29 U.S.C. § 2701 — Findings

Page 794 TITLE 29—LABOR § 2653 obligation of an employer to comply with any collective bargaining agreement or any employ- ment benefit program or plan that provides greater family or medical leave rights to em- ployees than the rights established under this Act or any amendment made by this Act. (b) Less protective The rights established for employees under this Act or any amendment made by this Act shall not be diminished by any collective bar- gaining agreement or any employment benefit program or plan. (Pub. L. 103–3, title IV, § 402, Feb. 5, 1993, 107 Stat. 26.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in text, is Pub. L. 103–3, Feb. 5, 1993, 107 Stat. 6, known as the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which enacted this chapter, sections 60m and 60n of Title 2, The Congress, and sections 6381 to 6387 of Title 5, Government Organization and Em- ployees, amended section 2105 of Title 5, and enacted provisions set out as notes under section 2601 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2601 of this title and Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 6 months after Feb. 5, 1993, see sec- tion 405(b)(1) of Pub. L. 103–3, set out as a note under section 2601 of this title. § 2653. Encouragement of more generous leave policies Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this Act shall be construed to discourage em- ployers from adopting or retaining leave policies more generous than any policies that comply with the requirements under this Act or any amendment made by this Act. (Pub. L. 103–3, title IV, § 403, Feb. 5, 1993, 107 Stat. 26.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in text, is Pub. L. 103–3, Feb. 5, 1993, 107 Stat. 6, known as the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which enacted this chapter, sections 60m and 60n of Title 2, The Congress, and sections 6381 to 6387 of Title 5, Government Organization and Em- ployees, amended section 2105 of Title 5, and enacted provisions set out as notes under section 2601 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2601 of this title and Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 6 months after Feb. 5, 1993, see sec- tion 405(b)(1) of Pub. L. 103–3, set out as a note under section 2601 of this title. § 2654. Regulations The Secretary of Labor shall prescribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out sub- chapter I and this subchapter not later than 120 days after February 5, 1993. (Pub. L. 103–3, title IV, § 404, Feb. 5, 1993, 107 Stat. 26.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 6 months after Feb. 5, 1993, see sec- tion 405(b)(1) of Pub. L. 103–3, set out as a note under section 2601 of this title. CHAPTER 29—WORKERS TECHNOLOGY SKILL DEVELOPMENT Sec. 2701. Findings. 2702. Purposes. 2703. Definitions. 2704. Grants. 2705. Identification and dissemination of best prac- tices. 2706. Authorization of appropriations. § 2701. Findings The Congress finds and declares the following: (1) In an increasingly competitive world economy, the companies and nations that lead in the rapid development, commercialization, and application of new and advanced tech- nologies, and in the high-quality, competi- tively priced production of goods and services, will lead in economic growth, employment, and high living standards. (2) While the United States remains the world leader in science and invention, it has not done well in rapidly making the transition from achievement in its research laboratories to high-quality, competitively priced produc- tion of goods and services. This lag and the un- precedented competitive challenge that the United States has faced from abroad have con- tributed to a drop in real wages and living standards. (3) Companies that are successfully competi- tive in the rapid development, commercializa- tion, application, and implementation of ad- vanced technologies, and in the successful de- livery of goods and services, recognize that worker participation and labor-management cooperation in the deployment, application, and implementation of advanced workplace technologies make an important contribution to high-quality, competitively priced produc- tion of goods and services and in maintaining and improving real wages for workers. (4) The Federal Government has an impor- tant role in encouraging and augmenting pri- vate sector efforts relating to the develop- ment, application, manufacture, and deploy- ment of new and advanced technologies. The role should be to— (A) work with private companies, States, worker organizations, nonprofit organiza- tions, and institutions of higher education to ensure the development, application, pro- duction, and implementation of new and ad- vanced technologies to promote the im- provement of workers’ skills, wages, job se- curity, and working conditions, and a healthy environment; (B) encourage worker and worker organi- zation participation in the development, commercialization, evaluation, selection, Page 795 TITLE 29—LABOR § 2703 application, and implementation of new and advanced technologies in the workplace; and (C) promote the use and integration of new and advanced technologies in the workplace that enhance workers’ skills. (5) In working with the private sector to pro- mote the technological leadership and eco- nomic growth of the United States, the Fed- eral Government has a responsibility to en- sure that Federal technology programs help the United States to remain competitive and to maintain and improve living standards and to create and retain secure jobs in economi- cally stable communities. (Pub. L. 103–382, title V, § 542, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 4051.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SHORT TITLE Section 541 of Pub. L. 103–382 provided that: ‘‘This part [part D (§§ 541–547) of title V of Pub. L. 103–382, en- acting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Workers Tech- nology Skill Development Act’.’’ STUDY AND REPORT ON THE ‘‘DIGITAL DIVIDE’’ Pub. L. 106–313, title I, § 115, Oct. 17, 2000, 114 Stat. 1262, provided that: ‘‘(a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Commerce shall con- duct a review of existing public and private high-tech workforce training programs in the United States. ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 17, 2000], the Secretary of Commerce shall submit a report to Congress setting forth the findings of the study conducted under sub- section (a).’’ REPORT ON OLDER WORKERS IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FIELD Pub. L. 105–277, div. C, title IV, § 417, Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–656, provided that: ‘‘(a) STUDY.—The Director of the National Science Foundation shall enter into a contract with the Presi- dent of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study, using the best available data, assessing the sta- tus of older workers in the information technology field. The study shall consider the following: ‘‘(1) The existence and extent of age discrimination in the information technology workplace. ‘‘(2) The extent to which there is a difference, based on age, in— ‘‘(A) promotion and advancement; ‘‘(B) working hours; ‘‘(C) telecommuting; ‘‘(D) salary; and ‘‘(E) stock options, bonuses, and other benefits. ‘‘(3) The relationship between rates of advance- ment, promotion, and compensation to experience, skill level, education, and age. ‘‘(4) Differences in skill level on the basis of age. ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than October 1, 2000, the Di- rector of the National Science Foundation shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the United States House of Representatives and the Senate a re- port containing the results of the study described in subsection (a).’’ REPORT ON HIGH TECHNOLOGY LABOR MARKET NEEDS Pub. L. 105–277, div. C, title IV, § 418(a), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–656, required the Director of the National Science Foundation to conduct a multifaceted study, in a manner that ensured the participation of individuals representing a variety of points of view, to assess labor market needs for workers with high technology skills during the next 10 years, and to submit to Congress a report containing the results of the study by Oct. 1, 2000. TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WORKFORCE COMMISSION Pub. L. 105–220, title III, subtitle C, Aug. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1087, as amended by Pub. L. 105–277, div. A, § 101(f) [title VIII, § 401(15)], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–337, 2681–412, known as the ‘‘Twenty-First Century Work- force Commission Act’’, which established the Commis- sion to study all matters relating to the information technology workforce in the United States, including skills necessary to enter the information technology workforce, ways to expand the number of skilled infor- mation technology workers, and the relative efficacy of programs in the United States and foreign countries to train information technology workers, and to submit a report to the President and Congress of its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for legislative and administrative actions, and provided for powers of the Commission, compensation of members, employment of staff, authorization of appropriations, and termination of the Commission 90 days after submission of its final report, which was released June 27, 2000, was repealed by Pub. L. 113–128, title V, § 511(a), July 22, 2014, 128 Stat. 1705, effective July 1, 2015. § 2702. Purposes The purposes of this chapter are to— (1) improve the ability of workers and work- er organizations to recognize, develop, assess, and improve strategies for successfully inte- grating workers and worker organizations into the process of evaluating, selecting, and im- plementing advanced workplace technologies, and advanced workplace practices in a manner that creates and maintains stable well-paying jobs for workers; and (2) assist workers and worker organizations in developing the expertise necessary for effec- tive participation with employers in the devel- opment of strategies and programs for the suc- cessful evaluation, selection, and implementa- tion of advanced workplace technologies and advanced workplace practices through the pro- vision of a range of education, training, and related services. (Pub. L. 103–382, title V, § 543, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 4052.) § 2703. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) Advanced workplace practices The term ‘‘advanced workplace practices’’ means innovations in work organization and performance, including high-performance workplace systems, flexible production tech- niques, quality programs, continuous improve- ment, concurrent engineering, close relation- ships between suppliers and customers, widely diffused decisionmaking and work teams, and effective integration of production technology, worker skills and training, and workplace or- ganization, and such other characteristics as determined appropriate by the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce. (2) Advanced workplace technologies The term ‘‘advanced workplace tech- nologies’’ includes— (A) numerically controlled machine tools, robots, automated process control equip- ment, computerized flexible manufacturing systems, associated computer software, and other technology for improving the manu-