and services from nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or with significant disabilities, and state set-aside contracts.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5658 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5658

 To amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify the definition of 
                   competitive integrated employment.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 27, 2018

  Mr. Grothman (for himself, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Estes of Kansas, and Mr. 
King of Iowa) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify the definition of 
                   competitive integrated employment.

    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 ``Workplace Choice and Flexibility for 
Individuals with Disabilities Act''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF COMPETITIVE INTEGRATED 
              EMPLOYMENT.

    Section 7(5) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705) is 
amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B)--
                    (A) by striking ``not including'' and inserting 
                ``including social and interpersonal interactions with 
                colleagues, vendors, customers, superiors, or other 
                such persons who the employee may come into contact 
                with during the work day and across workplace settings, 
                other than'';
                    (B) by inserting before the semicolon at the end 
                the following: ``, except that such interactions shall 
                not be considered solely at the work unit level''; and
                    (C) by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C) 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) for which an individual may have been hired 
                through--
                            ``(i) contracts and subcontracts awarded 
                        pursuant to chapter 85 of title 41, United 
                        States Code;
                            ``(ii) State set-aside contracts intended 
                        to support employment for individuals with 
                        disabilities; or
                            ``(iii) other contracts subject to mandated 
                        direct labor-hour ratio of persons with 
                        disabilities.''.

SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in the amendments made by this Act shall be construed to 
reduce the number of jobs available for referral by a State agency or 
other entity.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that individuals who are hired pursuant 
to community rehabilitation programs, chapter 85 of title 41, United 
States Code, State set-aside contracts, or mandated direct-labor hour 
ratio programs, should be considered--
            (1) part of the competitive labor market; and
            (2) an employment outcome for State vocational 
        rehabilitation purposes.
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