Swalwell, Hudson, Stefanik introduce bipartisan legislation to help unemployed have better online access to job-seeking skills

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representatives Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Richard Hudson (R-NC), and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) today introduced H.R. 3280, the bipartisan Widening Internet Readiness for Employment Development (WIRED) Act to help students, veterans, the unemployed, and the underemployed in their job search. This bill directs the Department of Labor (DOL) to create guidelines for One-Stop Career Center websites – many of which are clunky and outdated – to dramatically improve their design and offer job-seeking services virtually.

"You can't train and assist a 21st century workforce with 20th century tools. In 2015 a job-seeker should not have to walk into a One-Stop Career Center to get resume or cover letter assistance when the tools exist to provide these services on a standard website," said Congressman Swalwell. "This bipartisan legislation makes a commonsense fix to help job-searchers more easily access the skills and preparation they need to find a job."

"There's no doubt we need more jobs, but in today's virtual job market, applying for the jobs that are out can be tough for folks," said Congressman Hudson. "This bill will help equip unemployed and underemployed workers, students and veterans with the tools necessary to find and get good-paying jobs they deserve."

"Increasing access to online resources is critical to helping my constituents find jobs that best suit their skills," said Congresswoman Stefanik. "This is why I am pleased to join my colleagues in introducing the WIRED Act – a commonsense reform that will help bring our job assistance resources into the 21st century and get people back to work."

There are over 3,000 Department of Labor (DOL) One-Stop Career Centers across the country. The WIRED Act would direct the Department of Labor to create quality standards for local One-Stop location websites and require these centers to offer certain job seeking services virtually.