zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Reducing Long-Term Unemployment Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend until December 31, 2014, the suspension of employment and railroad retirement taxes for employers who hire unemployed individuals.  Limits the aggregate reduction in taxes from such suspension to $5,000 per employee. Modifies the unemployment requirement to require a signed affidavit from the unemployed individual that, during the 27-week period ending on the hiring date, such individual: (1) was receiving federal or state unemployment compensation, or (2) was unemployed and would have received unemployment compensation except for having exhausted the right to receive such compensation during such period.

Date: 2013-12-12
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Taxation
Flexibility to Promote Reemployment Act - Amends title III (Grants to States for Unemployment Compensation Administration) of the Social Security Act, with respect to grants to states by the Secretary of Labor for reemployment demonstration projects, to allow grants to up to 10 states per year instead of a maximum of 10 states altogether.

Allows a designee of a state governor, instead of only the governor, to apply for such a grant.

Extends the allowable project period through December 31, 2017.

Allows direct disbursements under a project to employers who hire individuals receiving unemployment compensation to include disbursements promoting retention.

Requires the Secretary of Labor to approve completed grant applications in the order of receipt.

Revises requirements for termination of a project to require the Secretary to: (1) notify a state in writing with sufficient detail describing any violation of the substantive terms or conditions of a project justifying its termination, and (2) determine that the state has not taken action to correct the violation within 90 days after notification.

Directs the Secretary to evaluate the impact of each demonstration project, using existing data sources and methodology appropriate to determine project effects, including the effect on individual skill levels, earnings, and employment retention.

Date: 2014-01-14
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
New Chance for a New Start in Life Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Labor, subject to the availability of appropriations, to make grants to state and local governments and Indian tribes to carry out employment training programs to assist long-term unemployed persons obtain the skills and training to reenter the workforce and fill jobs in sectors of the economy projected to have the highest rates of demand during the period 2012 through 2022.

Prescribes certain grant condition and use requirements.

Declares that an individual receiving services or compensation funded by a grant under this Act shall not be cause for any reduction in the amount of unemployment compensation that individual is otherwise due.

Date: 2014-01-15
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a pilot program to provide grants to state and local entities and certain other entities to provide individuals age 55 or older with job skills training in computer literacy, advanced computer operations, and resume writing.

Date: 2014-01-28
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
On-the-Job Training Act of 2013 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to authorize the Secretary of Labor to: (1) make discretionary grants to states, local governments and boards, Indian tribes, institutions of higher education, business trade associations, and local educational agencies for adult on-the-job training or dislocated worker on-the-job training programs; and (2) use up to 10% of funds authorized under this Act to make grants to such entities for developing on-the-job training programs, including providing capacity building activities for local staff.

Date: 2014-01-29
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Growing Small Businesses Act of 2014 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to revise performance accountability system requirements for statewide and local workforce investment programs.

Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop separate performance measures for individuals who receive entrepreneurial training under such programs.

Requires providers of training services who offer entrepreneurial training services under a local workforce investment program for adults and dislocated workers to: (1) use intake tools that assess an individual's suitability for referral to entrepreneurial training services; (2) report to the local workforce investment board that includes the number of individuals who express interest in self-employment or starting a business and enroll entrepreneurial training services; and (3) develop partnerships with microbusiness development organizations that can provide education, training, counseling, and coaching focused on helping new and low and moderate income entrepreneurs succeed.

Date: 2014-02-14
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the work opportunity tax credit through 2015 and allow the credit for the hiring of a qualified long-term unemployed individual. Defines "qualified long-term unemployed individual" as any individual who: (1)  is certified as being in receipt of unemployment compensation during the entire 26-week period ending on the date such individual is hired, or (2) would have received unemployment compensation for such period but had exhausted the right to such compensation.

Date: 2014-02-25
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Taxation
Jobs and Opportunity Bonus Tax Credit Act of 2014 or the JOB Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers who employ not more than 500 full-time employees during the taxable year a business-related tax credit equal to the lesser of: (1) 50% of the job training program expenditures for a full-time employee participating in a qualified training program, or (2) $5,000. Terminates such credit after 2017.

Date: 2014-03-11
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Taxation
21st Century Energy Workforce Development Jobs Initiative Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish a comprehensive program to improve the education and training of workers for energy-related jobs, with emphasis on increasing the number of skilled minorities and women trained to work in such jobs.

Date: 2014-04-30
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Skills Gap Strategy Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop a strategy report to address the skills gap by providing analysis and recommendations to increase on-the-job training and apprenticeship opportunities, identify industry-recognized postsecondary credentials that are nationally portable and aligned with in-demand occupations in industries such as construction, manufacturing, and others that are emerging, and increase employer participation in education and workforce training.

Defines the term "skills gap" as the difference, or gap, between the current supply of labor and skills of the workforce and that which is desired by employers.

Date: 2014-05-01
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Workforce Investment and Job Creation Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop a strategy report to address the skills gap by providing analysis and recommendations to increase on-the-job training and apprenticeship opportunities, identify industry-recognized postsecondary credentials that are nationally portable and aligned with in-demand occupations in industries such as construction, manufacturing, and others that are emerging, and increase employer participation in education and workforce training.

Defines the term "skills gap" as the difference, or gap, between the current supply of labor and skills of the workforce and that which is desired by employers.

Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to require the Secretary of Labor to award competitive grants to states to provide funds to local boards for provision of technical school training subsidies in local areas through one-stop delivery systems to pay tuition costs for the career and technical education of unemployed individuals enrolled or accepted at a technical school. Limits the aggregate amount of subsidies to an individual to $2,000.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a refundable tax credit for: (1) 60% of the excess of the aggregate wages paid to their employees in 2014 over the aggregate wages paid them in 2013, and (2) 40% of the excess of such wages paid during 2015 over the aggregate inflation-adjusted wages paid during 2014. Limits the maximum amount of such credit to $500,000 in any calendar year.

Date: 2014-05-07
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Renewable Energy Jobs Act - Requires the Secretary of Labor to carry out a pilot program to train individuals for careers in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries and award grants under the program to the five states with the highest installed alternative energy power capacity.

Defines "renewable energy and energy efficiency industries" as the following industries:

 the energy-efficient building, construction, or retrofits industry; the renewable electric power industry, including the wind, solar, and geothermal energy industries; and the energy efficiency assessment industry that serves the residential, commercial, or industrial sectors.

Date: 2014-05-09
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Skills Connection Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to create a searchable and publicly available database containing a registry of industry-recognized credentials, a skills database, and a jobs bank to enable programs that lead to such credentials to receive priority under:

 youth workforce investment programs, statewide employment and training programs, career and technical programs, and training programs for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) workers. Makes funds available from amounts appropriated for each fiscal year for the Workforce Innovation Fund for the costs of carrying out this Act.

Date: 2014-05-29
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Widening Internet Readiness for Employment Development Act or WIRED Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to revise one-stop delivery system requirements.

Requires the Secretary of Labor to establish certain standards and best practices for the provision of employment and training services for adults and dislocated workers on Internet websites maintained by one-stop delivery systems.

Requires the one-stop delivery system, at a minimum, to make those services accessible through an Internet website that: (1) is unique to the particular one-stop system, and (2) meets and incorporates those standards and best practices.

Date: 2014-06-10
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Workers Opportunity and Retraining Competitive Grant Program Act of 2014 or the WORC Grant Program Act of 2014 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Labor to establish a manufacturing worker scholarship program to award competitive grants to states to provide scholarships of up to $2,000 per year (not to exceed two years) to dislocated workers or unemployed individuals through state and local boards to support their transition into manufacturing positions.

Date: 2014-06-10
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Youth Access to American Jobs Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to 10 eligible entities (partnerships among a local educational agency (LEA), a community college, and a state apprentice program or a joint-labor management training program) to carry out a program for students to: (1) take science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses and other courses during grades 11 and 12 at a secondary school served by the LEA that prepare them for community college; (2) enroll in a course of study related to the manufacturing field at the community college upon graduating from the secondary school; and (3) enroll, for a two-year period, in the state apprenticeship program or the joint-labor management training program upon receiving an associate's degree from the community college.

Date: 2014-06-10
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Increasing Technology Skills Act of 2014 - Establishes in the Department of Labor the Information Technology Certification Fund.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a work opportunity tax credit for any employer who hires a certified information technology certification program graduate.

Directs the Secretary of Labor to award competitive grants to states through state boards for the payment of costs of qualified individuals to participate in the program.

Directs the Secretary to create an introductory program for use in one-stop centers to provide background information via the Internet to participants on information technology certification programs.

Date: 2014-06-20
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Healthy Employee Loss Prevention Act of 2014 or the HELP Act - Authorizes the following groups to petition for eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance to the Critical Employment Advisory Commission (established by this Act) and the governor of a state:

 a group of adversely affected workers; the certified or recognized union or other duly authorized representative of such workers; or employers of such workers, one-stop operators or one-stop partners, including state employment security agencies, or the state dislocated worker unit, on their behalf. Defines "adversely affected worker" to mean an individual who, because of lack of work in adversely affected employment, has been been totally or partially separated from such employment, or has been totally separated from employment with the company in a subdivision of which adversely affected employment exists.

Directs the Commission to certify a group of adversely affected workers as eligible for adjustment assistance if:

 they were coal miners, coal utility workers, or other workers in the coal industry or a coal-dependent industry; a significant number of the company's workers have become, or are threatened to become, totally or partially separated or have experienced, or are threatened to experience, a significant reduction in wages; and the company's sales or production, or both, have caused a shift contributing to the worker's separation or threat of separation. Requires any complete or partial separation or reduction in wages to be directly attributable to:

 actions by the federal government, the low-cost of other forms of energy, the existence of state-to-state electricity market competition, or other reasons the Commission determines. Requires the payment of a readjustment allowance to an adversely affected worker covered by an eligibility certification who files an application for any week of unemployment, provided certain conditions have been met.

Requires the Commission to:

 make available employment and case management services, directly or through state agreements, to adversely affected workers as well as adversely affected incumbent workers; and approve training for such workers in cases where suitable employment is not available. Authorizes states to use certain funds for adversely affected workers for payment of job search and relocation allowances.

Establishes the Commission and the Transition Adjustment Assistance Fund to carry out this Act.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Promoting Apprenticeships for Credentials and Employment Act or the PACE Act - Establishes the Office of Apprenticeship in the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor, to be headed by the Administrator of the Office of Apprenticeship. Includes among the duties of the Administrator the management of the national apprenticeship system, promoting awareness about registered apprenticeship programs (i.e., programs registered under the National Apprenticeship Act), and supporting the development of pre-apprenticeship programs (programs or strategies designed to prepare individuals to enter and succeed in a registered apprenticeship program).

Establishes in the Department of Labor a National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships to advise the Administrator, and make recommendations, on the administration of registered apprenticeship programs.

Directs the Administrator, working jointly with the Assistant Secretary of Education for Vocational and Adult Education (Secretaries), to establish and maintain a voluntary Registered Apprenticeship-College Consortium to promote: (1) stronger connections between registered apprenticeship programs and participating two- and four-year postsecondary educational institutions, and (2) the translation of experience in an apprenticeship program to academic credit.

Requires the Secretaries to: (1) establish criteria for the participation of a postsecondary educational institution or sponsor in the Consortium; (2) maintain a publicly accessible website to provide information about the Consortium in each state; and (3) establish an advisory committee for the Consortium to seek input from organizations and experts representing industry, labor, and postsecondary education.

Requires the Administrator to provide payments of assistance for eligible sponsors of new registered apprenticeship programs or for sponsors of existing joint labor-management registered apprenticeship programs that add employers as new partners.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
America Realizing the Informational Skills and Initiative of New Graduates Act of 2014 or the America RISING Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education to jointly establish a program providing grants to:

 eligible employers to defray the cost of compensation they pay to recent graduates from institutions of higher education (IHEs); and such graduates to enable them to defray the cost of undertaking further postsecondary education at an IHE for up to 24 months in subjects relating to mathematics, science, engineering, or technology. Defines an "eligible employer" as a small business concern or a major corporation that has an operation located in an enterprise zone or in an area in which the unemployment rate exceeds the national average unemployment rate by more than 2%.

Allows college graduates who are participating in the program, either as grantees or beneficiaries of grants to their employers, to defer payment on their federal student loans under title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 until their participation in the program ends.

Requires graduates who are awarded a program grant to be eligible to receive federal student aid under title IV without regard to whether they have been or are delinquent on title IV loans.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Education
Manufacturing Skills Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretaries of Commerce, Labor, Education, and Defense (DOD) and the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to jointly establish a Manufacturing Skills Partnership to administer and carry out a program to award compeititve, three-year grants to enable up to five states and five metropolitan areas to carry out proposals to promote reforms in workforce education and skill training for manufacturing.

Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): (1) acting through the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, to conduct an audit of all federal education and skills training programs related to manufacturing to ensure that states and metropolitan areas are able to align federal resources with the labor demands of their primary manufacturing industries; and (2) to work with states and metropolitan areas to determine how federal funds can be more tailored to meet their different needs.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Education and Workforce Innovation Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to carry out a five-year pilot program to award grants to eligible entities to carry out programs that provide direct skills and job training for individuals to enter and advance in high-growth, emerging, and in-demand industries, such as skilled labor and trade industries.

Defines an "eligible entity" as a private company involved in the manufacturing, production, or technology industries, in partnership with a junior or community college, postsecondary vocational institution, or secondary school.

Authorizes such an entity to use such a grant to develop and carry out a multiyear program to provide students enrolled in such a college, institution, or school with education and training to enter and advance in such industries, by providing: (1) customized training, (2) increased productivity and knowledge transfer, (3) a stable and predictable pipeline to a high-standard of employment upon graduation, (4) a proven model of success, and (5) an opportunity for career advancement.

Requires an eligible entity that is awarded a grant to provide matching funds from non-federal sources.

Directs the Secretaries of Education and the Treasury to administer a five-year pilot program under which qualified investors enter into a pay-for-performance agreement under which they will provide funds to service providers to carry out workforce training programs that increase trade certifications or apprenticeships for unemployed individuals or dislocated workers.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Education
Leveraging and Energizing America's Apprenticeship Programs Act or the LEAP Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business-related tax credit of $1,500 for hiring an apprenticeship employee who has not attained age 25 at the close of the taxable year or $1,000 for an apprenticeship employee who has attained age 25. Allows such credit for no more than two taxable years with respect to any apprenticeship employee. Defines "apprenticeship employee" as an employee who is employed in an officially-recognized apprenticeable occupation pursuant to an apprentice agreement registered with the Office of Apprenticeship of the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor or a state apprenticeship agency.

Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to coordinate with the heads of federal agencies to: (1) determine which government publications could be available on government websites and no longer printed, (2) devise a strategy to reduce overall government printing costs over the 10-year period beginning with FY2015, (3) establish government-wide guidelines on employee printing, and (4) issue guidelines for publicly disclosing information about the publication of government documents.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Taxation
Leveraging and Energizing America's Apprenticeship Programs Act or the LEAP Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business-related tax credit of $1,500 for hiring an apprenticeship employee who has not attained age 25 at the close of the taxable year or $1,000 for an apprenticeship employee who has attained age 25. Allows such credit for no more than two taxable years with respect to any apprenticeship employee. Defines "apprenticeship employee" as an employee who is employed in an officially-recognized apprenticeable occupation pursuant to an apprentice agreement registered with the Office of Apprenticeship of the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor or a state apprenticeship agency.

Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to coordinate with the heads of federal agencies to: (1) determine which government publications could be available on government websites and no longer printed, (2) devise a strategy to reduce overall government printing costs over the 10-year period beginning with FY2015, (3) establish government-wide guidelines on employee printing, and (4) issue guidelines for publicly disclosing information about the publication of government documents.

Date: 2014-11-14
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Taxation
Made In America Manufacturing Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretaries of Commerce and Labor to establish a program for the joint award of incentive grants to a state or a regional partnership to support the U.S. manufacturing industry. Designates the program as the Made in America Incentive Grant Program. Limits single grants to $20 million, to be used by the recipient to carry out a manufacturing enhancement strategy. Requires, under such strategy: (1) establishing a revolving loan fund for loans to manufacturers for various business purposes, (2) retraining current and training new manufacturer employees, and (3) creating or expanding manufacturer export activity and domestic supply chain opportunities. Outlines recipient application requirements, including the submission of a proposed strategy and the establishment of a Made In America Partnership Board.

Gives grant priority to entities that identify and commit matching funds of at least 50% of the grant amount. Prohibits more than half of the grant amounts from being used for employee retraining and training. Requires annual reports from recipients to the Secretaries on the use of grant funds.

Directs the Secretaries to jointly establish an advisory committee for advice on implementing and evaluating the Program. Authorizes the Secretaries to review and evaluate recipient performance and, as appropriate, determine a recipient to be ineligible for additional grants due to noncompliance with the Program or strategy.

Date: 2013-01-22
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Commerce
Small Business Job Creation Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employer a credit against payroll tax liability equal to 10% of the increase of such employer's payroll in a calendar quarter over a corresponding quarter in the previous calendar year. Limits the total credit amount available for all quarters to $500,000. Denies such credit to any employer with 100 or more employees unless such employer shows an increase in payroll exceeding 3% in a calendar quarter.

Directs the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to: (1) notify all employers required to withhold employment taxes of the enactment and applicability of this Act, and (2) report to Congress on enforcement measures taken to prevent and penalize fraud related to the payroll tax credit allowed by this Act.

Date: 2013-01-23
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Taxation
American Manufacturing Efficiency and Retraining Investment Collaboration Achievement Works Act or AMERICA Works Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to require state or local workforce investment systems to use youth activities funds for programs that provide training, which may include priority consideration for training programs that lead to recognized postsecondary credentials aligned with in-demand occupations or industries in the local area involved.

Authorizes the operator and employees of a one-stop center, in assisting individuals in selecting programs of training services, to give priority consideration to such programs.

Revises eligibility requirements for providers of training services and providers of youth activities for such programs. Requires programs of training services and youth activities programs that lead to a recognized postsecondary credential to meet quality criteria established by the state governor.

Amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 and the Trade Act of 1974 to require the same priority consideration in the state and local plans for career and technical education programs as well as in tech prep programs and trade adjustment assistance (TAA) programs.

Date: 2013-03-05
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Urban Jobs Act of 2013 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to authorize the Secretary of Labor to make competitive grants to national or regional private nonprofit community-based organizations to carry out Urban Jobs Programs to provide job training, education, and support services and activities for eligible urban youth to provide them with a pathway to employment, or education leading to employment.

Defines "eligible youth" as individuals ages 18 to 24 who: (1) are not enrolled in secondary or post-secondary school, or (2) are or have been subject to the criminal justice process.

Directs the Secretary to establish a National Jobs Council Advisory Committee.

Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) community-based affiliates should establish local jobs council advisory committees to aid in establishing local community support for local implementation of the program; and (2) at least one-third of the members of the committee should be employers in high-impact, high-growth industries in the locality.

Date: 2013-03-22
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Careers through Responsive, Efficient, and Effective Retraining Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1988, with respect to funds for statewide youth activities which are allocated to a local area for eligible youth seeking assistance in achieving academic and employment success, to require the use of such funds for training programs, with priority consideration given to those that lead to an industry-recognized, nationally portable, and regionally relevant credential.

Requires the operator of a state one-stop system for delivery of training services to adults and dislocated workers also to give priority consideration to training programs that lead to the same kind of credential.

Requires the program of a provider of training services that leads to such a credential to meet quality criteria as established by the state governor (which may be accreditation by a state-recognized, third party accrediting agency).

Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish in at least five states, including at least one rural and one non-rural state, a Pay for Performance pilot program to provide a portion of training services for adults and dislocated workers under a plan meeting specified criteria.

Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to prepare a plan to reorganize federal job training programs to increase their efficiency, integration, and alignment. Requires the plan to propose a decrease in the number of federal job training programs without decreasing services or accessibility to them for eligible job training participants, including individuals with specified barriers to employment such as economic disadvantage, limited English proficiency, age, a need for remedial education, or completion of a criminal sentence.

Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) (TANF) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to disclose pertinent employment information in the National Directory of New Hires to any state agency administering part D that transmits to the Secretary the names and Social Security account numbers of individuals. Prescribes restrictions on state use of such information.

Date: 2013-04-24
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Workforce Investments through Local Libraries Act or WILL Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to define "digital literacy skills" to mean the skills associated with using technology to enable users to find, evaluate, organize, create, and communicate information.

Revises requirements for member composition of state and local workforce investment boards to include heads of public libraries.

Requires state workforce investment plans to include a description of the procedures states will take to assure coordination of and avoid duplication among employment and training activities, and adult education and literacy activities, provided by public libraries. Requires local workforce investment plans similarly to describe how local boards will coordinate investment activities carried out in the local area with such activities provided by public libraries.

Allows a human resource program operated by a one-stop partner to include programs of employment and training activities, and adult education and literacy activities, provided by public libraries. Revises state allotment eligibility requirements to allow public libraries located in local areas to operate as one-stop centers to provide such activities.

Allows public libraries, among other appropriate entities, to contract with the one-stop delivery system to deliver intensive services for employment and training for adults and dislocated workers supported by workforce investment funds.

Includes development of digital literacy skills among the intensive short-term prevocational services of a one-stop delivery system.

Allows demonstration and pilot, multiservice, research, and multistate projects of the Department of Labor for providing employment opportunities and training services to individuals to include the establishment of employment resource centers in public libraries to provide unemployed and underemployed individuals access to workforce investment services related to such opportunities and services.

Directs the Secretary of Labor to collaborate on initiatives, materials, or technology to support workforce development activities with the heads of relevant federal departments and agencies, including the Secretary of Education, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), or their designees.

Amends the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act to require an eligible provider receiving a grant or contract to develop, implement, and improve adult education and literacy activities to use the grant or contract to establish or operate one or more programs to promote digital literacy skills.

Date: 2013-05-07
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
American Jobs in American Forests Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Labor, as a component of the H-2B (temporary nonagricultural workers) labor certification process for employment in forestry, to take specified actions to recruit U.S. workers before petitioning to hire H-2B workers.

 Requires a prospective H-2B employer to submit a separate petition for each state in which the employer plans to employ H-2B non-immigrants for a period of at least seven days. Prohibits the Secretary from granting a temporary labor certification to a prospective H-2B employer until the Director of the state workforce agency has determined that: (1) employer recruitment requirements have been met, and (2) U.S. nationals are not qualified or available to fill such employment opportunities.

Date: 2013-05-08
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Immigration
Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success Act of 2013 or SECTORS Act of 2013 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to require the Secretary of Labor to award renewable three-year competitive industry or sector partnership grants to eligible entities to develop strategies that: (1) encourage growth and competitiveness through work with employers within a targeted industry cluster; (2) help workers move toward economic self-sufficiency and ensure that they have access to supportive services; (3) address the needs of firms with limited human resources or in-house training capacity, including small- and medium-sized firms; and (4) coordinate with entities that carry out state and local workforce investment, economic development, and education activities.

Date: 2013-06-26
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
On-the-Job Training Act of 2013 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to authorize the Secretary of Labor to: (1) make discretionary grants to states, local boards, and federally-recognized tribal organizations for adult on-the-job training or dislocated worker on-the-job training programs; and (2) use up to 10% of funds authorized under this Act to make grants to such entities for developing on-the-job training programs, including providing capacity building activities for local staff.

Date: 2013-06-26
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Better Education and Skills Training for America's Workforce Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax credits for: (1) the qualified training expenses of job trainees who have been unemployed for at least 90 days before enrolling in a training program, that are paid by U.S.-based employers; and (2) investment in a qualified job training partnership between a private business and an institution of higher education or a labor organization. Defines "qualifying training expenses" as an eligible trainee's qualified tuition costs, which may include costs for books and enrollment in a training program at an institution of higher education that may include a single course, multiple courses, or a combination of work training and study and that is reasonably necessary for employment. Terminates the credit for qualified training expenses of job trainees after December 31, 2016.

Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a Qualified Job Training Partnership program to consider and award certifications for qualified investments eligible for credits to qualified job training partnerships.

Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to individuals who make an investment in a qualified job training partnership, in lieu of a tax credit.

Date: 2013-07-31
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Taxation
Skills Gap Strategy Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop a strategy report to address the skills gap by providing analysis and recommendations to increase on-the-job training and apprenticeship opportunities, identify industry-recognized postsecondary credentials that are nationally portable and aligned with in-demand occupations in industries such as construction, manufacturing, and others that are emerging, and increase employer participation in education and workforce training.

Defines the term "skills gap" as the difference, or gap, between the current supply of labor and skills of the workforce and that which is desired by employers.

Date: 2013-10-30
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Alternative Qualifications for Federal Employment Act of 2014 - Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish a pilot program to appoint individuals with alternative educational experience to positions in the civil service. 

Defines an "individual with alternative educational experience" as an individual who does not have a degree from an institution of higher education and has received training or education in one or more subject areas or occupational fields from an educational provider who does not meet specified requirements under the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Requires the Director to select not less than 25 positions (from not less than 10 diverse occupational fields) during each of FY2015-FY2019 for which an individual with alternative educational experience may apply.

Date: 2014-03-05
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Leveraging and Energizing America's Apprenticeship Programs Act or the LEAP Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business-related tax credit of $1,500 for hiring an apprenticeship employee who has not attained age 25 at the close of the taxable year or $1,000 for an apprenticeship employee who has attained age 25. Allows such credit for no more than two taxable years with respect to any apprenticeship employee. Defines "apprenticeship employee" as an employee who is employed in an officially-recognized apprenticeable occupation pursuant to an apprentice agreement registered with the Office of Apprenticeship of the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor or a state apprenticeship agency.

Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to coordinate with the heads of federal agencies to: (1) determine which government publications could be available on government websites and no longer printed, (2) devise a strategy to reduce overall government printing costs over the 10-year period beginning with FY2015, (3) establish government-wide guidelines on employee printing, and (4) issue guidelines for publicly disclosing information about the publication of government documents.

Date: 2014-04-09
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Taxation
Promoting Partnerships to Transform Opportunities Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Labor to make competitive grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, eligible institutions, preferably in partnership with a nonprofit organization, to provide support services, job training, and education to individuals with multiple barriers to employment, including underrepresented minorities, to help prepare them to enter the workforce.

Defines "eligible institution" to mean a historically Black college or university, a Hispanic-serving Institution, a Tribal College or University, or a Predominantly Black Institution.

Requires an eligible institution to submit a program plan to the Secretary in order to receive a grant or enter into such a contract or cooperative agreement.

Date: 2014-04-29
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Work and Learn Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to require a local workforce investment board to include a representative with expertise implementing work-based programs of employment and training activities that combine technical training with related instruction, including programs that begin by providing mentoring and job shadowing opportunities, which evolve into intensive internships and registered apprenticeships.

Revises requirements for a comprehensive performance accountability system assessing the effectiveness of states and local areas in achieving continuous improvement of workforce investment activities. Adds completion of a registered apprenticeship to the core indicators of performance for authorized employment and training activities (except for self-service and informational activities) and youth activities for eligible individuals age 19 through 21.

Date: 2014-05-22
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Leverage Prior Skills Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to require a governor, in establishing a procedure for local workforce investment boards in the state in determining the initial eligibility of a provider to receive funds for a program of training services, to require the applicant proposing a program that leads to a recognized postsecondary credential to include in the application information on the quality of the services that lead to that credential.

Requires a state to use federal funds reserved to carry out statewide employment and training activities (other than certain statewide rapid response activities) to identify and implement a process by which local boards will contract with providers of training services, or identify eligible providers of training services, only if the providers involved agree to:

 use direct assessments to assess the prior learning of the participants in noncredit employment and training programs; and take that prior learning into account when determining whether a participant has earned credit hours or made progress toward earning a degree from an institution of higher education, or has earned or made progress towards earning a recognized postsecondary credential.

Date: 2014-05-22
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Apprenticeship and Jobs Training Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business-related tax credit for up to $5,000 for the training of a qualified individual in a qualified apprenticeship program. Defines a "qualified individual" as an individual who: (1) is an apprentice participating in a qualified apprenticeship program, (2) has been employed in such a program for a period of at least seven months that ends within the taxable year, and (3) is not a highly compensated employee or a seasonal worker. Defines a "qualified apprenticeship program" as a program that: (1) provides qualified individuals with on-the-job training and instruction for a qualified occupation (i.e., a skilled trade occupation in a high-demand mechanical, technical, health care, or technology field); (2) is registered with the Office of Apprenticeship of the Department of Labor; and (3) maintains records relating to the qualified individual.

Allows a premature distribution, without penalty, from a tax-qualified retirement plan to an employee who is serving as a mentor. Defines a "mentor" as a working individual who: (1) has attained age 55; (2) works reduced hours and engages in mentoring activities for at least 20% of such hours; and (3) is responsible for the training and education of employees or students in an area of expertise for which such individual has a professional credential, certificate, or degree.

Date: 2014-09-11
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Taxation
On the Job Training Act - Amends title III (Grants to States for Unemployment Compensation Administration) of the Social Security Act, with respect to grants to states by the Secretary of Labor for reemployment demonstration projects, to allow grants to up to 10 states per year instead of a maximum of 10 states altogether.

Allows a designee of a state governor, instead of only the governor, to apply for such a grant.

Requires any project to be commenced by December 31, 2017.

Allows direct disbursements under a project to employers who hire individuals receiving unemployment compensation to include disbursements promoting retention.

Requires the Secretary of Labor to: (1) approve completed grant applications in the order of receipt; (2) determine, before approving an application, whether its assurances are credible that the project would not result in increased costs to the state's account in the Unemployment Trust Fund; and (3) disapprove any application making assurances determined not credible.

Revises requirements for termination of a project to require the Secretary to: (1) notify a state in writing with sufficient detail describing any violation of the substantive terms or conditions of a project justifying its termination, and (2) determine that the state has not taken action to correct the violation within 90 days after notification.

Authorizes appropriations for FY2015-FY2020 for additional payments to states for the administrative costs of demonstration projects.

Directs the Secretary to evaluate the impact of each demonstration project, using existing data sources and methodology appropriate to determine project effects, including the effect on individual skill levels, earnings, and employment retention.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
21st Century Energy Workforce Development Jobs Initiative Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish a comprehensive program to improve the education and training of workers for energy-related jobs, with emphasis on increasing the number of skilled minorities and women trained to work in such jobs.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment