[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2438 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2438
To assist employers providing employment under special certificates
issued under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 in
transforming their business and program models to models that support
people with disabilities through competitive integrated employment, to
phase out the use of such special certificates, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 24, 2025
Mr. Van Hollen (for himself, Mr. Daines, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Mrs.
Blackburn) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To assist employers providing employment under special certificates
issued under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 in
transforming their business and program models to models that support
people with disabilities through competitive integrated employment, to
phase out the use of such special certificates, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Transformation to Competitive
Integrated Employment Act''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Purposes.
TITLE I--COMPETITIVE INTEGRATED EMPLOYMENT TRANSFORMATION GRANT
PROGRAMS
Sec. 101. Program authorized.
Sec. 102. State grant program.
Sec. 103. Certificate holder grant program.
TITLE II--PHASE OUT OF SPECIAL CERTIFICATES UNDER SECTION 14(c) OF THE
FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938
Sec. 201. Transition to fair wages for people with disabilities.
Sec. 202. Prohibition on new special certificates; sunset.
TITLE III--TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DISSEMINATION
Sec. 301. Technical Assistance and dissemination.
TITLE IV--REPORTING AND EVALUATION
Sec. 401. Impact evaluation and reporting.
Sec. 402. Wage and hour reports.
TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 501. Definitions.
Sec. 502. Authorization of appropriations.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) assist employers with special certificates issued under
section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
U.S.C. 214(c)) to transform their business and program
operations to models that support people with disabilities to
find and retain work in competitive integrated employment;
(2) ensure people with disabilities, families of such
people, State and local governments, and other stakeholders are
involved in the transformations described in paragraph (1);
(3) ensure people employed in programs using such special
certificates transition to competitive integrated employment
positions and, as needed, to integrated services that support
them in their homes and in community settings;
(4) identify models and processes for shifting business and
program models from such special certificates to competitive
integrated employment models and integrated community
participation and wraparound services, and to share that
information with other such special certificate holders, State
and local entities, and other service providers for people with
disabilities; and
(5) support States and local governments as they revise and
implement their Olmstead plans and local plans, respectively,
in order to improve competitive integrated employment outcomes
for people with disabilities through all State workforce
development systems.
TITLE I--COMPETITIVE INTEGRATED EMPLOYMENT TRANSFORMATION GRANT
PROGRAMS
SEC. 101. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
From the amounts appropriated to carry out this title, the
Secretary of Labor shall award grants under sections 102 and 103, on a
competitive basis, to States and eligible entities to assist employers
who were issued special certificates in transforming their business and
program models from providing employment using such special
certificates to business and program models that employ and support
people with disabilities by--
(1) providing competitive integrated employment, including
by compensating all employees of the employer at a rate that
is--
(A) not less than the higher of the rate specified
in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of
1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) or the rate specified in the
applicable State or local minimum wage law; and
(B) not less than the customary rate paid by the
employer for the same or similar work performed by
other employees who are not people with disabilities,
and who are similarly situated in similar occupations
by the same employer and who have similar training,
experience, and skills;
(2) assisting people with disabilities who were employed by
the employer in finding and retaining work in competitive
integrated employment, which work may be with the employer
after such transformation or in another competitive integrated
employment setting;
(3) providing integrated community participation and
wraparound services for people with disabilities; and
(4) ensuring all such services and other non-employment
services offered by the employer comply with the requirements
for home and community-based services under the final rule of
the Department of Health and Human Services entitled ``Medicaid
Program; State Plan Home and Community-Based Services, 5-Year
Period for Waivers, Provider Payment Reassignment, and Home and
Community-Based Setting Requirements for Community First Choice
and Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waivers'' (79 Fed.
Reg. 2948 (January 16, 2014)), or a successor rule.
SEC. 102. STATE GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Application.--
(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this section, a State shall submit an application to the
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and including such
information as the Secretary may reasonably require.
(2) Contents.--Each application submitted under paragraph
(1) shall include--
(A) a description of the status of the employers in
the State providing employment using special
certificates, including--
(i) the number of employers in the State
using special certificates to employ and pay
people with disabilities;
(ii) the number of employers described in
clause (i) that also employ people with
disabilities in competitive integrated
employment, which shall include employers
providing such employment in combination with
integrated services;
(iii) the number of employees employed
under a special certificate, disaggregated by--
(I) employer; and
(II) demographic characteristics,
including gender, race, ethnicity, and
type of disability, unless indicating
such characteristics would disclose
personal identifying information;
(iv) the average, median, minimum, and
maximum number of hours such employees work per
week, disaggregated by employer, and reported
for the State as a whole; and
(v) the average, median, minimum, and
maximum hourly wage for such employees,
disaggregated by employer, and reported for the
State as a whole;
(B) a description of the activities of the State
with respect to competitive integrated employment for
people with disabilities, including, as applicable--
(i) a copy of the State plan for carrying
out the Employment First initiative;
(ii) a copy of the Olmstead plan of the
State;
(iii) a description of activities related
to the development and promotion of ABLE
accounts; and
(iv) a description of the medical
assistance provided by the State through a
Medicaid buy-in eligibility pathway under
subclause (XV) or (XVI) of section
1902(a)(10)(A)(ii) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii)), including any
premiums or other cost sharing imposed on
individuals who enroll in the State Medicaid
program through such a pathway;
(C) a description of activities to be funded under
the grant, and the goals of such activities,
including--
(i) the process to be used to identify each
employer in the State that will transform its
business and program models from employing
people with disabilities using special
certificates to employing people with
disabilities in competitive integrated
employment settings or settings involving a
combination of competitive integrated
employment and integrated services;
(ii) the number of such employers in the
State that will carry out a transformation
described in clause (i);
(iii) the service delivery infrastructure
that will be implemented in the State to
support people with disabilities who have been
employed under special certificates through
such a transformation, including providing
enhanced integrated services to support people
with the most significant disabilities;
(iv) a description of the process to
recruit and engage Federal, State, and local
governments and nonprofit and private employers
to hire people with disabilities into
competitive integrated employment who have been
employed under special certificates;
(v) the competitive integrated employment
and integrated services that will be
implemented in the State to support such
people;
(vi) a timeline for assisting employers
that operate in the State in phasing out
employment using special certificates, which
shall not extend past the date on which the
legal effect of such certificates expires under
section 14(c)(7) of the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)(7)), as added by
title II;
(vii) a timeline for the expansion of
employers that will provide competitive
integrated employment, or a combination of
competitive integrated employment and
integrated services, to people with
disabilities who have been employed by such
employers under special certificates;
(viii) a description of the expanded
competitive integrated employment and
integrated services to be provided to such
people as a result of transformations described
in clause (i); and
(ix) a description of the process to be
used to engage stakeholders in such
transformations;
(D) a description of how the activities under the
grant will coordinate and align Federal, State, and
local programs, agencies, and funding in the
transformations described in subparagraph (C)(i);
(E) a description of the State's evaluation plan to
determine the social and economic impact of the grant,
including the impact (as measured throughout the
transformation and the 2-year period after the State
has assisted employers in phasing out employment using
special certificates) on--
(i) the employment status of people with
disabilities in the State, including the number
of hours worked, average wages, and job
satisfaction, of such people; and
(ii) changes in provider capacity to
support competitive integrated employment and
integrated services;
(F) assurances that--
(i) the activities carried out under the
grant will result in each employer in the State
that provides employment using special
certificates on the date of enactment of this
Act transforming as described in subparagraph
(C)(i);
(ii) people with the most significant
disabilities, including intellectual and
developmental disabilities, who will be
affected by such a transformation will be given
priority in receiving the necessary competitive
integrated employment supports and integrated
services to succeed during and after such a
transformation;
(iii) each individual in the State who is
employed under a special certificate will, as a
result of such a transformation, be given an
opportunity to be employed in competitive
integrated employment;
(iv) at a minimum, the State agencies
responsible for developmental disability
services, Medicaid, education, vocational
rehabilitation, mental health services,
transportation, and workforce development agree
to be partners in the goals of the grant;
(v) until the date that is 2 years after
the legal effect of special certificates
expires under section 14(c)(7) of the Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
214(c)(7)), as added by title II, the State
will comply with requirements of the Secretary
with respect to the collection of data, and
will require employers providing employment
under special certificates in the State to
comply with such requirements;
(vi) the State will cooperate with the
evaluation under title IV by providing all data
required and allow the evaluation of activities
under the grant;
(vii) the State will establish an advisory
council described in paragraph (3) to monitor
and guide the process of transforming business
and program models of employers in the State as
described in subparagraph (C)(i);
(viii) the State will cooperate with the
nonprofit entity carrying out technical
assistance and dissemination activities under
title III;
(ix) all integrated services and non-
employment services offered by employers in the
State will comply with--
(I) the requirements for home and
community-based services under the
final rule of the Department of Health
and Human Services entitled ``Medicaid
Program; State Plan Home and Community-
Based Services, 5-Year Period for
Waivers, Provider Payment Reassignment,
and Home and Community-Based Setting
Requirements for Community First Choice
and Home and Community-Based Services
(HCBS) Waivers'' (79 Fed. Reg. 2948
(January 16, 2014)), or a successor
rule;
(II) the holding of the Olmstead
decision; and
(III) the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
12101 et seq.); and
(x) the State will disseminate information
to all people with disabilities employed under
special certificates regarding the availability
of--
(I) ABLE accounts and other asset
developmental options for people with
disabilities;
(II) the Ticket to Work and Self
Sufficiency Program established under
section 1148 of the Social Security Act