Older Workers' Bureau Act
This bill establishes an Older Workers' Bureau in the Department of Labor. The bureau must promote employment opportunities and inclusive workplaces for older workers through research, policy development, outreach, and grant programs.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9327 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9327
To establish in the Department of Labor an Older Workers' Bureau, to
establish grant programs related to employment of older workers, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 17, 2022
Mr. Beyer (for himself and Ms. Newman) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish in the Department of Labor an Older Workers' Bureau, to
establish grant programs related to employment of older workers, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Older Workers' Bureau Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Of the 9 million jobs expected to be added by 2030,
more than half, 4.7 million, will be filled by workers over 55,
according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(2) From 1995 to 2020, the share of older workers more than
doubled, to nearly 25 percent from 12 percent.
(3) About 40 percent of middle-class older workers will be
downwardly mobile into poverty or near poverty in the next ten
years when they reach their sixties in part because of lack of
employment or low wages.
(4) The labor market experience of older workers is shaped
by structural ageism, which carries unproven beliefs that older
workers are not trainable, move slow, are expensive, and get
sick too often.
(5) Older workers who have less formal education, earn
lower wages, or who are Black or Hispanic tend to experience
much worse health than those who are more advantaged and need
more accommodation at work and safer working conditions.
(6) Physically and psychologically difficult working
conditions are widespread and damaging for older workers.
(7) Older workers are more likely to be involuntary part
time, gig, or temporary workers than for prime age workers.
(8) Nearly 30 percent of older women work in low wage jobs
and most are considered working poor.
(9) Concern about age discrimination amongst older workers
has reached its highest level in nearly decades.
(10) More than 1,000,000 older workers were pushed out or
voluntarily left the labor force during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(11) While some older workers have returned to the labor
force since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have
struggled to obtain work and others fear returning to unsafe
working conditions.
(12) The labor force participation rate and employment
population ratio of older workers both declined due to the
COVID-19 pandemic and neither have fully recovered.
(13) Older workers need specific policy consideration and
assistance that could be met by establishing an Older Workers'
Bureau within the Department of Labor.
(b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to promote productive,
inclusive, and welfare-enhancing employment opportunities and
workplaces for older workers through research, policy development,
outreach, and grant programs.
SEC. 3. OLDER WORKER'S BUREAU.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department of Labor
a bureau to be known as the ``Older Workers' Bureau'' (in this section
referred to as the ``Bureau'').
(b) Personnel.--
(1) Director.--
(A) Appointment.--Not later than one after the date
of enactment of this Act, the President shall appoint a
Director to lead the Bureau.
(B) Inclusion in executive schedule.--Section 5315
of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``Director of the Older Workers' Bureau, Department of Labor.''.
(2) Staff.--The Secretary of Labor, acting through the
Director, shall employ such staff as the Secretary determines
necessary to carry out the functions of the Bureau, at such
rates of pay as the Secretary may provide.
(c) Functions.--The Bureau shall promote the welfare, improve the
working conditions, increase the efficiency, and advance the employment
opportunities of older workers, including by carrying out the following
functions:
(1) Research and coordination relating to--
(A) age discrimination and how age discrimination
is addressed;
(B) the wages paid to older workers, including
whether such wages appropriately reflect experience;
(C) the job security of older workers, including--
(i) the probability of job loss; and
(ii) whether there are resources available
in the event of job loss;
(D) the state of retirement readiness of older
workers and the impact of Federal policies regarding
retirement for older workers; and
(E) the impact of Federal policies towards the
equity (including with respect to race, sex, education,
and residence) of older workers and their retirement.
(2) Policy development.
(3) Outreach and education.
(4) Grant program administration.
(5) Coordinating Federal research relating to older
workers.
(6) Improving access to data on the economic situation of
older workers in the labor force or those marginally attached
to the labor force.
(d) Office Quarters.--The Secretary of Labor shall furnish
sufficient quarters, office furniture, and equipment as the Secretary
determines necessary to carry out the functions of the Bureau.
(e) Report.--The Director--
(1) shall submit to the Secretary of Labor annual reports
that--
(A) describe the activities of the Bureau,
including with respect to the functions described in
subsection (c); and
(B) make recommendations to promote the welfare,
improve the working conditions, increase the
efficiency, and advance the employment opportunities of
older workers; and
(2) may publish each such report, as directed by the
Secretary.
(f) Applicability.--The Secretary of Labor shall take such actions
as are necessary to ensure the Bureau is operational not later than one
year after the date of enactment of this Act.
(g) Older Worker Defined.--In this Act, the term ``older worker''
means an individual at least 55 years of age who is employed, seeking
employment, or marginally attached to the labor force.
SEC. 4. RESEARCH GRANTS.
Not later than 180 days after the date on which the Older Workers'
Bureau is established, the Secretary, acting through the Director of
the Older Workers' Bureau, shall carry out a program to award, on a
competitive basis, grants to facilitate--
(1) research into gaps in existing literature and research
(as determined by the Secretary); and
(2) targeted studies designed to direct policies.
SEC. 5. GRANTS TO COMBAT STRUCTURAL AGEISM.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which
the Older Workers' Bureau is established, the Secretary, acting through
the Director of the Older Workers' Bureau, shall carry out a program to
award, on a competitive basis, grants to covered institutions to--
(1) facilitate activities, services, and programs to
improve the welfare of older workers;
(2) combat structural ageism;
(3) improve employment opportunities for older workers; and
(4) create a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
(b) Priority.--In making grants under subsection (a), the Secretary
shall give priority to a covered institution that is located in an area
that has no traditional employment or training programs specifically
targeted to disadvantaged older workers.
(c) Prohibition on Discriminatory Grants.--The Secretary may not
make a grant to a covered institution if the Secretary determines that
such grant would encourage other forms of discrimination.
(d) Covered Institutions Defined.--For the purposes of this
section, the term ``covered institution'' means any of the following:
(1) An employer.
(2) An employer association.
(3) A labor union.
(4) A nonprofit with expertise in older workers.
(5) A worker organization.
(6) Other institutions determined appropriate by the
Secretary.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
To carry out sections 4 and 5, there is authorized to be
appropriated $7,000,000 for each fiscal year after fiscal year 2023.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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