AI Tax and Work Protection Act

(a) In general. Each eligible entity awarded a grant under section 401 shall use such funds to hire employees for jobs for which the primary duties are to be carried out by a natural person and that provide—

(1) the support described in subsection (b); and

(2) the benefits described in subsection (d).

(b) Use of funds. An eligible entity shall use such grant funds to hire employees for jobs that provide job creation and support for any of the following in the geographic area in which such grant recipient is located:

(1) Job creation to expand child care and early childhood education programs, including staffing licensed child care facilities, supporting preschool and early learning programs, and providing classroom assistance, after-school programming, before-school programming, family engagement services, developmental screenings, literacy initiatives, and nutrition support for young children.

(2) Job creation to support public education programs, including tutoring, mentoring, classroom assistance, special education support, school library services, educational technology assistance, adult literacy instruction, English language learning programs, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, career and technical education support, school-based mental health care professionals, and enrichment programs for students of all ages.

(3) Job creation to support health initiatives and programs, including support for mental health professionals, health care workers at underserved hospitals and clinics, community health outreach, vaccination campaigns, disease prevention programs, behavioral health support, substance use prevention, public health education, health data collection, emergency preparedness, and assistance to local health departments.

(4) Job creation to support elder care and disability support services, including non-medical in-home assistance, companionship services, transportation assistance, meal delivery, respite care, case management support, accessibility improvements, independent living services, and programs that enable older adults and individuals with disabilities to remain safely in their communities.

(5) Job creation to support housing construction and rehabilitation, including the construction, rehabilitation, weatherization, accessibility modifications, lead hazard remediation, energy efficiency upgrades for homes.

(6) Job creation to support housing-insecure or homeless individuals, including homelessness outreach and supportive housing services.

(7) Job creation to support community violence prevention and public safety, including violence interruption initiatives, youth mentoring, neighborhood outreach, victim assistance, crisis intervention support, emergency preparedness education, and other evidence-based public safety programs.

(8) Job creation to support scientific research and innovation, including technical support for federally funded research, laboratory operations, environmental monitoring, scientific field work, research data management, technology development, public-interest innovation, and research assistance performed by Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (as such term is defined in section 2.101 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation) or an institution of higher education operated by a State or political subdivision of a State.

(9) Job creation to support the construction, repair, maintenance, modernization, and inspection of roads, bridges, rail systems, airports, ports, public buildings, drinking water systems, wastewater facilities, broadband infrastructure, sidewalks, bicycle facilities, parks, and other public infrastructure.

(10) Job creation to support the commissioning of public art projects, museum support, archival preservation, library services, digitization of historical records, cultural programming, preservation of historic sites, documentation of local history, and community arts education.

(11) Job creation to support strengthening environmental conservation and climate resilience including through habitat restoration, wetland conservation, invasive species removal, urban forestry, watershed protection, coastal restoration, soil conservation, carbon sequestration projects, renewable energy deployment, energy efficiency improvements, and climate adaptation initiatives.

(12) Job creation to support wildfire prevention and disaster preparedness programs, including forest management, hazardous fuel reduction, flood mitigation, emergency shelter preparation, disaster planning, emergency logistics, post-disaster debris removal, hazard mapping, community resilience projects, and recovery assistance following federally declared disasters.

(13) Job creation to support the repair, remodeling, and beautification of schools, community centers, libraries, and other community-based public facilities, and the increase in the number of workers at such schools, community centers, libraries, and other community-based public facilities.

(14) Job creation to support the renovation, enhancement, and maintenance of parks, playgrounds, public and tribal lands, trails, and other public spaces.

(15) Job creation to support local news and journalism, including local news funds, local news and community information organizations, journalism fellowship programs, and the maintenance and expansion of local, nonprofit, and public-interest news gathering and reporting capacity.

(16) Job creation to support programs and training activities under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.).

(17) Job creation to support other activities as determined by the Director and the advisory committee established under section 404 to address public needs.

(c) Employee of an eligible entity

(1) In general. To be eligible to be an employee hired by an eligible entity with grant funds awarded under this title, an individual shall—

(A) be 18 years or older; and

(B) subject to paragraph (2), be hired to perform any service for an eligible entity as an employee of such entity.

(2) Exceptions. An individual hired to perform any service for an eligible entity shall not be considered an employee of such entity if—

(A) such individual is free from control and direction in connection with the performance of such service, both under any contract for the performance of such service and in fact;

(B) the service performed by such individual is outside the usual course of the business of the entity; or

(C) such individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business of the same nature as that involved in such service.

(d) Job requirements. An eligible entity awarded a grant under section 401 shall provide each employee described under subsection (c) hired for the purpose of providing support under subsection (b) with—

(1) a wage of not less than the greater of—

(A) the minimum wage rate as established under section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206);

(B) the minimum wage rate as established under applicable State or local law; or

(C) the prevailing wage rate paid to workers in the same locality for similar work, as determined by the Secretary of Labor, and not less than the greater of the prevailing wage required under applicable Federal, State, or local prevailing wage statute;

(2) coverage under a health insurance benefits plan comparable to the health insurance benefits plan offered to Federal employees under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program established under chapter 89 of title 5, United States Code;

(3) at least 12 workweeks of family and medical leave benefits during any 12-month period under section 102(a) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2612(a)) except that such employee shall be paid at a rate equal to their regular rate of pay for each week of such leave; and

(4) the ability to earn 1 hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked, but not greater than 56 hours of such leave in a year unless such entity chooses to set a higher limit, to be used by such employee for any purpose.

(e) Nondisplacement

(1) Nondisplacement of existing employees. An eligible entity may not use grant funds awarded under section 401 to hire an employee that meets the requirements of subsection (c) for a job created under this section if—

(A) employing such employee will result in the layoff or partial displacement of an existing employee of such entity;

(B) such employee will assume any of the duties or responsibilities of an existing employee of such entity who is on strike; or

(C) such employee will perform work that is the same or substantially similar to the work performed by any existing employee at the same site of employment, and if such existing employee—

(i) has been laid off or partially displaced as a result of such employee hired from grant funds awarded under section 401; and

(ii) has not been offered to be restored to the position such existing employee had immediately prior to being laid off or partially displaced.

(2) Existing employee defined. The term existing employee, when used with respect to an eligible entity, means an employee who was an employee of the eligible entity on the date prior to the date an individual was hired using grant funds under this title.