Title: Justice for Dislocated Workers Act
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Justice for Dislocated Workers Act
This bill expands the notification requirement for plant closures and mass layoffs under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to include notices to Members of Congress.
The bill provides that an employer's notice of a plant closing or mass layoff shall not be considered valid unless the employer, prior to serving such notice, covers the cost of an economic impact study to assess the economic impact of such an order. An employer who is not experiencing economic hardship and who orders a plant closing or mass layoff must make payments to the Impacted Workers Fund, created by this bill, to cover the financial losses of states resulting from such an order.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8583 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8583

   To amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to 
 require employers who are ordering a plant closing or mass layoff to 
  cover the cost of an economic impact study in each impacted unit of 
               local government, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 13, 2020

Mr. DeSaulnier introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and Financial Services, for a period 
    to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to 
 require employers who are ordering a plant closing or mass layoff to 
  cover the cost of an economic impact study in each impacted unit of 
               local government, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Justice for Dislocated Workers 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 2(a) of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification 
Act (29 U.S.C. 2101(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting before the 
                semicolon at the end the following: ``, without regard 
                to the number employees employed within a single site 
                of employment''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting before the 
                semicolon at the end the following: ``, without regard 
                to the number employees employed within a single site 
                of employment'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``means the permanent'' and 
                inserting the following: ``means--''
                    ``(A) the permanent'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (A), as so designated by this 
                paragraph, by striking ``50 or employees excluding any 
                part-time employees'' and inserting ``25 or more full-
                time employees or 75 or more full-time or part-time 
                employees; or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) a permanent or temporary shutdown of a single 
                site of employment of multiple employers, if such 
                employers contract with a common employer of the 
                affected employees and if such shutdown results in a 
                combined employment loss during any 30-day period for 
                50 or more employees, excluding any part-time 
                employees.''; and
            (3) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking clauses (i) and (ii) 
        and inserting the following:
                            ``(i) at least 33 percent of the employees 
                        (excluding any part-time employees); and
                            ``(ii) 25 or more full-time employees or 75 
                        or more full-time or part-time employees.''.

SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION.

    Section 3(a) of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification 
Act (29 U.S.C. 2102) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by inserting ``the State representatives for 
                such State,'' before ``and the chief''; and
                    (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting 
                ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) to each Member of Congress representing such State or 
        the Congressional district in which such unit is located.''.

SEC. 4. ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY.

    Section 3 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act 
(29 U.S.C. 2102) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Economic Impact Study.--
            ``(1) In general.--A notice served by an employer under 
        subsection (a) before ordering a plant closing or mass layoff 
        shall not be considered valid unless, not less than 30 days 
        prior to serving such notice, the employer covers the cost of, 
        and ensures that each unit of local government within which 
        such closing or layoff is to occur completes (directly or 
        through a contract), an economic impact study to assess the 
        economic impact of such order during the 1-year period 
        beginning on the first day of such closure or layoff on such 
        unit, which shall include--
                    ``(A) a review of the finances of the employer to 
                determine if the employer is financially viable (as 
                such term is defined by the Secretary of the Treasury) 
                to make the payments described in paragraph (2), which 
                determination shall include whether the employer is 
                experiencing economic hardship; and
                    ``(B) in a case in which an employer is not 
                experiencing economic hardship, an assessment of direct 
                and indirect financial losses (including impact on 
                local businesses (such as downstream job and supply 
                chain loss and decreases in customer base), and impact 
                on tax revenue) that will be experienced by such unit.
            ``(2) Payment by employer.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In the case of an employer that 
                is not experiencing an economic hardship and that 
                orders a plant closing or mass layoff, the employer not 
                later than 30 days prior to such closure or mass 
                layoff, shall--
                            ``(i) pay to the Impacted Workers Fund 
                        established under section 505 of the Public 
                        Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (if 
                        such a Fund has been established) of the State 
                        in which each county is located that, in 
                        accordance with paragraph (1)(B), will 
                        experience financial losses as a result of such 
                        order, an amount equal to such financial losses 
                        to be dispersed in accordance with such 
                        section; or
                            ``(ii) in a case in which the Fund 
                        described in clause (i) has not been 
                        established, pay to the workforce development 
                        system (as defined in section 3 of the 
                        Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 
                        U.S.C. 3102)) of the State in which each county 
                        is located that, in accordance with paragraph 
                        (1)(B), will experience financial losses as a 
                        result of such order, an amount equal to such 
                        financial losses to be dispersed in accordance 
                        with such section.
                    ``(B) Private right of action.--A unit of local 
                government aggrieved by an employer that violates 
                subparagraph (A), may sue in any district court of the 
                United States for any district in which the violation 
                is alleged to have occurred, or in which the employer 
                transacts business.
            ``(3) Guidance by the secretary.--Not later than 6 months 
        after the date of enactment of the Justice for Dislocated 
        Workers Act, the Secretary of Labor shall issue guidance on 
        conducting the economic impact studies.
            ``(4) Grants to cover the cost of economic impact 
        studies.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary of Labor shall 
                award grants to employers subject to the requirements 
                of paragraph (1) the cost an economic impact study 
                required under such paragraph.
                    ``(B) Application.--To receive a grant under this 
                paragraph, an employer shall submit to the Secretary of 
                Labor an application at such time, in such manner, and 
                containing such information as the Secretary may 
                require.''.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 5 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act 
(29 U.S.C. 2104) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A)(i), by inserting ``twice'' 
        before ``the average regular''; and
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``The remedies'' and 
        inserting ``Except as otherwise provided in section 3(e)(2)(B), 
        the remedies''.

SEC. 6. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS TO ESTABLISH IMPACTED WORKERS FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--The Public Works and Economic Development Act of 
1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 504 
the following:

``SEC. 505. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS TO ESTABLISH IMPACTED WORKERS FUNDS.

    ``(a) In General.--To be eligible to receive funds described in 
section 3(e)(2) of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification 
Act (29 U.S.C. 2102(e)(2)) a State shall enter into a cooperative 
agreement with the Secretary under this section.
    ``(b) Cooperative Agreement Contents.--A cooperative agreement 
entered into under subsection (a) shall require a participating State 
to--
            ``(1) establish and administer an Impacted Workers Fund (in 
        this Act referred to as a `Fund') to receive amounts pursuant 
        to section 3(e)(2) of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining 
        Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102(e)(2)); and
            ``(2) ensure that amounts deposited into the fund are used 
        to support only the jurisdiction of the unit of local 
        government for which such amounts are deposited (as determined 
        by an economic impact study under section 3(e) of the Worker 
        Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 
        2102(e))), including for workforce training, income assistance, 
        and wage insurance.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 
note) is amended by inserting after the item related to section 504 the 
following:

``Sec. 505. Cooperative agreements to establish Impacted Workers 
                            Funds.''.
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