Workforce and labor market information system

The Secretary, in accordance with the provisions of this section, shall oversee the development, maintenance, and continuous improvement of a nationwide workforce and labor market information system that includes— statistical data from cooperative statistical survey and projection programs and data from administrative reporting systems that, taken together, enumerate, estimate, and project employment opportunities and conditions at national, State, and local levels in a timely manner, including statistics on— information on State and local employment opportunities, and other appropriate statistical data related to labor market dynamics, which— analysis of data and information described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) for uses such as— programs of— No officer or employee of the Federal Government or agent of the Federal Government may— Any submission (including any data derived from the submission) that is collected and retained by a Federal department or agency, or an officer, employee, agent, or contractor of such a department or agency, for exclusively statistical purposes under this section shall be immune from the legal process and shall not, without the consent of the individual, agency, or other person who is the subject of the submission or provides that submission, be admitted as evidence or used for any purpose in any action, suit, or other judicial or administrative proceeding. Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide immunity from the legal process for such submission (including any data derived from the submission) if the submission is in the possession of any person, agency, or entity other than the Federal Government or an officer, employee, agent, or contractor of the Federal Government, or if the submission is independently collected, retained, or produced for purposes other than the purposes of this chapter. The workforce and labor market information system described in subsection (a) shall be evaluated and improved by the Secretary, in consultation with the Workforce Information Advisory Council established in subsection (d). The Secretary shall carry out the provisions of this section in a timely manner, through grants to or agreements with States. Using amounts appropriated under subsection (g), the Secretary shall provide funds through those grants and agreements. In distributing the funds (relating to workforce and labor market information funding) for fiscal years 2015 through 2020, the Secretary shall continue to distribute the funds to States in the manner in which the Secretary distributed funds to the States under this section for fiscal years 2004 through 2008. The Secretary, with respect to data collection, analysis, and dissemination of workforce and labor market information for the system, shall carry out the following duties: Establish procedures for the system to ensure that— The Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of Labor Statistics and the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, and in consultation with the Workforce Information Advisory Council described in subsection (d) and heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall prepare a 2-year plan for the workforce and labor market information system. The plan shall be developed and implemented in a manner that takes into account the activities described in State plans submitted by States under section 3112 or 3113 of this title and shall be submitted to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. The plan shall include— The Secretary, through the Commissioner of Labor Statistics and the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, shall formally consult at least twice annually with the Workforce Information Advisory Council established in accordance with paragraph (2). Such consultations shall address the evaluation and improvement of the nationwide workforce and labor market information system described in subsection (a) and the statewide workforce and labor market information systems that comprise the nationwide system and how the Department of Labor and the States will cooperate in the management of such systems. The Council shall provide written recommendations to the Secretary concerning the evaluation and improvement of the nationwide system, including any recommendations regarding the 2-year plan described in subsection (c). The Secretary shall establish an advisory council that shall be known as the Workforce Information Advisory Council (referred to in this section as the “Council”) to participate in the consultations and provide the recommendations described in paragraph (1). The Secretary shall appoint the members of the Council, which shall consist of— The Secretary shall ensure that the membership of the Council is geographically diverse and that no 2 of the members appointed under clauses (i), (ii), and (vii) represent the same State. Each member of the Council shall be appointed for a term of 3 years, except that the initial terms for members may be 1, 2, or 3 years in order to establish a rotation in which one-third of the members are selected each year. Any such member may be appointed for not more than 2 consecutive terms. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that term. A member may serve after the expiration of that member’s term until a successor has taken office. The members of the Council shall not receive compensation for the performance of services for the Council, but shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5 while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the Council. Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, the Secretary may accept the voluntary and uncompensated services of members of the Council. Section 1013 of title 5 shall not apply to the Council. In order to receive Federal financial assistance under this section, the Governor of a State shall— In order to receive Federal financial assistance under this section, the State agency shall— consult with eligible agencies (defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302)), State educational agencies, and local educational agencies concerning the provision of workforce and labor market information in order to— Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the ability of a State agency to conduct additional data collection, analysis, and dissemination activities with State funds or with Federal funds from sources other than this section. None of the functions and activities carried out pursuant to this section shall duplicate the functions and activities carried out under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.). There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $60,153,000 for fiscal year 2015, $64,799,000 for fiscal year 2016, $66,144,000 for fiscal year 2017, $67,611,000 for fiscal year 2018, $69,200,000 for fiscal year 2019, and $70,667,000 for fiscal year 2020. In this section, the term “local area” means the smallest geographical area for which data can be produced with statistical reliability.