zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Amends the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to require commercial passenger airline pension plan sponsors electing not to utilitze the alternative funding schedule to use an interest rate of 8.25% in determining the funding target for each of the 10 plan years (rather than the segmented interest rates calculated on the basis of the corporate bond yield curve).

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Bicycle Commuters Benefits Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include a bicycle commuting allowance as a qualified transportation fringe benefit, excludable from gross income.

Date: 2007-03-13
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
College Textbook Affordability Act of 2007 - Requires publishers informing teachers at institutions of higher education about textbooks or supplements in their subject areas to include written information concerning: (1) the price the publisher would charge the bookstore associated with such institution for such items; (2) any history of revisions for such items; and (3) whether such items are available in other formats, including paperback and unbound, and the price the publisher would charge the bookstore for items in those formats. Requires a publisher that sells a textbook and any accompanying supplement as a single bundled item also to sell them separately and unbundled. Directs federally-assisted institutions of higher education to include on printed or internet course schedules the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and retail price for each required or recommended textbook or supplement for listed courses. Requires such institutions to provide sellers of textbooks (other than publishers) that meet their requirements with: (1) their course schedules for the subsequent academic period; (2) the ISBN for each textbook or supplement required or recommended for each course; and (3) the number of students enrolled, and the maximum enrollment, in each course.

Date: 2007-03-20
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Education
Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend through October 1, 2012, the annual cap exemption for returning H-2B aliens (temporary nonagricultural worker).

Date: 2007-03-26
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Immigration
Workforce Health Improvement Program Act of 2007 - 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: 2007-03-29
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Housing America's Workforce Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business tax credit for up to 50 percent of the qualified housing expenses paid for the benefit of their employees. Defines "qualified housing expenses" to include homeownership assistance and rental assistance. Limits the amount of such credit to the lesser of $10,000 or six percent of an employee's home purchase price, or up to $2,000 for rental assistance. Excludes from employee gross income the value of employer-paid housing assistance.Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to award grants in FY2008-FY2010, on a competitive basis, to nonprofit housing organizations or local governments for certain costs, including operating costs and technical assistance costs, of employer-assisted housing programs. Requires the Secretary to establish a national clearinghouse, including a website, to provide information about employer-assisted housing programs to federal, state, and local governments and other interested entities. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a national evaluation of employer-assisted housing programs and provide to the Secretary an interim report by January 1, 2011, and final report by December 31, 2012.

Date: 2007-04-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Automatic IRA Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) require certain small employers who do not offer qualified retirement plans or arrangements to their employees to allow eligible employees to participate in a payroll deposit individual retirement account (IRA) arrangement (automatic IRAs); (2) allow employers who do not have more than 100 employees a tax credit for costs associated with establishing a payroll deposit IRA arrangement; and (3) treat automatic IRAs as individual retirement accounts (and as Roth IRAs) for income tax purposes. Establishes in the executive branch the TSP II Board to establish policies and procedures relating to payroll deposit IRA arrangements.

Date: 2007-04-18
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Young Women's Christian Association Pension Clarification Act of 2007 - Applies certain age discrimination safe harbor rules under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to civil actions brought on or after April 25, 2007, alleging any age discrimination violation occurring before June 29, 2005, with respect to any benefit provided under the Young Women's Christian Association Pension Plan.

Date: 2007-04-25
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Women's Retirement Security Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) require certain small employers who do not provide retirement plans for their employees to allow eligible employees to participate in a payroll deposit individual retirement account arrangement (automatic IRA); (2) expand eligibility for the tax credit for retirement savings contributions (saver's credit) and make such credit refundable; (3) allow certain part-time employees to participate in qualified cash or deferred arrangements; (4) allow the transfer of up to $500 of unused health plan benefits to qualified retirement plans; (5) treat wage replacement income (e.g., disability pay or unemployment compensation) as earned income for purposes of IRA contribution limits; (6) allow a limited tax exclusion for certain lifetime annuity payments and for qualified retirement planning services; (7) allow certain small employers a tax credit for contributions to employee pension plans; and (8) allow self-employed individuals to deduct pension plan contributions from their self-employment income.Sets forth special rules for: (1) preservation of retirement plan assets distributed under a qualified domestic relations order; (2) eligibility of surviving and divorced spouses for benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act; and (3) military retired pay subject to court orders in domestic relations proceedings. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to make grants to qualified low-income taxpayer clinics to provide retirement savings counseling to low-income taxpayers.Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to prepare a financial reference handbook and a retirement readiness checklist for distribution to social security recipients.

Date: 2007-05-03
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Employee Stock Ownership Plan Promotion and Improvement Act of 2007 - 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; (5) modify certain ESOP stock ownership rules; and (6) allow a de minimis exception from pension plan investment diversification requirements for ESOP accounts with balances of $2,500 or less.

Date: 2007-05-07
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Options for Investors through United States Certified Coins Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit holders of individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or individually-directed pension plans to invest in coins that: (1) are certified by an independent, third-party grading service; (2) are, or were at any time, legal tender in the United States; and (3) are traded on a nationally recognized electronic coin trading network or listed by an independent coin wholesale reporting service. Permits trustees of IRAs or individually-directed pension plans that invest in coins or bullion to hold an indicia of ownership for such coins or bullion in lieu of physical possession under certain circumstances.

Date: 2007-05-25
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Child Labor Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase civil penalties for violations of: (1) child labor requirements and prohibitions; and (2) minimum wage and maximum hours requirements. Establishes new employer minumum and maximum penalties: (1) for each employee who was the subject of a child labor violation; (2) for each such violation that causes the death or serious injury of any employee under age 18; and (3) where such violation is a repeated or willful violation. Establishes a civil penalty for each such violation that causes the death or serious injury of any employee under age 18. Defines "serious injury" as permanent: (1) loss or substantial impairment of one of the senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, tactile sensation); (2) loss or substantial impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty, including the loss of all or part of an arm, leg, foot, hand or other body part; or (3) paralysis or substantial impairment that causes loss of movement or mobility of an arm, leg, foot, hand or other body part. Increases the civil penalty for any repeated or willful violation of specified minimum wage or maximum hours requirements of such Act. Establishes criminal penalties for child labor violations.

Date: 2007-06-13
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Family Leave Insurance Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, mandatory for certain covered employers. Entitles eligible employees to Program benefits that include specified percentages of their daily earnings for eight workweeks of leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or other authority during any 12-month period. Authorizes any employer, with the Secretary's approval, to establish a voluntary plan meeting specified criteria. Specifies prohibited acts by an employer, and penalties for violations. Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish a Civil Service Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program with the same Program benefits for certain federal agency employees. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a family and medical leave premium on every individual and every employer to finance a Family and Medical Leave Trust Fund in the Treasury for Program benefits. Exempts from such premium: (1) employers or self-employers with voluntary plans approved by the Secretary as equivalent or better than the Program; and (2) small employers who have elected not to participate in it.

Date: 2007-06-21
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Restoring Pension Promises to Workers Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the inclusion in gross income of all income previously deferred under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan if an employer maintaining such a plan fails to meet certain participation, vesting, and minimum benefit requirements. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to: (1) deny ERISA pension plan administrators the right to recover overpayments made to plan participants and beneficiaries in cases of hardship or insignificant amounts; (2) impose a three-year limitation period for bringing any action to recover an overpayment; (3) prohibit the elimination of accrued pension plan benefits during corporate mergers and acquisitions; and (4) establish in the Department of Labor an Office of Pension Participant Advocacy to protect pension plan participants.Amends federal employee personnel provisions to: (1) entitle former spouses of federal employees who die before establishing a valid claim for an annuity to 55% of such deferred annuity or a lump-sum payment; (2) permit divorced spouses of federal employees to collect court-awarded retirement benefits when such employees are first eligible to retire (currently, only available at the time the employee actually retires); (3) entitle certain former spouses of retired federal employees divorced prior to September 14, 1978, to a survivor annuity; and (4) give priority to a surviving spouse of a federal employee in the distribution of balances in a Thrift Savings account, unless such spouse consents to the designation of another beneficiary.

Date: 2007-06-28
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Healthy Workforce Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a 50% tax credit for the costs of providing employees with a qualified wellness program. Defines "qualified wellness program" as a program that is certified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and that consists of a health awareness and education component, a behavioral change component, and a supportive environment component. Terminates such credit after 2017. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to institute an outreach program to inform businesses about the availability of such wellness program tax credit.

Date: 2007-07-09
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) conduct an educational campaign on employer-based wellness programs; (2) develop an annual awards program for employers to encourage the development of creative and effective solutions to help employees maintain or improve their health; (3) enter into contracts with entities to provide employers with technical assistance in evaluating wellness programs; and (4) conduct a national worksite health policies and programs study to assess employer-based health policies and programs. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to include a workforce component to enable employers, researchers, and health officials to: (1) assess employee health risks; (2) identify emerging problems associated with general employee health; (3) prevent disease within the employee population; and (4) improve employer-based health programs and policies. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to award grants for research demonstration projects to study the effect of new worksite-based health interventions and models. Directs the Secretary to carry out activities to implement guidelines or recommendations resulting from such projects.

Date: 2007-07-09
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Health
Long-Term Care Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an exclusion from gross income of distributions from individual retirement accounts and other employee benefit plans used to pay long-term care insurance premiums.

Date: 2007-07-18
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act - Amends the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Labor to make unemployment compensation modernization incentive payments in FY2008-FY2012 by certain transfers from the federal unemployment account to the accounts of the states in the Unemployment Trust Fund. Prescribes a formula for determining the maximum allowable incentive payments. Specifies requirements state law must meet for the state to qualify for such a payment. Limits the use of transferred amounts to the payment of cash unemployment benefits to individuals. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to reserve specified funds out of the federal unemployment account for such incentive payments. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through FY2013 the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) excise tax imposed on every employer.

Date: 2007-07-25
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Requires an air carrier that furloughs an airline employee to retain such employee on a recall list for not less than 10 years after the furlough, provided the air carrier: (1) receives more than $100 million in federal assistance; and (2) places such employee on furlough not later than two years after receiving such assistance. Requires such air carrier, before employing a person who is not on the recall list, to recall an employee from the recall list if such employee was employed in a position comparable to the position the air carrier seeks to fill. Authorizes a furloughed employee (including any labor organization that represents such employee) to bring an action in U.S. district court to enforce this Act.

Date: 2007-08-03
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Allows a federal agency head to waive the application of civil service retirement system and federal employee retirement system provisions restricting annuities and pay upon reemployment with respect to an annuitant employed as a limited time appointee, but prohibits waiving such provisions with respect to an annuitant for more than: (1) 520 hours of service performed during the six months following the individual's annuity commencing date; (2) 1040 hours of service performed during any 12-month period; or (3) 6240 hours of service performed during the individual's lifetime.

Date: 2007-08-03
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act of 2007 - Amends the Revenue Act of 1978 to: (1) require employers to treat workers misclassified as independent contractors as employees for employment tax purposes upon a determination of misclassification by the Secretary of the Treasury; (2) repeal the ban on Treasury regulations or revenue rulings on employee/independent contractor classifications; and (3) eliminate the defense of industry practice as a justification for misclassifying workers as independent contractors. Requires the Secretary to establish a procedure for workers to petition for a determination of their status as employees or independent contractors. Prohibits employers from retaliating against workers filing a petition. Requires the Secretary to take certain actions upon determining that an employee has been misclassified as an independent contractor, including informing the Department of Labor of such misclassification.Requires the Secretaries of the Treasury and Labor to issue annual reports and exchange information on worker misclassification cases. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) identify and track complaints involving worker misclassification for purposes of enforcing wage and hour laws; and (2) investigate industries identified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as misclassifying workers.Directs the Secretary of Labor to include on workplace posters required by the Fair Labor Standards Act a notice informing workers of their right to seek a status determination (i.e., whether they are employees or independent contractors) from the IRS.Requires employers to: (1) notify their independent contractors of their federal tax obligations, the labor and employment protections inapplicable to independent contractors, and their right to seek a status determination from the IRS; and (2) maintain for three years a list of their independent contractors, including names and tax identification numbers.

Date: 2007-09-12
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2007 - Amends federal bankruptcy law to increase the maximum amount per individual or corporation of unsecured claims ranked in the fourth (wages, salaries, or commissions) and fifth (employee benefit plan contributions) order of priority. Includes within the scope of a claim in bankruptcy certain equity securities held in a defined contribution plan for the benefit of certain individuals. Ranks in sixth order of priority the diminished value of debtor's equity securities held in a defined contribution plan if the employer or plan sponsor committed fraud regarding the plan. Permits within administrative expenses certain severance pay for termination or layoffs. Prohibits certain senior executive compensation from being disproportionate in light of economic concessions by debtor's nonmanagement workforce. Disallows as an administrative expense specified executive compensation enhancements. Revises requirements governing: (1) rejection of collective bargaining agreements; (2) insurance benefits for retired employees; and (3) the status of certain employee benefits in a sale of business assets. Allows defined benefit plan participants to file claims for certain shortfalls in pension benefits. Permits inclusion within the necessary costs and expenses of preserving property the mandatory recovery of unpaid obligations owed to employees. Directs the court to consider the extent to which alternative reorganization plans maintain: (1) jobs; (2) defined benefit plans; and (3) retiree health benefits. Prohibits assumption of deferred compensation for the benefit of insiders or senior management if an employee defined benefit plan has been terminated. Limits the recovery of executive compensation if the debtor has reduced its contractual obligations under either a collective bargaining agreement or retiree benefits plan. Excepts from an automatic stay: (1) a dispute resolution proceeding established by a collective bargaining agreement prior to commencement of bankruptcy; or (2) an award or settlement under such proceeding. Authorizes the bankruptcy trustee to avoid transfers made for the benefit of an insider or certain consultants in anticipation of bankruptcy. Revises prerequisites to court confirmation of a business reorganization plan which continues retiree benefits.

Date: 2007-09-25
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Home Ownership Mortgage Emergency Act, or the HOME Act - Exempts any qualified mortgage delinquency relief distribution from the 10% additional tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code on early distributions from qualified retirement plans.Provides that the aggregate amount of distributions received by an individual which may be treated as qualified mortgage delinquency relief distributions for any taxable year shall not exceed the excess (if any) of $100,000, over the aggregate amounts treated as qualified mortgage delinquency relief distributions received by such individual for all prior taxable years.Defines the term "qualified mortgage delinquency relief distribution," with the exception of such aggregate dollar limitation, as any distribution from an eligible retirement plan made on or after the enactment of this Act and before January 1, 2010, to an individual whose: (1) acquisition indebtedness, with respect to the taxpayer's principal residence, is in delinquency for at least 60 days; and (2) adjusted gross income for the taxable year of such distribution does not exceed a specified amount.Declares that qualified mortgage delinquency relief distributions shall not be treated as eligible rollover distributions (thus exempting them from certain trustee to trustee transfer and withholding rules).Treats such relief distributions as meeting certain plan distribution requirements of the Code.

Date: 2007-10-18
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Act of 2007 - 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) annually survey and publish 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: 2007-12-13
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Allows employees of commercial passenger airlines who receive payments from a bankruptcy case filed between September 11, 2001, and January 1, 2007, as compensation for lost pension plan benefits to rollover such payments into an individual retirement account (IRA), except for a Roth IRA, without tax or tax penalty.

Date: 2007-12-18
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 - Provides for federal-state agreements under which a state will make temporary extended unemployment compensation payments to individuals who: (1) have exhausted all rights to regular compensation under state or federal law with respect to a benefit year (excluding any benefit year that ended before one year before the enactment of this Act); (2) have no rights to regular compensation or extended compensation with respect to a week under such law or any other state or federal unemployment compensation law; (3) are not receiving compensation for such week under the unemployment compensation law of Canada; and (4) filed an initial claim for regular compensation on or after one year before the enactment of this Act. Requires federal payments to states to cover 100% of such temporary extended unemployment compensation payments. Provides for handling of fraud and overpayments of unemployment compensation.

Date: 2008-01-22
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Requires the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to provide health care benefits for workers who: (1) have been employed by a Department of Energy (DOE) contractor to perform duties under a contract for environmental remediation, waste management, decontamination and decommissioning, maintenance, security, and administrative activities at the Fernald Closure Project (Harrison, Ohio), the Mound Closure Project (Miamisburg, Ohio), or the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (Golden, Colorado); and (2) would have qualified for health care benefits available for retirees had the individual's employment not been terminated as a result of the accelerated closure of the site.

Date: 2008-04-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Energy
Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 350,000 $1 coins in commemoration of the centennial of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America.Requires the coin design to be emblematic of the 100 years of the organization.Restricts issuance of such coins to February 8 through December 31, 2010.Subjects coin sales to a surcharge of $10 per coin.Requires payment of such surcharges to the National Boy Scouts of America Foundation, to be made available to local councils in the form of grants for the extension of Scouting in hard-to-serve areas.

Date: 2008-05-22
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Commemorations
Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow all taxpayers, including taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions, a tax deduction for expenses relating to the home schooling of their children at the elementary or secondary school level.

Date: 2008-06-03
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Iraq Security Agreement Act of 2008 - Directs the President to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees respecting U.S. security commitments to, and arrangements with, other countries. Directs the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to consult with the appropriate congressional committees respecting negotiations pursuant to the Declaration of Principles between the United States and Iraq. Prohibits any agreement (or the obligation of implementing funds) containing a security commitment to, or security arrangement with, the Republic of Iraq, from entering into force except pursuant to Article II, section 2, clause 2 (relating to treaties) or Article I, section 7, clause 2 (relating to enactment of laws) of the Constitution of the United States.

Date: 2008-08-01
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: International affairs
Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to revise the formula for Tier-1 amounts a state credits to 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) from: (1) 50% to 80% of the total amount of regular compensation (including dependents' allowances) payable to the individual during the benefit year; and (2) 13 to 20 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount for the benefit year. Provides an additional Tier-2 period for deposits to an individual's EUCA, using the current formula, if, at the time that the amount established under this Act is exhausted, or at any time thereafter, the individual's state is in an extended benefit period. Prescribes a formula for determining if a state is in an extended benefit period. Allows the Tier-2 period augmentation to be applied to the individual's EUCA only once. Prohibits a Tier-2 augmentation under this Act to an individual's account after March 31, 2009, if the account is exhausted after such date. Extends the period of emergency unemployment compensation. Exempts weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and December 8, 2009, 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 of such state provides for payment (at any time or under any circumstances) of regular compensation to an individual for his 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: 2008-09-17
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Church Plan Clarification Act of 2008 - 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.Allows church plans and their supporting organizations to invest plan assets in a group trust (as defined by Internal Revenue Service Revenue Rulings).

Date: 2008-09-26
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Affordable Tutoring of Our Children Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the tax exclusion for employer-provided dependent care assistance to allow employees an additional exclusion for payments of supplemental instructional services assistance to their dependents between the ages of 5 and 19 who have not obtained a high school diploma or been awarded a general education degree. Defines "supplemental instructional services assistance" to include instructional or other academic enrichment services that are: (1) in addition to instruction provided during the school day; (2) specifically designed to increase academic achievement; (3) in the core academic studies of English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, social studies, and geography; and (4) provided by a state certified instructor or accredited organization.

Date: 2008-09-30
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Unemployment Benefit Tax Suspension Act of 2008 - 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: 2008-12-08
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to suspend in 2008 and 2009 requirements for minimum distributions from tax-deferred retirement plans. Permits taxpayers who have already received a minimum distribution to recontribute such distribution to their retirement plans.

Date: 2008-12-08
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Creating Opportunities to Motivate Mass-transit Utilization to Encourage Ridership Act of 2009 or the Commuter Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a refundable tax credit for 50% of the cost of transit passes provided on a tax-free basis to employees.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Health Care Incentive Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to allow any employer in interstate commerce that is required by federal or state law to pay a minimum wage rate higher than the current federal rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to include the value of creditable health care benefits in determining the required wage.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
EEOICPA Ombudsman Extension and Enhancement Act of 2009 - Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA) to: (1) make permanent the authority of the Office of the Ombudsman of the Department of Labor; and (2) increase the duties of the Ombudsman under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, including to assist in making claims for benefits for Department of Energy (DOE) contractor employees who have contracted a covered illness through exposure at a DOE facility and to act as an advocate for such employees in appropriate cases.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Law
Worker Savings Account Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish worker savings accounts to make payments to workers during periods of unemployment; (2) treat such accounts in the same manner as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for tax purposes; (3) allow employer matching contributions to such accounts; (4) make a portion of the tax credit for contributions to retirement accounts (saver's credit) refundable; and (5) require increases in the saver's credit to be paid into a worker savings account.Provides that no provision of this Act shall be construed to diminish an employer's obligation to pay federal and state unemployment taxes or to reduce the amount of unemployment compensation to which a worker may be entitled.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Suspension of Federal Income Tax on Unemployment Benefits Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to suspend, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008, and before January 1, 2011, the taxation of unemployment compensation.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act - Amends the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Labor to make unemployment compensation modernization incentive payments in FY2008-FY2011 by certain transfers from the federal unemployment account to the accounts of the states in the Unemployment Trust Fund. Prescribes a formula for determining the maximum allowable incentive payments. Specifies requirements state law must meet for the state to qualify for such a payment. Limits the use of transferred amounts to the payment of cash unemployment benefits to individuals (including for dependents' allowances and for unemployment compensation, exclusive of administrative expenses). Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to reserve specified funds out of the federal unemployment account for such incentive payments.

Date: 2009-01-08
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Unemployment Supplemental Assistance Act - Provides for federal-state agreements for increased regular unemployment compensation payments to individuals. Requires federal payments to states to cover 100% of such additional payments.

Date: 2009-01-08
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Family Fairness Act of 2009 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to make an employee eligible for coverage under such Act if that employee has been employed for at least 12 months by a covered employer with respect to whom such leave is requested. (Eliminates the requirement, under current law, that the employee have served at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period before the leave request.)

Date: 2009-01-09
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Protecting Senior's Nest Egg Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2010 the suspension of minimum distribution rules for tax-deferred retirement plans.

Date: 2009-01-09
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the Secretary of Labor to certify an adversely affected secondary group of workers in a subdivision of a firm as eligible to apply for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) if the Secretary determines that: (1) a significant number of workers have become, or are threatened to become, totally or partially separated; (2) the workers' subdivision is a seller of articles of the firm (or another subdivision) that employed a group of workers who received a certification of TAA eligibility and such sales are related to the article that was the basis for such certification; and (3) a loss of business by the workers' subdivision with the firm (or another subdivision) contributed to the workers' separation or threat of separation.

Date: 2009-01-14
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
National Commission on State Workers' Compensation Laws Act of 2009 - Establishes the National Commission on State Workers' Compensation Laws. Requires the Commission to: (1) review the findings and recommendations of the previous National Commission on State Workmen's Compensation Laws; and (2) study and evaluate state workers' compensation laws to determine their adequacy and whether additional remedies should be available to ensure the payment of benefits and medical care.

Date: 2009-01-22
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the 10% additional tax on early distributions from qualified retirement plans inapplicable to individuals who have attained the age of 50 and who have been receiving unemployment compensation for 12 consecutive weeks.

Date: 2009-01-22
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employee: (1) shares of stock received from an employer in a qualified employee stock distribution not exceeding the lowest number of shares received by any employee in such distribution; (2) any gain on such stock if held by such employee for not less than 10 years, and (3) in the case of any qualified disposition of stock that meets such holding requirement, any gain on so much stock acquired during the 60-day period beginning on the date of such disposition as does not exceed the fair market value of the stock so disposed..

Date: 2009-01-26
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Pension Security Act of 2009 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require the financial statement filed with the annual report for a defined benefit pension plan covered by ERISA to include a separate schedule identifying: (1) each hedge fund (i.e., unregistered investment pool) in which plan funds are invested; and (2) the amount invested.

Date: 2009-01-27
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 participation in clinical trials related to the 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. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study the impact on group health plans and health insurance issuers of requiring them to cover routine patient care costs for individuals with serious and life threatening diseases other than cancer.

Date: 2009-01-27
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Health
Safeguarding America's Seniors and Veterans Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make a one-time payment of $500 to each eligible individual age 18 or over who, during the three-month period immediately preceding enactment of this Act, was entitled to Social Security benefits, railroad retirement benefits, or veterans disability benefits.

Date: 2009-01-28
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Social welfare
Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act of 2009 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to cover employees at worksites that employ fewer than 50 employees, but not fewer than 25 employees. Continues to exempt from FMLA coverage employees at worksites that employ fewer than 25 employees (currently 50), if the total number of employees employed by that employer within 75 miles of that worksite is fewer than 25 (currently 50). Allows an employee covered by FMLA to take up to 4 hours during any 30-day period, and up to 24 hours during any 12-month period, of parental involvement leave to participate in or attend activities that are sponsored by a school or community organization; and (2) relate to a program of the school or organization that is attended by the employee's child or grandchild. Permits the use of such parental involvement leave to meet routine family medical care needs, including: (1) such employee's medical and dental appointments, or their spouse, child, or grandchild; and (2) the care needs of their related elderly individuals, including visits to nursing homes and group homes. Allows an employee to elect, or an employer to require, substitution of any of the paid or family leave or paid medical or sick leave of the employee for any leave provided under this Act. Declares that nothing in this Act shall require an employer to provide paid sick leave or paid medical leave in situations where such employer would not normally provide any such paid leave. Imposes on the employee requesting leave certain notification requirements. Allows an employer to require certification supporting such requests. Applies the parental involvement and family wellness leave allowance to federal employees.

Date: 2009-02-03
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow employees to receive transit passes and reimbursements of bicycle commuting expenses as tax-exempt employer-provided fringe benefits in the same month; and (2) exempt reimbursements of bicycle commuting expenses from inclusion in gross income as constructively received.

Date: 2009-02-04
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 70 1/2 to 75 the age at which beneficiaries of tax-exempt pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans must begin taking distributions from such plans and including such distributions in gross income for income tax purposes.

Date: 2009-02-04
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 with respect to the hours-of-service requirement airline flight crews must meet to be eligible for leave under such Act. Declares that a flight attendant or flight crewmember will be considered to meet such requirement if he or she has worked or been paid for: (1) 60% of the applicable monthly guarantee, or the equivalent annualized over the preceding 12-month period; and (2) a minimum of 504 hours during such period. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to provide, by regulation, a method for calculating such leave for airline flight crews.

Date: 2009-02-09
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Family-Friendly Workplace Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to authorize private employers to provide compensatory time off to private employees at a rate of 1 1/2 hours per hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required. Authorizes an employer to provide compensatory time only if it is in accordance with an applicable collective bargaining agreement or, in the absence of such an agreement, an agreement between the employer and employee. Prohibits an employee from accruing more than 160 hours of compensatory time. Requires an employee's employer to provide monetary compensation, after the end of a calendar year, for any unused compensatory time off accrued during the preceding year. Requires an employer to give employees 30-day notice before discontinuing compensatory time off. Prohibits an employer from intimidating, threatening, or coercing an employee in order to: (1) interfere with the employee's right to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation; or (2) require an employee to use such compensatory time. Makes an employer who violates such requirements liable to the affected employee in the amount of the compensation rate for each hour of compensatory time accrued, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced for each hour of compensatory time used.

Date: 2009-02-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
IRA Equity for Seniors Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers who received a mandatory distribution from their pension plan or individual retirement account (IRA) in 2008 to recontribute such amounts to their retirement plans without tax or penalty.

Date: 2009-02-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment