article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Worker Ownership, Readiness and Knowledge Act'' or the ``WORK Act''. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. (a) In this Act: (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of Employee Ownership and Participation. (2) Existing program.--The term ``existing program'' means a program, designed to promote employee ownership and employee participation in business decisionmaking, that exists on the date the Director is carrying out a responsibility authorized by this Act. (3) New program.--The term ``new program'' means a program, designed to promote employee ownership and employee participation in business decisionmaking, that does not exist on the date the Director is carrying out a responsibility authorized by this Act. (4) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of Employee Ownership and Participation established under section 3. (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Labor. (6) State.--The term ``State'' means any of the 50 States within the United States of America. SEC. 3. OFFICE OF EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP AND PARTICIPATION. (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish within the Department of Labor an Office of Employee Ownership and Participation to promote employee ownership and employee participation in business decisionmaking. (b) Director.--The Secretary shall appoint a Director of Employee Ownership and Participation to head the Office. (c) Functions.--The functions of the Director are to-- (1) support within the States existing programs designed to promote employee ownership and employee participation in business decisionmaking; and (2) facilitate within the States the formation of new programs designed to promote employee ownership and employee participation in business decisionmaking. (d) Duties.--To carry out the functions enumerated in subsection (c), the Director shall-- (1) support new programs and existing programs by-- (A) making Federal grants authorized under section 5; and (B)(i) acting as a clearinghouse on techniques employed by new programs and existing programs within the States, and disseminating information relating to those techniques to the programs; or (ii) funding projects for information gathering on those techniques, and dissemination of that information to the programs, by groups outside the Office; and (2) facilitate the formation of new programs, in ways that include holding or funding an annual conference of representatives from States with existing programs, representatives from States developing new programs, and representatives from States without existing programs. SEC. 4. PROGRAMS REGARDING EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP AND PARTICIPATION. (a) Establishment of Program.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program, administered by the Director, to encourage new and existing programs within the States, designed to foster employee ownership and employee participation in business decisionmaking throughout the United States. (b) Purpose of Program.--The purpose of the program established under subsection (a) is to encourage new and existing programs within the States that focus on-- (1) providing education and outreach to inform employees and employers about the possibilities and benefits of employee ownership, business ownership succession planning, and employee participation in business decisionmaking, including providing information about financial education, employee teams, open- book management, and other tools that enable employees to share ideas and information about how their businesses can succeed; (2) providing technical assistance to assist employee efforts to become business owners, to enable employers and employees to explore and assess the feasibility of transferring full or partial ownership to employees, and to encourage employees and employers to start new employee-owned businesses; (3) training employees and employers with respect to methods of employee participation in open-book management, work teams, committees, and other approaches for seeking greater employee input; and (4) training other entities to apply for funding under this section, to establish new programs, and to carry out program activities. (c) Program Details.--The Secretary may include, in the program established under subsection (a), provisions that-- (1) in the case of activities under subsection (b)(1)-- (A) target key groups such as retiring business owners, senior managers, unions, trade associations, community organizations, and economic development organizations; (B) encourage cooperation in the organization of workshops and conferences; and (C) prepare and distribute materials concerning employee ownership and participation, and business ownership succession planning; (2) in the case of activities under subsection (b)(2)-- (A) provide preliminary technical assistance to employee groups, managers, and retiring owners exploring the possibility of employee ownership; (B) provide for the performance of preliminary feasibility assessments; (C) assist in the funding of objective third-party feasibility studies and preliminary business valuations, and in selecting and monitoring professionals qualified to conduct such studies; and (D) provide a data bank to help employees find legal, financial, and technical advice in connection with business ownership; (3) in the case of activities under subsection (b)(3)-- (A) provide for courses on employee participation; and (B) provide for the development and fostering of networks of employee-owned companies to spread the use of successful participation techniques; and (4) in the case of training under subsection (b)(4)-- (A) provide for visits to existing programs by staff from new programs receiving funding under this Act; and (B) provide materials to be used for such training. (d) Regulations.--The Secretary shall promulgate regulations pursuant to this Act that require new and existing programs established or funded under this Act to be-- (1) proactive in encouraging actions and activities that promote employee ownership of, and participation in, businesses; and (2) comprehensive in emphasizing both employee ownership of, and participation in, businesses so as to increase productivity and broaden capital ownership. SEC. 5. GRANTS. (a) In General.--In carrying out the program established under section 4, the Director may make grants for use in connection with new programs and existing programs within a State for any of the following activities: (1) Education and outreach as provided in section 4(b)(1). (2) Technical assistance as provided in section 4(b)(2). (3) Training activities for employees and employers as provided in section 4(b)(3). (4) Activities facilitating cooperation among employee- owned firms. (5) Training as provided in section 4(b)(4) for new programs provided by participants in existing programs dedicated to the objectives of this Act, except that, for each fiscal year, the amount of the grants made for such training shall not exceed 10 percent of the total amount of the grants made under this Act. (b) Amounts and Conditions.--The Director shall determine the amount and any conditions for a grant made under this section. The amount of the grant shall be subject to subsection (f), and shall reflect the capacity of the applicant for the grant. (c) Applications.--Each entity desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Director at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Director may reasonably require. (d) State Applications.--Each State may sponsor and submit an application under subsection (c) on behalf of any local entity consisting of a unit of State or local government, State-supported institution of higher education, or nonprofit organization, meeting the requirements of this Act. (e) Applications by Entities.-- (1) Entity applications.--If a State fails to support or establish a program pursuant to this Act during any fiscal year, the Director shall, in the subsequent fiscal years, allow local entities described in subsection (d) from that State to make applications for grants under subsection (c) on their own initiative. (2) Application screening.--Any State failing to support or establish a program pursuant to this Act during any fiscal year may submit applications under subsection (c) in the subsequent fiscal years but may not screen applications by local entities described in subsection (d) before submitting the applications to the Director. (f) Limitations.--A recipient of a grant made under this section shall not receive, during a fiscal year, in the aggregate, more than the following amounts: (1) For fiscal year 2010, $300,000. (2) For fiscal year 2011, $330,000. (3) For fiscal year 2012, $363,000. (4) For fiscal year 2013, $399,300. (5) For fiscal year 2014, $439,200. (g) Annual Report.--For each year, each recipient of a grant under this section shall submit to the Director a report describing how grant funds allocated pursuant to this section were expended during the 12- month period preceding the date of the submission of the report. SEC. 6. OFFICE REPORTING. Not later than the expiration of the 36-month period following the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall prepare and submit to Congress a report-- (1) on progress related to employee ownership and participation in businesses in the United States; and (2) containing an analysis of critical costs and benefits of activities carried out under this Act. SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS. (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of making grants pursuant to section 5 the following: (1) For fiscal year 2010, $3,500,000. (2) For fiscal year 2011, $5,500,000. (3) For fiscal year 2012, $8,000,000. (4) For fiscal year 2013, $10,500,000. (5) For fiscal year 2014, $13,500,000. (b) Administrative Expenses.--There are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of funding the Office, for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014, an amount not in excess of-- (1) $350,000; or (2) 5.0 percent of the maximum amount available under subsection (a) for that fiscal year.
summary: Worker Ownership, Readiness and Knowledge Act or the WORK Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish within the Department of Labor an Office of Employee Ownership and Participation to promote employee ownership and employee participation in business decisionmaking. Requires the Office Director, with federal grants and acting as an information clearinghouse, to: (1) support existing programs in the states designed to promote employee ownership and employee participation in business decisionmaking; and (2) promote the formation of new such programs. Directs the Secretary to establish a program, administered by the Director, which is designed to foster employee ownership and employee participation in business decisionmaking throughout the United States.