text: 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.
target: 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.
feat_title: A bill to provide State programs to encourage employee ownership and participation in business decisionmaking throughout the United States, and for other purposes.