United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Provisions Relating to Employees' Pension Rights Subtitle A: Right of Inclusion in Pension Plan Subtitle B: Right to Fair Treatment in Earning Benefits Subtitle C: Right to Adequate Funding Subtitle D: Pension Portability Subtitle E: Spousal Rights Title II: Protection of Employees' Pension Rights Subtitle A: Benefit Information Subtitle B: Investment Information and Advice Subtitle C: Assistance of Department of Labor in Enforcing Rights Subtitle D: Court Enforcement Subtitle E: Protection Against Fraud and Abuse Title III: Effective Dates Pension Bill of Rights Act of 1994 - Sets forth, and provides for the implementation of, a Pension Bill of Rights. Title I: Provisions Relating to Employees' Pension Rights - Subtitle A: Right of Inclusion in Pension Plan - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to set forth minimum coverage requirements. Requires each pension plan maintained by an employer to benefit all employees of the employer. Excludes certain employees who are: (1) in a unit covered by a collective bargaining agreement, if retirement benefits were the subject of bargaining; (2) airline pilots covered by a trust pursuant to certain collective bargaining; or (3) nonresident aliens who receive no income from the employer which constitutes income from sources within the United States. Excludes other employees who do not meet certain age and service requirements. Allows employers to apply such requirements separately with respect to each separate line of business, if the plan is not discriminatory in favor of highly compensated employees. (Sec. 102) Revises minimum participation requirements. Lowers the number of hours required for a year of service from 1,000 to 750. Provides for credit for part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees. Provides for treatment of leased employees. Prohibits an employer from requesting an employee to waive any right of coverage under, or participation in, any pension plan which is granted under ERISA. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe one or more model simplified pension plans. (Sec. 104) Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a task force to study problems of coverage and adequacy of benefits and needs of employees under pension plans; and (2) report study results and recommendations to the Congress. Subtitle B: Right to Fair Treatment in Earning Benefits - Revises vesting rights. Eliminates a special vesting rule for multiemployer plans. Provides for immediate vesting of employer contributions to a defined contribution plan. (Sec. 112) Revises benefit accrual. Provides for integration with Social Security and similar benefits. Limits conditioning of employer contributions on employee contributions, by prohibiting mandatory contributions for employees below the Social Security wage base. Requires all years of service to be taken account of in computing subsidized early retirement benefits. Provides for a uniform rate of accrual. Directs the Secretary to issue guidelines for rates of accrual. Subtitle C: Right to Adequate Funding - Revises funding requirements. Provides for a 15-year amortization of benefit increases (currently 30, or 20 for multiemployer plans). Revises provisions relating to actuarial assumptions. Directs the Secretary to establish a range of recommended actuarial assumptions for plans for each calendar quarter. (Sec. 122) Provides safeguards for annuities purchased upon plan termination. Requires fiduciaries to ensure that benefits of participants and beneficiaries are fully protected under Federal or State law upon the purchase of any irrevocable insurance annuity contract. Provides for prior certification of insurers. Places premium payment requirements on annuity insurers. Authorizes the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to establish a separate premium system to fund the guaranteed payment of retirement benefits to participants and beneficiaries covered by annuity contracts. (Sec. 123) Prohibits retroactive termination of plans. (Sec. 124) Revises provisions relating to investment of plan assets. Subtitle D: Pension Portability - Establishes portability requirements for defined contribution plans. (Sec. 132) Directs the Secretary to establish guidelines for plans maintained pursuant to collective bargaining agreements, in order to assist two or more plans to enter into reciprocity agreements under which the plans would: (1) maintain portable pension accounts for employees who terminate employment covered by one plan and begin employment covered by another; or (2) make arrangements for employees to transfer accrued benefits and vesting rights from one plan to another. (Sec. 133) Provides for inflation adjustment of deferred nonforfeitable benefits and of accrued benefit. Subtitle E: Spousal Rights - Provides for division of pension benefits upon divorce. (Sec. 142) Extends the application of joint and survivor annuity rules. (Sec. 143) Modifies joint and survivor and preretirement survivor annuity requirements with respect to: (1) consent forms; (2) making preretirement annuities available to former spouses; and (3) amount of annuity. Title II: Protection of Employees' Pension Rights - Subtitle A: Benefit Information - Establishes requirements for plan or employer representations, including: (1) prohibition of misrepresentation; (2) right of participant or beneficiary to reasonably rely on such representations; and (3) correction of mistakes within a reasonable period of time. (Sec. 202) Revises provisions relating to notice of rights. Shortens the time period for filing an annual report. Requires plan administrators to give participants and beneficiaries advance notice of material changes. Directs the Secretary to develop a model benefit statement to be used by multiemployer plan administrators which includes specified information with respect to retirement benefit earnings. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to assist participants and beneficiaries in receiving in a timely manner any information they are entitled to receive under ERISA. Authorizes civil penalties for failure to file required reports or make required disclosures. Subtitle B: Investment Information and Advice - Revises audit provisions with respect to full scope audits and material irregularities. (Sec. 212) Requires disclosure of specific information on plan assets and transactions, including: (1) administrative expenses and rates of return on assets; (2) participant right to confidentially vote any pension assets within his or her discretionary control, and to information on plan investment and proxy voting policies; and (3) transactions involving parties in interest. (Sec. 213) Allows participants and beneficiaries to request that a plan establish a pension advisory committee to provide participant advice and involvement in plan investment decisions. Requires such committees to be open to all interested participants and beneficiaries. Sets forth committee rights to information and meetings. (Sec. 214) Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the feasibility of requiring representation of employees, independent trustees, or both, on the boards of trustees of pension plans. Subtitle C: Assistance of Department of Labor in Enforcing Rights - Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a program to assist participants and beneficiaries in understanding their rights to benefits under employee benefit plans; and (2) assist participants in obtaining such benefits, including through civil actions under ERISA. (Sec. 221) Directs the Secretary, together with the Secretary of the Treasury and heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, to establish a program, under the coordination and supervision of a designated ombuds officer, to: (1) coordinate assistance to participants and beneficiaries in obtaining documents and pursuing benefit claims; (2) issue opinions and advice on applicable Federal law and regulations; and (3) refer benefit claims to appropriate Internal Revenue Service district offices to determine legal compliance and to Department of Labor regional offices to protect individual benefit rights. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a voluntary assistance fund, consisting of voluntary contributions from employers, employee benefit plans, and other individuals, to supplement departmental assistance to participants, beneficiaries, and plans. Requires annual reports to the Congress on such fund. (Sec. 222) Adds claims review requirements for employee benefit plans, including time limits for consideration of claims, de novo review of denials, and emergency requests for preauthorization with expedited review. Directs the Secretary to establish a nonbinding alternative dispute resolution procedure for appeals of claims denials. Subtitle D: Court Enforcement - Revises ERISA provisions relating to attorneys' fees and court costs, awards of damages, review of benefit claim denials, standing, exhaustion of administrative remedies with respect to benefit claims denials, construction of ambiguous terms in plans, and actions under State law. Subtitle E: Protection Against Fraud and Abuse - Establishes criminal penalties for specified ERISA violations which involve embezzlement, theft, or mail fraud. (Sec. 242) Revises fiduciary requirements to add a minimum bond requirement, an insurance requirement, and a prohibition of certain waivers. (Sec. 243) Authorizes the Secretary to pay an award to persons providing information leading to certain collections of certain civil penalties under ERISA. Directs the Secretary to establish a toll-free telephone number for persons to provide such information. (Sec. 244) Directs the Secretary to audit annually a representative sample of plans with fewer than 100 participants. Title III: Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective date of this Act, with special rules for collectively bargained plans and for plan amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Worker Protections Title II: Employee Benefits Title III: Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors Title IV: Federal Temporary Employees Contingent Workforce Equity Act - Title I: Worker Protections - Provides protections for part-time, temporary, or other contingent workers. (Sec. 101) Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for specified annual increases in the minimum wage. (Sec. 102) Requires that contingent (part-time or temporary) workers receive the same wages as full-time workers for the same work (with exceptions for differential payments pursuant to seniority, merit, or production quantity-or-quality systems or based on factors other than employment status). (Sec. 103) Amends specified Federal law relating to civil rights to protect all persons (including independent contractors) in their right to make and enforce contracts, sue, be parties, give evidence, and be subject to certain requirements free from discrimination based on religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability (race and color discrimination are already prohibited). (Sec. 104) Amends the National Labor Relations Act to include in the collective bargaining units part-time or temporary workers with reasonable expectations of continued employment. Revises joint employer status rules to consider individuals employed by a contractor of an employer as that employer's employees if they are assigned on a regular basis to perform work on the employer's premises and their tasks are functionally integrated with the employer's operations. (Sec. 105) Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to require employers to protect all workers (not only their own employees) from hazards within the employers' control. (Sec. 106) Amends the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to extend to part-time employees the right to advance notice of layoffs and plant closings and other rights under such Act. (Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary of Labor, through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to carry out an annual survey identifying the characteristics of temporary workers and their relationships with the establishments at which they are temporarily employed and, where appropriate, with their permanent employers. (Sec. 108) Amends the Service Contract Act of 1965 to require Federal service contract successors to offer a right of first refusal of employment to employees employed under the predecessor contract. Exempts cases where the successor contractor: (1) reasonably believes, based on past performance, the employee is unable to perform the work suitably; or (2) would have to layoff or discharge its own employee. Provides, where a lesser number of jobs are available under the successor contract, that the right of first refusal be offered on a seniority basis. Provides for remedial orders. Exempts contracts under the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act (relating to blind-made products) and under which services are provided on an intermittent basis. Title II: Employee Benefits - Extends certain employee benefits to contingent workers. (Sec. 201) Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act to lower the threshold for employee coverage to 125 hours of service with an employer during the previous three-month period. (Sec. 202) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1970 (ERISA) to provide for: (1) treatment of employees working at less than full-time (500 or more hours but less than 1,000 hours service per year) under participation, vesting, and accrual rules governing pension plans; (2) treatment of part-time workers (less than 30 hours service per week) under group health plans; and (3) inclusion of certain individuals whose services are leased or contracted for under the definition of employee. (Sec. 203) Amends ERISA to require portable pension accounts for defined contribution plans. Directs the Secretary of Labor to set standards for reciprocity agreements between industry and labor funds for portable pension accounts and employee transfer of accrued benefits and vesting rights from one plan to another. Provides for inflation adjustment for deferred vested benefits. (Sec. 204) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require States to provide unemployment compensation to part-time workers unavailable for full-time work. Title III: Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors - Deals with certain misclassifications of employees as independent contractors. (Sec. 301) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to waive employment tax liability for such a misclassification based on a reasonable good faith misapplication of common law rules, where the employer did not treat individuals in substantially similar positions differently and agrees to treat all such individuals as employees in the future. Modifies provisions on safe harbor for classifications of individuals as nonemployees and provisions for authority for regulations and rulings on employment status. (Sec. 302) Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to make ineligible for Federal contracts employers who willfully misclassify employees as independent contractors. Requires certification that a bid or proposal for a Federal contract is adequate to pay all related employment taxes. Requires Federal contractors to notify independent contractors of their rights and responsibilities. Gives Federal contract bidders a right of action against bidders who misclassify employees as independent contractors. (Sec. 303) Amends Federal law relating to the armed forces to apply to Federal defense contractors provisions, similar to those for other Federal contractors, relating to: (1) ineligibility for contracts for willful misclassification of employees as independent contractors; (2) certification of bid adequacy to pay employment taxes; (3) notification of rights of independent contractors; and (4) right of action against bidders who misclassify employees as independent contractors. Title IV: Federal Temporary Employees - Sets forth provisions relating to Federal temporary employees. (Sec. 401) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal Government should limit the temporary designation to only those positions lasting no more than one year. (Sec. 402) Amends Federal civil service law to direct the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations to provide for offering health benefits plans to temporary Federal employees. (Sec. 403) Allows Federal employees in temporary assignments to participate in the Federal Employees' Retirement System after five years of service. (Sec. 404) Allows temporary Federal employees to receive life insurance benefits after completing six months of continuous employment.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1994
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the U.S. delegation to the Spring 1995 meeting of the Facilitation Division of the International Civil Aviation Organization: (1) seek to amend the Convention on International Civil Aviation, done on December 7, 1944, at Chicago, to end aircraft disinsection practices that threaten the health of aircraft passengers and crew; and (2) make every effort to gain the support of other member nations of the organization in that amendment.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1994
Ryan White CARE Reauthorization Act of 1994 - Amends the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 (title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act) to limit the grant program for emergency relief for areas with substantial need for services to eligible areas with a population of at least 500,000 individuals. Requires an HIV health services planning council (which advises on the distribution of such grants) to be reflective of the demographics of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in an eligible area, with particular consideration given to disproportionately affected and historically underserved groups. Revises the method of distributing such grants and extends authorized appropriations for them until FY 2000. Revises the care grant program that makes funds available for individuals and families with the HIV disease. Authorizes the award of supplemental grants to eligible entities to enhance community-based care, treatment, and supportive services through the development and operation of consortia and innovative approaches. Extends authorized appropriations for such grant program through FY 2000. Requires the establishment of grievance procedures to address allegations of egregious violations of title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate the planning and implementation of Federal HIV programs to facilitate the development of a complete continuum of HIV-related services for individuals with HIV disease and those at risk of such disease. Extends authorized appropriations for early intervention services until FY 2000. Extends authorized appropriations until FY 2000 for grants for coordinated services and access to research for children, youth, women, and families (formerly known as demonstration grants for research and services for pediatric patients regarding acquired immune deficiency syndrome). Makes appropriations available for special projects of national significance program to award direct grants to public and nonprofit private entities to fund special programs for the care and treatment of individuals with HIV disease.
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 1994
Arts Endowing the Arts Act of 1994 - Amends copyright law to provide for the auction of certain copyrights to financially support the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Applies such provisions to copyrights in literary works, sound recordings, visual arts works, pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, and motion pictures. Establishes the Arts and Humanities Copyright Board within the Library of Congress. Sets forth auction procedures, including selection of copyrights for auction, copyright for auction selected upon bidder's initiative, copyrights excluded from auction, notification, and auction copyright bids. Provides for registration and issuance of a certificate for auction copyright in a work for 20 years after the expiration of the term of copyright in the work last held under copyright law other than auction copyright provisions. Prohibits renewal or extension of such auction copyright. Limits U.S. liability. Provides that such auction shall have no effect on the original copyright. Establishes the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities Copyright Trust Fund in the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 1994
Expresses the sense of the Senate that in the immediate future it would be a mistake to raise interest rates further, and that the Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
United States · United States Congress · 15 August 1994
Amends Federal law pertaining to the Federal civil service (Hatch Act) to repeal the prohibition against oral or written recommendations by Members of Congress on behalf of job applicants. Requires such recommendations to: (1) be based on personal knowledge or applicant records; and (2) consist of an evaluation of work performance, ability, aptitude, or general qualifications, as well as of character, loyalty, or suitability.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1994
Baseball Fans Protection Act of 1994 - Amends the Clayton Act to apply the antitrust laws of the United States to any unilateral term or condition (excluding a strike or a lockout) that is imposed by a party that is subject to the agreement between the major league baseball owners and the players' union.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1994
Condemns the: (1) worldwide targeting of Jewish communities by terrorists determined to disrupt the Middle East peace process; and (2) continued use of violence to pursue political objectives. Commends the people of Argentina, Panama, and Great Britain for the outrage they expressed in response to terrorist acts in July of 1994 against targets in such countries. Recognizes the efforts of such countries to investigate such incidents. Urges their governments to commit any resources necessary to apprehend the perpetrators and to adopt measures to prevent a recurrence of such acts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1994
Securities Fraud Fairness Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to declare that it is unlawful in connection with a securities transaction on a national securities exchange for any person to aid and abet the use of any manipulative or deceptive device or contrivance in contravention of the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1994
International Antitrust Enforcement Assistance Act of 1994 - Authorizes the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to provide, in accordance with an antitrust mutual assistance agreement in effect with a foreign antitrust authority, antitrust evidence to assist such authority to: (1) determine whether a person has violated, or is about to violate, any of the foreign antitrust laws administered or enforced by the authority; and (2) enforce any of such laws. Authorizes the Attorney General to conduct investigations to obtain evidence relating to a violation of such foreign antitrust laws and provide such evidence to the authority, regardless of whether the conduct investigated violates any of the Federal antitrust laws. Authorizes the U.S. district court for the district in which a person resides, is found, or transacts business, upon application of the Attorney General made in accordance with such an agreement, to order such person to give testimony or a statement to, or to produce a document or other thing for, the Attorney General to assist the authority to make its determination or enforce any of such laws. Sets forth provisions regarding the contents of the order, the preservation of rights and privileges, and voluntary conduct. Makes this Act inapplicable with respect to antitrust evidence that is: (1) received by the Attorney General or the FTC under provisions of the Clayton Act regarding a premerger notification and waiting period; (2) a matter occurring before a grand jury with respect to which disclosure is prevented by Federal law, with exceptions; (3) specifically authorized to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy under criteria established by executive order; and (4) classified under specified provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Permits disclosure of antitrust evidence obtained under the Antitrust Civil Process Act in accordance with such an agreement under, and the other requirements of, this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) publication requirements; (2) implementation of such agreements; (3) limitations on judicial review; (4) supplementation and preservation of authority; and (5) reporting requirements. Authorizes the Attorney General and the FTC to receive from a foreign state or a regional economic integration organization reimbursement for costs incurred to conduct investigations or provide evidence.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1994
Worker Rights and Labor Standards Trade Act of 1994 - Directs the President to seek the establishment of: (1) a working party within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to examine the relationship of fundamental internationally recognized worker rights to the articles of the GATT; and (2) a standing committee on worker rights within the World Trade Organization to which the functions of the working group shall be transferred.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1994
Amends Federal transportation law to provide that the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), in approving an application of a rail carrier for the construction and operation of railroad lines, shall require that a fair and equitable arrangement for the protection of the affected railroad employees' interests be no less protective of and beneficial to their interests than those established under other specified Federal provisions. Prohibits the ICC from approving the sale or the offer of financial assistance to a rail carrier to avoid the abandonment and discontinuance of railroad line transportation unless it certifies that such employees' interests will be protected.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1994
United States-China Act of 1994 - Declares that if nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) is not granted to China by reason of the enactment of a congressional disapproval resolution, such treatment shall continue to apply to goods that are produced by a person that is not a state-owned Chinese enterprise, but not apply to any goods that are produced by a state-owned Chinese enterprise. Provides that if nondiscriminatory treatment is granted to China for a 12-month period on July 3, 1994, such treatment shall not apply to: (1) any good that is produced by the People's Liberation Army or Chinese defense industrial trading company; or (2) any nonqualified good that is produced by a state-owned Chinese enterprise. Urges the Secretary of the Treasury to consult with American businesses that have significant trade with or investment in China, to encourage them to adopt a voluntary code of conduct that: (1) follows internationally recognized human rights principles; (2) ensures the employment of Chinese citizens is not discriminatory in terms of sex, ethnic origin, or political belief; (3) ensures that no convict, forced, or indentured labor is knowingly used; (4) recognizes the rights of workers to freely organize and bargain collectively; and (5) discourages mandatory political indoctrination on business premises. Requires the Secretary to determine, and publish in the Federal Register, which persons are state-owned Chinese enterprises and Chinese defense industrial trading companies. Authorizes the President to waive any condition or prohibition imposed under this Act if he determines and reports to the Congress that its continued imposition would have a serious adverse effect on the vital U.S. national security. Declares that if the President recommends in 1995 that the waiver of human rights and emigration requirements for nondiscriminatory treatment for China be continued, he shall state in a specified report to the Congress the extent to which China has made progress with respect to: (1) adhering to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (2) ceasing the exportation to the United States of products made with convict, forced, or indentured labor; (3) ceasing unfair and discriminatory trade practices which restrict and unreasonably burden American businesses; and (4) adhering to the guidelines of the Missile Technology Control Regime and the controls adopted by the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Australia Group.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1994
Establishes a commission on the roles and capabilities of the United States intelligence community. Requires the Commission to: (1) review the efficacy and appropriateness of U.S. intelligence activities in the post-Cold War global environment; and (2) issue a report containing recommendations with respect to U.S. intelligence roles and capabilities for the foreseeable future.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1994
National Institute for the Environment Act - Establishes the National Institute for the Environment to: (1) increase scientific understanding of environmental issues by supporting scientific environmental research and other environmental programs; (2) assist decision-making on environmental issues by providing assessments of knowledge of such issues; (3) serve as the foremost provider of access to current scientific and technical information about the environment; (4) sponsor higher education and training in environmental fields; (5) support the development of methods and technologies that increase understanding of the environment and minimize adverse environmental impact; (6) evaluate the status and needs of the various environmental sciences and fields; (7) foster interchange of scientific information about the environment; (8) address emerging environmental issues and aspects of environmental problems; and (9) establish research priorities for environmental issues. Establishes a Governing Board for the Institute and an Interagency Advisory Committee to ensure that the environmental efforts of the Institute and Federal agencies are complementary. Makes scientists, engineers, and other researchers eligible to receive funding from the Institute. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1994
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1994 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by covered entities, including employing authorities of the House of Representatives, employing offices of the Senate, and instrumentalities of the Congress. Declares that: (1) this Act does not apply to the provision of employee benefits for the benefit of an employee's partner; and (2) a disparate impact does not establish a prima facie violation of this Act. Prohibits quotas and preferential treatment. Declares that this Act does not apply to: (1) religious organizations (except in their for-profit activities); (2) the armed forces; or (3) laws creating special rights or preferences for veterans. Provides for enforcement. Disallows State and Federal immunity. Allows recovery of attorney's fees. Prohibits retaliation and coercion. Requires posting notices for employees and applicants.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1994
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should actively seek: (1) an international agreement prohibiting the production, possession, transfer, and use of antipersonnel landmines; and (2) in the interim, international agreements to further limit the production, possession, transfer, and use of such landmines. Expresses the sense of the Congress that a U.S. moratorium on the purchase and production of such landmines would encourage other nations to adopt similar measures. Establishes such moratorium for a one-year period beginning 90 days after enactment of this Act. Calls for the President to urge other nations to adopt such a moratorium. Allows the moratorium to be extended. Earmarks funds authorized under the current Department of Defense Authorization Act for improving landmine detection and neutralization. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development and the Secretary of State to jointly submit to the Congress a report containing an analysis of the social, economic, and environmental costs and effects of the use of antipersonnel landmines. Directs the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress on the total number of U.S. military personnel killed or wounded by such landmines during World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam era, and the Persian Gulf War.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1994
Support for Families with Children with Disabilities Act of 1994 - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to add a new part I, Family Support, which may be cited as the Families of Children with Disabilities Support Act of 1994. Directs the Secretary of Education to make three-year grants to States for systems change and advocacy activities for statewide systems of support for families with children with disabilities. Sets forth priorities and application requirements. Requires States desiring such assistance to designate lead entities and establish State Family Support Policy Councils. Includes among authorized activities training and technical assistance, interagency coordination, local or regional councils, outreach, advocacy services, policy studies, hearings and forums, public awareness and education, needs assessment, program data, and pilot demonstration projects. Requires State strategic plans, progress criteria, and reports. Requires panels of experts to evaluate grant applications. Directs the Secretary to make grants to or contracts with appropriate public or private agencies and organizations, including institutions of higher education, for: (1) providing technical assistance and information on statewide systems of family support; and (2) conducting a national evaluation of the program of grants to States. Directs the Secretary to: (1) review Federal programs with respect to their impact on such family support, consistent with specified policies; and (2) make grants or contracts for projects of national significance for developing national and State policies and practices for family-centered and family-directed systems of support for families of children with disabilities. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1994
Designates August 1, 1994, as Helsinki Human Rights Day. Authorizes the President to reassert America's commitment to the Helsinki Accords and requests him to: (1) convey to all signatories of the Accords that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is a vital element of further progress in the ongoing Helsinki process; and (2) develop new proposals to advance the human rights objectives of such process to address the major problems that remain.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1994
Public Braodcasting Act of 1994 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to extend through FY 1999 the authorization of appropriations for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1994
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) any health care reform legislation that is enacted should contain provisions that ensure that qualified poison control centers are adequately compensated; and (2) a national commission should be established to study the delivery and funding of poison control services.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1994
Congressional Accountability Act - Makes specified Federal statutes (or provisions thereof) applicable to the offices and employees of the legislative branch of the Federal Government, including (with exceptions): (1) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA); (2) the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA); (3) the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (4) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; (5) the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA); (6) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; (7) the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993; (8) the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988; (9) the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act; (10) the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); (11) the Privacy Act of 1974 (Privacy Act); and (12) provisions governing Federal labor-management relations. (Sec. 3) Establishes in the legislative branch an Office of Compliance. Provides for a Board of Directors: (1) to issue regulations that specify the manner in which provisions of this Act shall be implemented to ensure compliance; (2) when proposing regulations, to recommend to the Congress any needed changes in or repeals of existing law to accommodate the application of such provision to its employees and offices; and (3) to study provisions of Federal law relating to employment, personnel actions, or availability of information to the public that are similar to such provision and that do not apply to congressional offices or employees, and recommend to the Congress whether any of those provisions should be applied to congressional offices or employees. Sets forth congressional disapproval procedures with respect to the issuance of regulations of, and rulemaking by, the Office. Requires the Board to carry out a program to inform Members of Congress, congressional employees, and heads of congressional offices as to the provisions, including remedies, made applicable to the legislative branch. (Sec. 5) Sets forth procedures for consideration of alleged violations of civil rights and personnel requirements, including: (1) step I, counseling; (2) step II, mediation; and (3) at the election of the employee alleging the violation, step IIIA, formal complaint and hearing by a hearing board, and step IV, judicial review of a hearing board decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, or step IIIB, a civil action in a U.S. district court. (Sec. 11) Sets forth procedures for consideration of alleged violations relating to: (1) information requirements; and (2) labor management and occupational health and safety requirements. (Sec. 13) Makes FOIA and the Privacy Act inapplicable to specified offices, including the personnel offices of Members of Congress, congressional committees, and the offices of any caucus or partisan organization related to the Congress. (Sec. 15) Treats intimidation of, or reprisal against, a congressional employee by any Member or officer of the Congress, any head of a congressional office, or any congressional employee, because of the exercise of a right under this Act, as an unlawful employment practice. (Sec. 16) Sets forth provisions regarding confidentiality with respect to counseling, mediation, hearings, release of records for judicial review, and access by congressional committees. (Sec. 17) Requires the Office, on a regular basis and at least once during each Congress, to request that the Secretary of Labor and the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board detail to the Office such personnel as necessary to inspect the facilities of the legislative branch to ensure compliance with OSHA, FLSA, and ADA. (Sec. 18) Requires the executive director of the office (appointed by the chairperson of the Board) to: (1) collect information with respect to complaints filed under this Act; and (2) submit for publication in the Congressional Record a report containing such information, without identifying parties by name. (Sec. 19) Specifies that it shall not be a violation to consider the party affiliation, domicile, or political compatibility with the employing office of an employee with respect to employment decisions issued under this Act. (Sec. 20) Prohibits a congressional employee from commencing a judicial proceeding to redress practices prohibited under this Act, except as provided in this Act. (Sec. 22) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1994
Haitian Restoration of Democracy Act of 1994 - Supports the restoration of democracy in Haiti and the return to office of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the elected President of Haiti. Urges the President to: (1) facilitate the return to Haiti of a full contingent of human rights observers; and (2) subject to the request of Aristide, effect the deployment of a multinational border patrol between the Dominican Republic and Haiti to halt cross-border violations of sanctions against Haiti imposed by the United States and other countries. Supports multilateral socieconomic and peacekeeping assistance to Haiti upon the return to power of the democratically-elected President and the removal of Haiti's military high command. Prohibits any U.S. officer or employee from attempting to amend, reinterpret, or nullify the Governors Island Agreement (except with regard to the October 1993 deadline for the return to power of Aristide). Requires the President to notify the Haitian Government of the intention to terminate the bilateral migrant interdiction agreement effected in 1991. Prohibits the return to Haiti of any Haitian national or habitual resident without the individual's consent, unless the President determines, in a manner that incorporates procedural safeguards consistent with internationally endorsed standards, that such individual is not a refugee. Makes exceptions to such prohibition if an individual was involved in persecution of another person or is a felon who constitutes a danger to the United States. Imposes sanctions against Haiti, including prohibitions on: (1) credits or loans; (2) imports and exports; (3) contracts; and (4) air transport activities. Prohibits U.S. assistance to other countries that are not cooperating with sanctions against Haiti. Imposes sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act against such countries. Terminates sanctions when the President certifies to the Congress that the democratically-elected President has been reinstated and Haiti's military high command has met its obligations under the Governors Island Agreement. Grants eligible Haitians temporary protected status under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Excludes certain Haitians connected with the military, the military coup, and terrorist activities from admission into the United States. Blocks assets of such individuals that are in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1994
Bank and Thrift Statute of Limitations Clarification Act of 1994 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to provide that the statute of limitations regarding an action brought by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as conservator or receiver begins to run with the date of its appointment in that capacity, regardless of whether the claim was barred by State law at the date of such appointment (unless the claim was barred more than five years before).
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1994
Insurance Policy Transfer Act - Requires an insurer to notify a policyholder before the insurer enters into a transfer agreement or transfers the policyholder's insurance contract to another insurer, provided that such requirement shall not apply to: (1) a transfer agreement or transaction in which the transferring insurer continues to remain directly liable for its insurance obligations, risks, or both, under the insurance contracts subject to the transfer agreement; (2) the substitution of one insurer for another upon the expiration of insurance coverage pursuant to statutory or contractual requirements and the issuance of a new insurance contract by another insurer; (3) the transfer of insurance contracts pursuant to mergers or consolidations of two or more insurers to the extent that those transactions are regulated by the laws of the affected State or States; and (4) an insurer subject to a judicial order of liquidation or rehabilitation. Sets forth provisions regarding the form and content of such notice. Requires the written consent of the policyholder or a beneficiary before an insurer can enter into a transfer agreement or transfer an insurance contract pursuant to a transfer agreement unless: (1) the transferring insurer and the assuming insurer are rated by the same three insurance company rating organizations for each of the three years immediately preceding the transfer; (2) such rating is the highest possible rating or is a higher rating than the transferring insurer; and (3) the policyholder or beneficiary has been provided with the required notice between February 28 and May 1 of each of the three years immediately preceding the transfer and has not responded to the notice with an objection to the transfer or transaction within 90 days after the third notice is sent. Allows the policyholder or the Attorney General to bring an action for relief in the appropriate United States district court if an insurer violates this Act. Empowers the district court to grant such relief as is necessary or appropriate to redress a violation of this Act, including permanent or temporary injunctive relief, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and costs, including reasonable attorney's fees.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1994
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the student loan default cohort rate exemption for historically Black colleges, tribally controlled community colleges, and Navajo community colleges.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1994
Health Centers Reauthorization Act of 1994 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize migrant, community, and homeless health center programs, and health services programs for residents of public housing.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1994
Repeals Civil Service and Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) mandatory separation requirements for air traffic controllers, fire fighters, law enforcement officers (including Capitol Police), and employees of the Alaska Railroad and Panama Canal Commission. Revises the definitions of fire fighter and law enforcement officer under FERS, removing language pertaining to the sufficiently rigorous nature of the duties involved that allowed employment opportunities to be limited to the young and physically vigorous.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1994
Orphan Drug Act Amendments of 1994 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to change from seven to four years the period of market exclusivity guaranteed to any approved orphan drug. Specifies that orphan drugs of "limited commercial potential," as defined by regulations to be issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, would qualify for an additional three years of exclusive marketing rights. Permits more than one company to put a particular orphan drug on the market in instances where both companies were working on the drug in roughly the same time frame. Provides for the withdrawal of exclusive marketing rights if the patient population for the approved treatment exceeds 200,000. Extends the authorization of the research grant program. Replaces the existing Orphan Products Board with an Office for Orphan Diseases and Conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1994
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Amendments Act - Amends the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act to cover employers of 50 or more employees (currently 100). Covers single-site plant closings or mass layoffs affecting 25 or more employees (currently 500 or more, or 50 or more if this comprises one-third of the workers at the site). Eliminates the single-site requirement for plant closings or mass layoffs affecting 100 or more employees, thus covering such closings or layoffs by one employer regardless of the number of sites involved. Specifies that the 90-day aggregate rule covers all related layoffs within that period, whether or not they are each above or below the threshold levels. Extends coverage to part-time employees. (Sec. 3) Revises the notice period based on the number of employees affected: (1) 25-49, 30 days; (2) 50-99, 60 days; and (3) 100 or more, 90 days. (The current period is 60 days.) Requires employer notice to each affected employee (as well as to the employee representative, if there is one). (Sec. 4) Revises and adds enforcement requirements. Adds to employer liability for violations: (1) interest on back pay owed; and (2) an additional amount as liquidated damages equal to the back pay and interest. Limits a good faith exemption to reduction of liability for interest and for a civil penalty. Allows aggrieved employees to enforce employer liability by bringing suit and/or filing a complaint with the Secretary of Labor. Directs the Secretary to investigate and resolve such complaints. Authorizes the Secretary to bring civil actions on behalf of the employee for back pay, interest, benefits, and liquidated damages. Establishes a two-year statute of limitations. (Sec. 5) Requires employers to post notices to employees of pertinent provisions of the Act and information on filing complaints. Establishes fines for willful violations of such posting requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Comprehensive Program for Worker Reemployment Title II: One-Stop Career Center System Title III: National Labor Market Information System Title IV: Reinvention Labs for Job Training for the Economically Disadvantaged Reemployment and Retraining Act of 1994 - Establishes: (1) a comprehensive program for worker reemployment; (2) a one-stop career center system; (3) a national labor market information system; and (4) reinvention labs for job training for the economically disadvantaged. (Sec. 4) Authorizes appropriations for titles I, II, and III of this Act. Title I: Comprehensive Program for Worker Reemployment - Allots funds among States and reserves certain funds for national activities. (Sec. 103) Makes certain permanently laid-off workers and long-term unemployed individuals (as well as workers facing imminent plant shutdowns and self-employed individuals unemployed because of community economic conditions or natural disasters) eligible for services under this title. Makes dislocated homemakers eligible if a State Governor deems this appropriate and certain conditions are met. Part A: State and Substate Delivery System - Makes States responsible for administrative and management systems under this title. (Sec. 112) Requires the Governor to designate or establish a dislocated worker unit at the State level, with specified rapid response, information, and coordination functions. Directs such unit to coordinate with substate grantees and career centers, and to promote worker-management transition assistance committees. Provides for rapid response coverage of certain layoffs, State funding of preliminary assessments of worker buyouts of plants, prohibition of State transfer of rapid response functions, and Federal oversight of such functions. (Sec. 113) Requires the Governor to develop and maintain a comprehensive labor market information system in the State that meets certain requirements relating to the national system of effective labor market information. (Sec. 114) Requires the Governor to coordinate programs under this title with the worker profiling system under the Social Security Act and the retraining income support program under this Act. (Sec. 115) Authorizes the Governor to award supplementary grants to eligible entities to provide authorized services to eligible individuals in areas of the State experiencing substantial increases in numbers of such individuals due to plant closures, base closures, and mass layoffs. Allows such grant funds to be used to establish additional service centers, including on-site transition centers. (Sec. 116) Authorizes the Governor to award job retention project grants for upgrading skills of workers at risk of permanent layoff and retraining workers in new technologies and work processes to help convert or restructure businesses into high performance work organizations and avert plant closings or substantial layoffs. Requires State and employer contributions. Requires consultation with unions. (Sec. 117) Requires establishment of substate area administrative structures. (Sec. 118) Requires each designated substate grantee to establish one or more career centers in that area. Allows additional, temporary on-site transition centers. (Sec. 119) Authorizes substate area funds to be used for the following services for eligible individuals: (1) basic reemployment services; (2) intensive reemployment services; (3) education and training services; (4) retraining income support; (5) supportive services; and (6) supplemental wage allowances for older workers. (Sec. 120) Allows a career center to issue a certificate of continuing eligibility for services to eligible individuals who are accepting employment at a significantly lower wage than their previous one or in an occupation significantly different from their previous one. Part B: Federal Service Delivery System - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a program of national discretionary grants to address large-scale economic dislocations resulting from plant closures, base closures, or mass layoffs. Allows such grants to be used for providing comprehensive planning services to assist communities in addressing and reducing the impact of an economic dislocation and for establishing on-site transition centers. (Sec. 132) Directs the Secretary to make funds available for disaster relief employment assistance to States for substate allocation. (Sec. 133) Directs the Secretary to provide for: (1) evaluation of programs under this title; (2) research on addressing economic dislocation, facilitating the transition of permanently laid-off workers to reemployment, and upgrading skills of employed workers; and (3) demonstration projects to develop and improve methods of addressing economic dislocation and promoting worker adjustment. (Sec. 134) Directs the Secretary to provide staff training and technical assistance to various entities to enhance their capacity to develop and deliver adjustment assistance services to workers and to avert plant closings or substantial layoffs. Requires integration of such activities with those of the Capacity Building and Information and Dissemination Network. (Sec. 135) Directs the Secretary to provide for delivery of programs, activities, and services under this title in any State that chooses not to participate. Part C: Performance Standards and Quality Assurance Systems - Directs the Secretary to establish a process, including an annual meeting, in each State to promote development of a customer service compact among parties administering programs under this title. (Sec. 152) Directs the Secretary to prescribe performance standards relating separately to the substate grantees and the career centers. Directs Governors to prescribe adjustments to such standards and award incentive grants to grantees and centers exceeding such standards. (Sec. 153) Requires each substate grantee to establish methods for obtaining customer feedback from eligible individuals and employers who have received services from a career center. (Sec. 154) Makes providers of education and training services eligible to receive funds under this title if they are eligible to participate under student aid provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 or are determined eligible under alternative procedures established by Governors, and if they provide performance-based information. Exempts on-the-job training providers from such requirements. Part D: General Requirements - Sets forth general requirements for programs under this title, including provisions for benefits, labor standards, and grievance procedures. Part E: Fiscal Administrative Provisions - Sets forth various administrative provisions, including ones for program year, prompt allocation of funds, monitoring, fiscal controls and sanctions, reports, recordkeeping, and investigations, administrative adjudication, nondiscrimination, judicial review, nondiscrimination, and criminal provisions. Part F: Miscellaneous Provisions - Provides for transition, on July 1, 1995, to programs authorized under this title from the following programs, which this Act repeals, under employment and training assistance for dislocated workers provisions of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA): (1) Economic Dislocation and Worker Adjustment Assistance Program; (2) Defense Conversion Adjustment Program; (3) Defense Diversification Program; and (4) Clean Air Employment Transition Assistance Program. Terminates the Disaster Relief Employment Assistance program under JTPA. Title II: One-Stop Career Center System - Part A: Components of Voluntary One-Stop Career Center System - Requires a State's one-stop career center system, in order to receive a grant or waiver under this title, to include: (1) local workforce investment boards; (2) one-stop career centers established in accordance with specified procedures; (3) provision of specified services; (4) participation of specified Federal programs; (5) operating agreements for such centers; (6) quality assurance systems; and (6) a State Human Resource Investment Council. (Sec. 212) Directs the Governor to designate one-stop service areas within the State. Directs local officials to establish a workforce investment board for each such area. (Sec. 213) Directs the Governor and local officials to jointly select a consortium option or a multiple independent operator option as the method for establishing one-stop career centers for each service area. (Sec. 214) Requires each center to make available: (1) certain basic services to the public free of charge; and (2) certain intensive services to participants in the title I comprehensive program for worker reemployment who are unable to obtain employment through the basic services (and, optionally, to other individuals in accordance with the written agreement). Authorizes each center to provide specialized services to employers and additional services specified in the agreement. Authorizes charging fees under specified conditions, with all program income to be used to expand or enhance services. (Sec. 215) Requires the following programs to be made available to participants through the centers and to participate in operation of such centers as parties to the agreement: (1) comprehensive programs for worker reemployment under title I of this Act; (2) Wagner-Peyser Act programs (employment services); (3) job counseling, training, and placement for veterans; (4) training services for the disadvantaged under title II of JTPA; and (5) community service employment for Older Americans Act. Allows other human resource programs to provide services through and participate in operation of the centers, under specified conditions, including the Food Stamp Employment and Training program, the Job Corps, veterans' employment programs under JTPA, and programs under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act, Adult Education Act, Vocational Rehabilitation Act, and School-to-Work Opportunities Act. (Sec. 216) Sets forth requirements for operating agreements and quality assurance systems. (Sec. 218) Requires each State to establish a State human resource investment council that meets specified JTPA requirements and carries out certain additional functions including advising on development and implementation of the one-stop career center system. Part B: Grants and Waivers to Promote the Development and Implementation of One-Stop Career Center System - Authorizes the Secretary to establish programs of competitive grants to States for planning and development and for implementation of comprehensive statewide networks of one-stop career centers. (Sec. 233) Allows a State, at any point during such development or implementation, to request from the Secretary a waiver of one or more statutory or regulatory provisions from the Secretary. Sets forth waiver criteria. Subjects to such waiver authority the mandatory participating programs of the centers. (Sec. 234) Provides for pooling of administrative resources. Part C: Additional Activities in Support of One-Stop Career Center Systems - Directs the Secretary to establish a process, with each State implementing the one-stop career center system, including an annual meeting, to promote development of a customer service compact among the parties administering the system. (Sec. 235) Makes each State implementing such a system responsible for administration, management, monitoring, and technical assistance. (Sec. 236) Makes the Secretary responsible for monitoring compliance, staff training and technical assistance (integrated with the Capacity Building and Information Dissemination Network under JTPA), a national logo and name, and evaluation of one-stop career center programs. Part D: Effective Date - Sets forth effective dates for this title and for performance standards. Title III: National Labor Market Information System - Directs the Secretary to develop, in coordination with other Federal, State, and local entities, a strategy to establish a nationwide system of local labor market information. (Sec. 303) Directs the Secretary, in cooperation with such other entities and public-private partnerships, to develop such system to make available specified types of information. Requires certain technical standards, consumer reports, and evaluation. (Sec. 304) Directs the Secretary to provide for coordination and integration of such system and appropriate dissemination of information. Title IV: Reinvention Labs for Job Training for the Economically Disadvantaged - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) to establish a five-year Reinvention Labs program to: (1) encourage innovative program designs to improve provision of services to and labor market outcomes for economically disadvantaged youth and adults; (2) develop, through service delivery areas (SDAs) and States, knowledge of effective approaches to providing employment and training to the economically disadvantaged; and (3) provide SDAs with increased flexibility in operating job training programs, in exchange for greater accountability. (Sec. 401) Sets forth requirements for SDA applications for waivers of Federal requirements relating to programs under JTPA provisions for employment and training of the economically disadvantaged. Authorizes the Secretary to waive certain of such requirements under specified conditions and to provide technical assistance to SDAs, States, and service providers for Reinvention Labs programs. (Sec. 402) Modifies the definition of tuition under JTPA.
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