Congressional lawmakers recently advanced four bills to enhance workforce training and address workers' union rights at a time of low unemployment and high rates of unfilled jobs.
On Dec. 12, members of the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee from both parties supported a bill to extend federal Pell Grant eligibility to certain short-term workforce programs and another bill to reauthorize and amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which funds federal training programs and employment services for workers.
The committee also advanced a joint resolution to nullify the National Labor Relations Board's final rule on determining joint employer status, as well as a separate bill to raise the threshold for small businesses to come under the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Currently, the threshold for retailers is $500,000 in annual revenue, and the bill would increase that to $5 million. Likewise, the threshold for nonretailers is $50,000 in annual revenue, and the bill would increase that to $500,000.
The four bills still would need to pass the full house and the Senate.
The WIOA authorization garnered widespread bipartisan support. It includes provisions to:
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