zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Shortening Hours and Retaining Employees Credit Act of 2009 or the SHARE Credit Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a refundable tax credit for wage subsidies paid to employees whose hours are reduced in accordance with a qualified work share program (i.e., a written employer plan under which employees work fewer hours without a reduction in pay). Limits the amount of such credit to the lesser of $3,000 per employee or 10% of the wages for periods in which an employee's hours are reduced under a work share program.

Date: 2009-12-02
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Helping Unemployed Workers Act - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA). Extends the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program through March 31, 2011. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend through April 1, 2011: (1) federal-state agreements increasing regular unemployment compensation payments to individuals; and (2) requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Requires the Secretary of Labor to establish a program under which the Secretary shall make payments to any state unemployment trust fund (including the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) to be used for the payment of unemployment compensation if the Secretary approves an application to receive 100% reimbursement for up to 26 weeks for a short-time compensation program. Bars payments to a state for benefits paid to an individual who is employed by an employer: (1) whose workforce during the three months preceding the date of the submission of the employer's short-time compensation plan has been reduced by temporary layoffs of more than 20%; (2) on a seasonal, temporary, or intermittent basis; or (3) engaged in a labor dispute.

Date: 2009-12-02
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Local Officials Tax Relief Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and Title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to exempt from social security taxes remuneration paid to any elected or appointed member of any general governing board, commission, or committee of any political subdivision of a state if such remuneration is not more than $1,300 and is paid for service performed on or after January 1, 2009.

Date: 2009-12-02
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Employees Pension Security Act of 2009 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require assets of single-employer pension plans to be held in trust by joint boards of trustees. Requires plan sponsors and administrators to provide all material investment information in an accurate form to participants and beneficiaries. Authorizes the Secretary to assess civil penalties for violations of certain information requirements. Sets forth additional requirements for plan termination, to prevent abuse of the bankruptcy and termination process, including requirements relating to: (1) distress termination; (2) bankruptcy court decrees, and the right to intervene to challenge them; (3) consideration of alternatives by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and the plan sponsor; (4) PBGC efforts at consulting on alternatives with plan participants and their union representatives; and (5) notice of the right to challenge determinations relating to plan termination. Amends federal bankruptcy law to include, in a priority order for recovery of expenses and claims, allowed unsecured claims for benefit liabilities to participants and beneficiaries under a single-employer plan in connection with the plan termination, in excess of the benefits payable to them by the PBGC in connection with such termination.

Date: 2009-12-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Save More for Your Own Retirement Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) eliminate contribution limitations to tax-exempt retirement plans; and (2) increase from 10 to 25% the penalty for premature distributions from such plans that are attributable to contributions made after 2009.

Date: 2009-12-16
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2010 the suspension of minimum distribution requirements for tax-exempt retirement plans.

Date: 2010-01-12
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to permit the plan sponsor of a multiemployer pension plan to amortize net investment losses incurred from qualified fraudulent investment schemes after August 31, 2008, over a 40-year period in equal annual installments.

Date: 2010-02-04
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Small Business Job Creation Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow small business employers whose gross receipts in the preceding taxable year did not exceed $20 million or who did not employ more than 200 full-time employees a work opportunity tax credit for hiring unemployed individuals as full-time employees during 2010 or 2011. Doubles the rate of such credit for employers located in counties with high unemployment rates.

Date: 2010-02-09
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Unemployment Insurance Extension Act of 2010 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA). Extends the final date for entering a federal-state agreement under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program through FY2010. Postpones the termination of the program until February 28, 2011. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend through FY2010: (1) federal-state agreements increasing regular unemployment compensation payments to individuals; and (2) requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and September 30, 2010, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.)

Date: 2010-02-25
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Stop Unfair Taxes Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to suspend, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009, and before January 1, 2013, the taxation of unemployment compensation.

Date: 2010-03-02
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Targeted Job Creation and Business Investment Act - Allows a reduction in 2010 and 2011 of an employer's payroll taxes by a specified percentage of the amount by which such employer increases aggregate payroll over the preceding calendar year for employees in high unemployment areas hired after February 3, 2010, and before January 1, 2012. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax credit for increasing research activities, bonus depreciation, and the increased (to $250,000) expensing allowance for depreciable business assets.

Date: 2010-03-25
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Dental Coverage Value and Transparency Act of 2010 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to prescribe certain health care coverage value and transparency requirements for dental benefits under group health plans.

Date: 2010-04-13
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Health
Young Savers' Tax Credit Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a $500 annual tax credit for contributions to retirement plans by individuals who are age 30 or younger. Requires such contributions to equal at least 1% of such individuals' compensation.

Date: 2010-04-15
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to state plans for payment of unemployment benefits to prohibit the denial of benefits to employees of educational institutions (other than those providing instructional, research, or administrative services) for any period between two successive academic years or terms that lasts longer than four weeks.

Date: 2010-04-20
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
21st Century Full Employment and Training Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a Full Employment National Trust Fund. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on certain covered securities transactions, payable by trading facilities that deal in such transactions. Requires amounts collected to be deposited into the Fund for: (1) Employment Opportunity Grants to states, local governments, and Indian tribes for job creating activities in communities where the rate of unemployment is higher than a specified graduated percentage for a number years; and (2) the Secretary to fund Workforce Investment programs. Directs the Secretary to convene a national employment conference to bring together leaders of small and larger business, labor, government, and other parties to discuss employment, with particular attention to structural unemployment and the plight of disadvantaged youth.

Date: 2010-05-04
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Employee Stock Ownership Plan Promotion and Improvement Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exempt certain distributions, including dividends, by S corporations to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) from the penalty tax for premature employee benefit plan withdrawals; (2) exempt deductions for ESOP dividends from corporate alternative minimum tax adjustments based on adjusted earnings and profits; (3) allow deferral of the recognition of gain for certain sales to ESOPs sponsored by any domestic corporation, including S corporations; (4) allow reinvestment of ESOP stock proceeds eligible for nonrecognition of gain in certain mutual funds; and (5) modify certain ESOP stock ownership rules. Amends the Small Business Act to allow a majority-owned ESOP business concern to continue to qualify for loans, preferences, and other programs under such Act.

Date: 2010-05-05
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
PBM Audit Reform and Transparency Act of 2010 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code, and part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit a group health plan from entering into a contract with any pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) to manage the prescription drug coverage provided under the plan, or to control the costs of such coverage, unless the PBM satisfies the following requirements. Requires the PBM to report at least annually to each plan, including regarding the PBM's payments to pharmacies, payments received by the PBM from plans and drug manufacturers, and information on generic drugs. Sets forth provisions governing the interaction between a PBM and pharmacies that contract with the PBM, including: (1) requiring the PBM to disclose reimbursement information; (2) requiring prompt payment for clean claims; (3) prohibiting the exclusion of qualified pharmacies from participation in a network; and (4) requiring a pharmacy owner to sign a contract with a PBM before assuming responsibility to participate in a network managed by the PBM. Prohibits a PBM from requiring or offering incentives to a beneficiary to fill a prescription at a pharmacy that the PBM has an ownership interest in or at a pharmacy with an ownership interest in the PBM. Sets forth requirements for PBM audits of a contract pharmacy, including requirements for prior written notice and an appeals process. Establishes limitations on a PBM seeking to sell, lease, or rent utilization or claims data that a PBM possesses as a result of a contract with a health plan, including requiring a PBM to: (1) provide prior notification of, and receive written approval from, the plan; and (2) provide an opportunity for covered individuals to opt-out of a sale, leasing, or renting of data related to such individual. Prohibits a PBM from directly contacting a covered individual without express written permission of the plan and the individual. Limits data sharing with PBM-owned pharmacies or pharmacies with ownership interests in the PBM. Applies the provisions of this Act to health insurance coverage offered in the individual market.

Date: 2010-05-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Health
Improving Access to Workers' Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act - Amends the Federal Employees' Compensation Act to include physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives, and certified registered nurse anesthetists as eligible providers of medical, surgical, and hospital services and supplies under such Act.

Date: 2010-05-11
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Gulf Coast Access to Savings Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-free distributions, up to $50,000 in any taxable year, from retirement plans on or after April 20, 2010, and before January 1, 2011, for individuals whose principal place of abode is in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas and who sustained an economic loss caused by the explosion on and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling unit, the resulting discharge of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, or the effects of such discharge on the economy in the affected areas. Provides tax incentives for the use of distributions by individuals in affected states to make home purchases. Increases to $100,000 the amount which may be borrowed without penalty from an employer benefit plan by individuals in affected states.

Date: 2010-06-24
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Responsible COBRA, Unemployment, and Poverty Extension Act - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA). Extends the final date for entering a federal-state agreement under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program through FY2010. Postpones the termination of the program until March 1, 2011. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend through FY2010 requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to extend through FY2010, premium assistance for COBRA benefits (health insurance continuation benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985). Prescribes a special rule for an individual who experiences a qualifying event related to a termination of employment on or after June 1, 2010, and before the enactment of this Act. Applies to all COBRA continuation coverage, including state continuation coverage programs, with respect to such individual rules similar to those in the ARRA: (1) extending the election period for, and the effect on, COBRA continuation coverage; and (2) requiring a notice of such action by the administrator of a group health plan. Amends the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 to extend the use of 2009 poverty guidelines through FY2010. Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from publishing updated poverty guidelines for 2010 until after such date. Rescinds pro rata the unobligated balance of each amount appropriated or made available under ARRA (except under title X: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs of division A), so that the aggregate amount of such rescissions equals $27 billion to offset the net increase in spending resulting from this Act.

Date: 2010-06-30
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Small Business Tax Relief and Retirement Restoration Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit until December 31, 2010, penalty-free distributions from an individual retirement account (IRA) or a qualified employer plan for the purpose of making loans to a small business to purchase depreciable property to be used by such business or for employee salaries or wages (other than for bonuses). Requires such loans to be repaid to the IRA within five years.

Date: 2010-07-29
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Authorizes a state by law to apply certain requirements of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 for an extended unemployment compensation benefit period, with specified substitutions, to the period between August 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011. Eliminates, between such dates, the ordinary 13-week waiting period between extended unemployment compensation benefit periods. Allows a state law, between such dates, also to: (1) reduce from 6.5% to 6% the unemployment rate triggering an "on" indicator for any week; and (2) treat as repealed for the extended unemployment compensation period the requirement regarding the average rate of total unemployment in the state (seasonally adjusted).

Date: 2010-08-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA). Requires a further additional Tier-5 period for deposits to an individual's EUCA if, at the time the amount added to such individual's account under the Act is exhausted or at any time thereafter, the individual's state is in an extended benefit period. Prescribes a formula for making such Tier-5 credits. Increases the figures in the basic EUC formula (the lesser of which shall be the amount credited): (1) from 24% to 80% of the total amount of regular compensation (including dependents' allowances) payable to the individual during the benefit year; and (2) from 6 to 20 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount for the benefit year. Prescribes a formula for determining if a state is in an extended benefit period. Allows the Tier-5 period augmentation to be applied to the individual's EUCA only once. Authorizes a state to pay extended compensation to an otherwise eligible individual before any further additional emergency unemployment compensation (EUC), if such individual claimed extended compensation for at least one week of unemployment after the exhaustion of additional EUC.

Date: 2010-08-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Automatic IRA Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) require certain employers who do not maintain qualifying retirement plans or arrangements to make available to their eligible employees a payroll deposit individual retirement account (IRA) arrangement (automatic IRA arrangement) which grants such employees the right to opt-out of participation; (2) require the Secretary of the Treasury to provide employers with a model notice for notifying employees of their opportunity to participate in such an arrangement and to provide participants with an annual statement setting forth arrangement payments, earnings, value, and other specified information; (3) impose a penalty on employers who fail to provide eligible employees access to such an arrangement; (4) establish an Automatic IRA Advisory Group to make recommendations regarding investment options; (5) allow employers who do not have more than 100 employees a tax credit for costs associated with establishing an automatic IRA arrangement; and (6) increase the tax credit for small employer pension plan startup costs. Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Labor to jointly conduct feasibility studies on extending spousal consent requirements to automatic IRAs, promoting the use of low-cost lifetime income arrangements, and using investment data to notify individuals with multiple small balance retirement accounts of consolidation options.

Date: 2010-08-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish and maintain an Internet website to publicly disclose information concerning the number of veterans employed under federal contracts of $100,000 or more for the procurement of personal property and nonpersonal services.

Date: 2010-08-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Fairness in Unemployment Act - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to revise the formula for determining if a state is in an extended benefit period. Modifies the threshold rates of unemployment that must be met by a state in order to establish eligibility for Tier-4 emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) for such state.

Date: 2010-09-29
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to declare that a qualified preretirement survivor annuity with respect to a participant under a multiemployer plan which becomes insolvent or is terminated shall not be treated as forfeitable solely because the participant has not died as of the date on which the plan became so insolvent or the termination date. (Thus guarantees, in the absence of other disqualifying factors, the payment by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) of a qualified preretirement survivor annuity to a participant of a multiemployer pension plan which becomes insolvent or is terminated.)

Date: 2010-09-29
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Continuation Act - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA). Extends the final date for entering a federal-state agreement under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program through February 28, 2011. Postpones the termination of the program until July 31, 2011. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until March 1, 2011, requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and July 31, 2011, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.) Amends the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 to authorize a state by law to apply certain requirements of the Act, with specified substitutions, for determining an extended unemployment compensation period. Requires the state's "on" and "off" indicators to be based on its rate of insured unemployment and rate of total unemployment for the period between enactment of this Act (or, if later, the date established pursuant to state law), and ending on or before March 1, 2011.

Date: 2010-11-17
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Railroad Retirement Fairness Act - Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to provide that an individual who, at the time the individual makes an inquiry to the Railroad Retirement Board, has a current connection with the railroad industry shall not be deemed to have lost that current connection if: (1) the Board misleads or fails to properly inform that individual about that requirement; and (2) that conduct by the Board, according to the principles of equity, should stop the Board from deeming the individual to have lost that current connection. Deems an individual who is employed with the Department of State in a position the Secretary of State certifies as railroad related to have "a current connection with the railroad industry" for retirement purposes. Applies this Act to annuities applied for on or after February 3, 1989.

Date: 2010-11-17
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, distributions from a tax-exempt retirement plan made after December 31, 2008, and before January 1, 2012, to individuals, including self-employed individuals, who have become unemployed and who have received unemployment compensation for 12 consecutive weeks. Provides that such exclusion shall not apply to any distribution made after the individual has been employed for at least 60 days after the separation from employment.

Date: 2010-11-29
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Public Employee Pension Transparency Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny tax benefits relating to bonds issed by a state or political subdivision during any period in which such state or political subdivision is noncompliant with specified reporting requirements for state or local government employee pension benefit plans. Requires plan sponsors of a state or local government employee pension benefit plan to file with the Secretary of the Treasury an annual report setting forth: (1) a schedule of the funding status of the plan; (2) a schedule of contributions by the plan sponsor for the plan year; (3) alternative projections for each of the next 20 plan years relating to the amount of annual conotributions, the fair market value of plan assets, current liability, the funding percentage, and other matters specified by the Secretary; (4) a statement of the actuarial assumptions used for the plan year; (5) a statement of the number of plan participants who are retired or separated from service and are either receiving benefits or are entitled to future benefits and those who are active under the plan; (6) a statement of the plan's investment returns; (7) a statement of the degree to which unfunded liabilities are expected to be eliminated; and (8) a statement of the amount of pension obligation bonds outstanding. Directs the Secretary  to develop model reporting statements and create and maintain a public website, with searchable capabilities, for purposes of posting plan information required by this Act.

Date: 2010-12-02
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Expansion Act - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA). Extends the final date for entering a federal-state agreement under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program through January 3, 2012. Postpones the termination of the program until June 9, 2012. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until January 4, 2012, requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and June 10, 2012, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.) Amends the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 to authorize a state by law to apply certain requirements of the Act, with specified substitutions, for determining an extended unemployment compensation period. Requires the state's "on" and "off" indicators to be based on its rate of insured unemployment and rate of total unemployment for the period between enactment of this Act (or, if later, the date established pursuant to state law), and ending on or before December 31, 2011. Revises the formula for making Tier-1 credits in an applicant's emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA) for a benefit year. Increases the figures in the formula (the lesser of which shall be the amount credited): (1) from 80% to 131% of the total amount of regular compensation (including dependents' allowances) payable to the individual during the benefit year; and (2) from 20 to 34 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount for the benefit year. Authorizes a state to elect to pay Tier-2 EUC before payment of an increased Tier-1 EUC until the state determines that such increased Tier-1 EUC may be paid without undue delay. Amends the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 to make a technical correction regarding the limitation on distributions relating to repeal of a continued dumping and subsidy offset. Requires that no payments be distributed under certain provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 with respect to entries of any goods that are: (1) unliquidated; (2) not in litigation; and (currently, or) (3) under an order of liquidation from the Department of Commerce. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to extend through December 31, 2011, the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits for employees with 10 or more years of service and for those with less than 10.

Date: 2010-12-17
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Unemployment Benefit Tax Suspension Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to suspend, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2007, and before January 1, 2010, the taxation of unemployment compensation.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Retirement Account Distribution Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to suspend in 2008, 2009, and 2010 requirements for minimum distributions from tax-deferred retirement plans. Permits taxpayers who have already received a minimum distribution in 2008 or before July 1, 2009, to recontribute such distribution to their retirement plans by July 1, 2009.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Incentive to Serve Tax Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business tax credit for 25% of wages paid to employees while such employees are performing certain services (e.g., services advancing the improvement of education, health care access, energy conservation, economic opportunities for economically disadvantaged individuals, and disaster preparedness and response) for charitable organizations and community agencies. Limits the amount of wages eligible for such credit to $100,000 per employee.

Date: 2009-01-16
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Commuter Benefits Equity Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to equalize and increase to $230, with a cost-of-living adjustment after 2009, the tax exclusion for both transportation and parking fringe benefits. Extends such benefits to federal employees.

Date: 2009-01-26
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2009 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend for three years after the date of enactment of this Act the annual cap exemption for returning H-2B aliens (temporary nonagricultural worker). Provides that such amendment shall: (1) take effect as if enacted on December 1, 2008; and (2) apply only to petitions with an approved start date in FY2009-FY2011.

Date: 2009-02-05
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Immigration
Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Act of 2009 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to prohibit an administrator of an individual account plan that includes a qualified cash or deferred arrangement from contracting for services to the plan unless the administrator has received in advance a written statement that describes the services to be provided, identifies any other entity performing such services, provides the expected total annual service charges allocated among specified components, and discloses financial relationships with, or free or discounted services provided by, other parties. Limits applicability of such requirements to contracts for services with a total cost that equals or exceeds $5,000 per plan year or .01% of the value of plan assets at the end of the preceding plan year. Requires an individual account plan administrator that permits a participant or beneficiary to exercise control over account assets to provide to the participant or beneficiary a notice containing specified information on investment options 15 days prior to the participant's initial investment and the effective date of any material change in such options.Requires the Secretary of Labor to prescribe a model statement and a model notice.Requires the Secretary to make available to small employers: (1) educational and compliance materials concerning service providers; and (2) services to assist in finding and understanding affordable investment options. Requires the Secretary to: (1) survey and publish annually any data on plan investment options; (2) notify the applicable regulatory authority about any service provider engaged in a pattern or practice that precludes compliance; (3) annually audit a representative sampling of individual account plans; and (4) recommend ways to simplify employee pension plan reporting and disclosure requirements.

Date: 2009-02-09
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Access to Cancer Clinical Trials Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan from: (1) denying an eligible participant or beneficiary with cancer participation in clinical trials related to the prevention or treatment of cancer that are federally funded or conducted under an investigational new drug application reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); (2) denying (or limiting or imposing additional conditions on) the coverage of routine patient costs for items and services furnished in connection with such participation; or (3) discriminating against an individual on the basis of such participation. Includes as routine patient costs all items and services provided in the clinical trial that are otherwise generally available to a qualified individual, with certain exceptions. Applies such prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market and coverage offered through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Makes this Act effective January 1, 2009. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study the impact on group health plans of requiring them to cover routine patient care costs for individuals with serious and life threatening diseases other than cancer.

Date: 2009-02-26
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Health
Pre-existing Condition Patient Protection Act of 2009 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan from: (1) imposing any preexisting condition exclusion; or (2) providing for an affiliation period for coverage offered by a health maintenance organization (HMO). Defines an "affiliation period" as a period of time before health insurance coverage becomes effective. Requires each health insurance issuer offering coverage in the group market in a state to accept every employer in the state that applies for such coverage. Revises provisions governing individual health insurance coverage to apply certain prohibitions related to denying coverage and preexisting condition exclusions to coverage offered in an area (currently, a state). Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress concerning the occurrence of adverse selection as a result of this Act. Requires health insurance issuers to which this Act applies to submit to the Secretary specified information on enrollees and claims. Directs the Secretary to require that group health plans and health insurance issuers provide data to the Secretary for compliance purposes. Sets forth civil penalties for violations. Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to the Secretary on: (1) the impact of this Act and other relevant federal laws; and (2) this Act's effect on the affordability of health insurance coverage and on the expansion of coverage and reductions in the number of uninsured and underinsured.

Date: 2009-03-17
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Health
National Guard and Reserve Retired Pay Equity Act of 2009 - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to back-date to September 11, 2001, the period of active duty or performed active service, in support of a contingency operation or in other emergency situations, for which members of Ready Reserve components of the Armed Forces shall receive credit in determining eligibility for early receipt of non-regular service retired pay.

Date: 2009-03-19
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Church Plan Clarification Act of 2009 - Amends Internal Revenue Code pension plan provisions to: (1) apply a special rule for determining the status of an employer participating in a church plan as a member of a controlled group of entities; and (2) allow certain tax-free transfers to and mergers of church plans that are maintained by the same church or association of churches. Amends the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) to apply limitations on benefits and contributions under qualified employee plans to certain church defined benefit plans. Includes within the definition of plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) an employee benefit plan which is a church plan for purposes of ERISA automatic enrollment provisions. Allows church plans and their supporting organizations to invest plan assets in a group trust (as defined by Internal Revenue Service Revenue Rulings).

Date: 2009-03-25
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
National Guard and Reserve Retired Pay Equity Act of 2009 - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to back-date to September 11, 2001, the period of active duty or performed active service, in support of a contingency operation or in other emergency situations, for which members of Ready Reserve components of the Armed Forces shall receive credit in determining eligibility for early receipt of non-regular service retired pay.

Date: 2009-04-20
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Workforce Health Improvement Program Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of employees: (1) the value of any on-premises employer-provided athletic facility; and (2) fees, dues, or membership expenses paid to an athletic or fitness facility by an employer for its employees, but not exceeding $900 per employee per year. Allows employers a tax deduction for fees, dues, or membership expenses paid to an athletic or fitness facility. Limits the amount of such deduction to $900 per employee per year.

Date: 2009-04-28
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
SIMPLE Cafeteria Plan Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a new employee benefit cafeteria plan to be known as a Simple Cafeteria Plan. Defines "Simple Cafeteria Plan" as a cafeteria plan which: (1) is established and maintained by an employer with an average of 100 or fewer employees during a two-year period; (2) requires employers to make contributions or match employee contributions to the plan; (3) requires participating employees to have at least 1,000 hours of service for the preceding plan year and allows such employees to elect any benefit available under the plan; (4) permits participation by self-employed individuals; and (5) includes long-term care insurance as an qualified benefit. Exempts employers who make contributions for employees under a simple cafeteria plans from pension plan nondiscrimination requirements applicable to highly compensated and key employees. Modifies rules applicable to employee benefit flexible spending arrangements, including health and dependent care arrangements, to permit participants to make or modify elections regarding covered benefits and to carry over up to $500 (indexed for inflation) of unused benefits to the succeeding year or transfer such unused amounts to another plan, including an individual retirement plan or a health savings account. Allows an exclusion from the gross income of an employee of up to $7,500 ($10,000 for employees with one or more dependents) for employer contributions to a flexible spending arrangement. Provides for a cost-of-living adjustment to such exclusion after 2010.

Date: 2009-05-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Excessive Pay Capped Deduction Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny employers a tax deduction for excessive compensation paid to any employee. Defines: (1) "compensation" to include wages, salary, fees, commissions, fringe benefits, deferred compensation, retirement contributions, options, bonuses, and property; and (2) "excessive compensation" as the amount by which an employee's compensation exceeds 100 times the average compensation paid to all other employees.

Date: 2009-05-07
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Air America Veterans Act of 2009 - Requires the Director of National Intelligence to report to Congress on the advisability of providing federal retirement benefits to U.S. citizens for their service prior to 1977 as employees of Air America or an associated company when such company was owned and controlled by the federal government and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Date: 2009-05-21
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exclude from an employee's gross income employer-provided accident and health plan benefits extended to a domestic partner or non-dependent, non-spouse beneficiary eligible to receive such benefits under an employer plan (i.e., "eligible beneficiary"); (2) exempt such benefits paid to eligible beneficiaries from applicable employment and unemployment taxes; (3) allow self-employed individuals a tax deduction for the health insurance costs of their eligible beneficiaries; (4) allow tax-exempt volutary employees' beneficiary associations to provide sick and accident benefits to the domestic partners and non-dependent, non-spouse beneficiaries of their members; and (5) allow reimbursement of the medical expenses of an eligible beneficiary from a health savings account (HSA). Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide guidance relating to reimbursements from a flexible spending arrangement and a health reimbursement arrangement attributable to an eligible beneficiary as defined by this Act.

Date: 2009-05-21
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Promoting Health Care Purchasing Cooperatives Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to award grants for the development of health care purchasing cooperatives by two or more self-insured employers. Sets forth requirements for cooperatives, including that they: (1) are nonprofit, wholly owned, and democratically governed by their member-employers; (2) exist solely to serve the membership base; (3) assist members in pooling their health care insurance purchasing power; (4) provide data to improve the ability of the members to make data-based decisions regarding their health plans; and (5) conduct activities to enhance quality improvement in the health care community. Requires the Secretary to carry out an identical grant program for eligible groups consisting of a consortium of two or more employers that each: (1) have 99 employees or fewer; and (2) purchase health insurance for their employees.

Date: 2009-06-02
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Health
Modifies the rate of accrual of annual leave for administrative law judges, contract appeals board members, and immigration judges to require accrual of one day of annual leave for each full biweekly pay period.

Date: 2009-06-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Compensation Program Act of 2000 to replace the current requirements for occupational illness compensation to the survivors of a Department of Energy (DOE) contractor employee. Requires payment to a survivor of the compensation the deceased contractor employee would otherwise have been paid, if the employee dies after applying for the compensation but before receiving it. Requires payment of the compensation, if no survivors exist, to a claimant's surviving family members. Requires a survivor eligible for contractor employee compensation under this Act as well as survivor compensation under the regular compensation schedule for survivors to elect one or the other. Prohibits any payment to a survivor of both kinds of compensation.

Date: 2009-06-19
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment