Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Older Workers’ Bureau Act”.
Older Workers’ Bureau Act
A BILL
To establish in the Department of Labor an Older Workers’ Bureau, to establish a data hub and a technical assistance center at the Department of Labor related to employment of older workers and the effect of older employment on retirement security, to establish grant programs related to the employment of older workers, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings; purpose
Findings— Congress finds the following:
Of the 7,700,000 workers expected to be added to the United States labor force, more than half—3,800,000—will be older than 55, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
From 1995 to 2021, the share of older workers in the labor force more than doubled, to nearly 24 percent from 12 percent, and is expected to continue to rise.
About 40 percent of middle-class older workers will be downwardly mobile into poverty or near poverty in the next 10 years when they reach their sixties, in part because of lack of employment or low wages.
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.
Physically and psychologically difficult working conditions are widespread and damaging for older workers.
Older workers are more likely to be involuntary part time, gig, or temporary workers than prime age workers.
Nearly 30 percent of older women work in low wage jobs and most are considered working poor.
Concern about age discrimination amongst older workers has reached its highest level in nearly decades.
More than 1,000,000 older workers were pushed out or voluntarily left the labor force during the COVID–19 pandemic.
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.
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.
Older workers need specific policy consideration and assistance that could be met by establishing an Older Workers’ Bureau within the Department of Labor.
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 Definitions
For the purposes of this Act:
Bureau— The term Bureau means the Older Workers’ Bureau established under section 4(a).
Director— The term Director means the Director of the Older Workers’ Bureau.
Older worker— The term older worker means an individual who—
is not younger than 55 years of age; and
is employed;
is seeking employment; or
wants employment, is available for employment, and has sought employment within the preceding 12 months.
Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of Labor.
Sec. 4 Older Worker’s Bureau
Establishment— There is established in the Department of Labor a bureau to be known as the “Older Workers’ Bureau”, which shall be under the direction of the Director of the Older Workers’ Bureau.
Personnel—
Director—
Appointment— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall appoint a Director to lead the Bureau.
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.”
Staff— The Secretary, 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, subject to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title, relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates.
Functions— The Director shall promote the welfare and improve the working conditions of older workers, increase the efficiency, capacity, and coordination of programs serving older workers, and advance the employment opportunities of older workers, including by carrying out, with respect to older workers, the following:
Research relating to—
public benefits that support—
the economic and financial security of such workers; and
access and retention of safety net supports for such workers who earn an annual income that is not more than 200 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines;
access for such workers to—
leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); and
workplace flexibility opportunities to support the needs of such workers with respect to managing personal health and caregiving responsibilities;
tailored, person-centered approaches to job training and adult education (including on soft skills, financial literacy education, and digital literacy) for such workers;
access to savings and tax-advantaged opportunities for such workers to provide a path toward a financially secure retirement;
age discrimination in the workplace, including how such discrimination is, and could be, addressed and how such discrimination impacts such workers;
wages paid to such workers, including whether such wages are commensurate with experience;
job security for such workers, including—
the probability of job loss; and
resources available to such workers in the event of job separation;
retirement readiness for such workers, including the impact of Federal policies on retirement readiness for such workers; and
the impact of Federal policies on the equitable treatment (including with respect to race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, education, ability, and residence) of such workers and their retirement.
Policy development.
Outreach and education.
Grant program administration.
Coordinating Federal research relating to such workers.
Improving access to data on the economic situation of such workers.
Office quarters— The Secretary shall furnish sufficient quarters, office furniture, and equipment as the Secretary determines necessary to carry out the functions of the Bureau.
Report— The Director—
shall annually submit to the Secretary a report—
on the activities of the Bureau with respect to older workers, including with respect to the functions described in subsection (c);
that catalogs Federal programs that support the employment, economic success, and well-being of such workers;
that identifies issues with respect to such workers that may be improved with Federal support; and
that makes recommendations to promote the welfare and economic and financial security, improve the working conditions, increase the efficiency, capacity, and coordination of programs serving older workers, and advance the employment opportunities of such workers; and
may publish such report, as directed by the Secretary.
Consultation— In carrying out the functions of the Bureau, the Secretary, acting through the Director, may consult with—
Federal agencies that have jurisdiction over matters involving older adults, including—
the Social Security Administration, including the Office of Retirement and Disability Policy;
the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Administration for Community Living, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the National Institute on Aging;
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;
the Department of Veterans Affairs;
the Department of the Treasury, including the Internal Revenue Service; and
the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and
any other Federal agency that the Secretary determines has relevant expertise.
Applicability— The Secretary shall take such actions as are necessary to ensure the Bureau is operational not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.
Sec. 5 Research grants
Not later than 180 days after the date on which the Bureau is operational, the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall carry out a program to award, on a competitive basis, grants to facilitate, with respect to older workers, research—
designed to identify areas that could benefit from additional research for the purposes of—
identifying and eliminating barriers to securing employment, job retention, and reemployment for such workers; and
identifying policies that the Federal government may implement to assist such workers; and
as determined appropriate by the Secretary, into the areas identified under paragraph (1).
Sec. 6 Grants to combat structural ageism
In general— Not later than 180 days after the date on which the Bureau is operational, the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall carry out a program to award, on a competitive basis, grants to covered institutions to—
facilitate activities, services, and programs to improve the welfare of older workers;
combat structural ageism;
improve employment opportunities for older workers; and
create a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
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 training programs specifically targeted to disadvantaged older workers.
Covered institutions defined— For the purposes of this section, the term covered institution means any of the following:
An employer.
An employer association.
A labor organization.
A nonprofit with expertise in older workers.
A worker organization.
Another institution determined appropriate by the Secretary.
Sec. 7 Authorization of appropriations
To carry out sections 5 and 6, there is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each fiscal year after fiscal year 2023.