HR7585-119

What This Bill Does

This bill responds to job loss from automation and underinvestment in federal worker training. Beginning in fiscal year 2027, the Department of Labor must competitively award grants to eligible industry or sector partnerships for demonstration and pilot projects that train workers who are or are likely to become dislocated because of automation. Eligible partnerships must include workforce boards and economic development organizations, and their projects may retrain dislocated workers into regional in-demand occupations, help incumbent workers upskill instead of being laid off, provide coding, systems engineering, IT security, digital literacy, integrated education and training, transportation stipends, paid sick leave, paid family and medical leave, child care, and other employment benefits. DOL must prioritize partnerships in areas with high shares of covered populations, automation-exposed industries, and in-demand sectors. Grantees must report worker training counts, job transitions, in-demand occupation outcomes, earnings, employment or education status in the second and fourth quarters after exit, and best practices, disaggregated by training type, age, gender, and race. The bill also adds automation-related training to WIOA worker training services and authorizes $40 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 for national dislocated-worker grants tied to automation.

Who Benefits and How

Workers displaced by automation, workers at risk of displacement, covered populations with barriers to employment, state and local workforce boards, industry partnerships, technology training providers, and employers seeking upskilled workers benefit from grant funding, training services, stipends, benefits, and WIOA eligibility.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Department of Labor, eligible partnerships, workforce boards, economic development organizations, training providers, and grantee employers must run competitive applications, deliver pilot projects, meet labor and nondiscrimination standards, collect demographic and outcome data, and report to DOL.

Key Provisions

• Creates competitive Labor Department grants for automation-displacement training demonstration and pilot projects beginning in fiscal year 2027.
• Requires eligible partnerships to plan training services, technology skills, employer partnerships, covered-population support, and stakeholder engagement.
• Directs grant priorities toward covered populations, automation-exposed industries, in-demand sectors, incumbent-worker training, benefits, and shared curricula.
• Requires grantee reports on training participation, job transitions, in-demand occupations, earnings, education, employment, and best practices.
• Expands WIOA training services for workers displaced by automation and authorizes $40 million yearly for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.