,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ea ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #c1 #bjac ,mr4 ,fitzpatrick introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to provide for an employment assistance voucher program for the unemployed4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,hire ,just ,one ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,treatment of employment assistance voucher programs 7a7 ,use of unemployment fund for employment assistance voucher program 7#a7 ,state law ,section #ccjd7;a77#d7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by striking and at the end of subparagraph 7,f71 by inserting and at the end of subparagraph 7,g71 and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph3 7,h7 during the #abj-;day period beginning on the date of the enactment of the ,hire ,just ,one ,act of #bjac1 amounts may be withdrawn for the payment of allowances under an employment assistance voucher program 7as defined in section #ccjf7v772 4 7#b7 ,permissible expenditures ,section #ccjf7;f7 of such ,code is amended-- 7,a7 by striking and at the end of paragraph 7#e71 7,b7 by redesignating the paragraph relating to the self-employment assistance program as paragraph 7#f7 and striking the period at the end of such paragraph and inserting 2 and1 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#g7 during the #abj-;day period beginning on the date of the enactment of the ,hire ,just ,one ,act of #bjac1 amounts may be withdrawn for the payment of allowances under an employment assistance voucher program 7as defined in subsection 7v774 4 7b7 ,employment assistance voucher program defined ,section #ccjf of such ,code is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7v7 ,employment assistance voucher program ,for the purposes of this chapter-- 7#a7 ,in general ,the term employment assistance voucher program means a program under which-- 7,a7 an eligible individual is issued an employment assistance voucher1 7,b7 upon employment with an employer described in paragraph 7#e7-- 7i7 the eligible individual transfers the employment assistance voucher to the employer1 7ii7 the individual ceases to receive unemployment compensation and is paid wages by the employer1 and 7iii7 the employer receives payments upon presenting the voucher to the ,state1 and 7,c7 the program meets such other requirements as the ,secretary of ,labor determines to be appropriate4 7#b7 ,rules relating to unemployed individuals ,for purposes of paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 ,compensation ,compensation pursuant to paragraph 7#a77;,b77ii7 shall-- 7i7 not be less than #bjj percent of the unemployment compensation otherwise payable to the individual on the date of the individual's employment under the employment assistance voucher program1 7ii7 not be less than the minimum wage 7as specified in section #f of the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich71 7iii7 be payable for a period not to exceed the maximum number of remaining weeks of unemployment compensation 7including supplemental and emergency7 to which the employee would be entitled 7but for participating in the employment assistance voucher program71 determined as of the date of employment4 7,b7 ,termination of employment ,if1 before the end of the period referred to in subparagraph 7,a77iii71 an individual's employment with an employer under the employment assistance voucher program is terminated for reasons other than cause1 the individual is entitled to the remaining period of entitlement referred to in subparagraph 7,a77iii7 less the number of weeks of such employment4 7,c7 ,certain requirements not to apply ,state requirements relating to availability for work1 active search for work1 and refusal to accept work are not applicable to individuals participating in the employment assistance voucher program4 7#c7 ,employment assistance voucher ,the term employment assistance voucher means a voucher-- 7,a7 obtained by an eligible individual pursuant to the ,state law1 7,b7 payable to the employer of the eligible individual-- 7i7 at a rate determined under ,state law but not to exceed #ij percent of the amount of unemployment compensation to which the eligible individual is entitled1 and 7ii7 on the same schedule as unemployment compensation would be payable to the individual but for employment under the employment assistance voucher program4 7#d7 ,eligible individual ,the term eligible individual means an individual who-- 7,a7 is eligible to receive regular unemployment compensation under the ,state law1 extended unemployment1 or emergency unemployment or would be eligible to receive such compensation except for the requirements described in paragraph 7#a77;,b71 7,b7 is identified pursuant to a ,state worker profiling system as an individual likely to exhaust regular unemployment compensation1 7,c7 immediately prior to employment by the eligible employer1 was unemployed for not less than #f months1 and 7,d7 is employed by an eligible employer4 7#e7 ,eligible employer ,the term eligible employer means an employer who agrees to the terms and conditions of employment under the unemployment assistance voucher program and who is approved by the ,state agency4 7#f7 ,treatment of participating individuals under ,federal and ,state law ,individuals participating in an unemployment assistance voucher program shall be treated as unemployed for the purposes of ,federal and ,state laws applicable to unemployment compensation1 except that wages paid to the employee under such program shall be subject to ,federal and ,state taxation to the same extent and in the same manner as wages generally4 7#g7 ,cost limiter ,a ,state program shall not be treated as an employment assistance voucher program for purposes of this chapter unless the program does not result in any cost to the ,unemployment ,trust ,fund 7established by section #ijd7;a7 of the ,social ,security ,act7 in excess of the cost that would be incurred by such ,state and charged to such ,fund1 or to any ,federal funds in the system if the ,state had not participated in such program4 7#h7 ,prevention of employment termination to participate in program ,a ,state program shall not be treated as an employment assistance voucher program for purposes of this chapter unless the ,state has in effect measures to prevent employers from terminating employment for purposes of participating in the employment assistance voucher program4 7#i7 ,prevention in terminating employees during program ,a ,state program shall not be treated as an employment assistance voucher program for purposes of this chapter unless the ,state has in effect measures to recoup payments made to an employer under the program if the employer has terminated from employment more employees during the #abj-;day period referred to in section #ccjd7;a77#d77;,h7 than the employer has hired under the program4 4 7c7 ,conforming amendment ,section #cjc7;a77#e7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ejc7;a77#e77 is amended by striking 2 and and inserting 3 ,provided further1 ,that amounts may be withdrawn for the payment of allowances under an employment assistance voucher program 7as defined in section #ccjf7v7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf72 and4 7d7 ,state reports ,any ,state operating an employment assistance voucher program approved by the ,secretary of ,labor pursuant to section #ccjd7;a77#d77;,h7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf 7as added by this section7 shall report annually to the ,secretary on the number of individuals who participate in the program1 the operating costs of the program1 compliance with program requirements1 and any other relevant aspects of program operations requested by the ,secretary4 7e7 ,report to congress ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,labor shall submit a report to the ,congress with respect to the operation of the employment assistance voucher program4 ,such report shall be based on the reports received from the ,states pursuant to subsection 7d7 and include such other information as the ,secretary of ,labor determines is appropriate4 7f7 ,effective date ,the provisions of this section and the amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this ,act4